Your Thanksgiving Day Survival Guide

I have an important question for you!

But first, I wanted to take a moment to say, "Thank You" for being a loyal subscriber to my newsletter, blog, and for allowing me to help you with your health and fitness goals.

Thanksgiving is the time of the year to enjoy the company of family, friends, and reflect on our blessings and what we're thankful for. 

Thanksgiving also marks the beginning of the "feasting season" with holiday entertaining, parties and merry making treats.

It’s that time of the year again when most Americans are bound to gain an extra three to seven pounds (or more) between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Let’s face it…

Trying to eliminate such family traditions as turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes and pecan pie on Thanksgiving is hardly practical.

And that’s just the beginning of weeks of traditional Holiday treats in the office, at cocktail parties and feasts shared with family and friends.

But, the fact is, the holidays give us too many opportunities to take a step away from our nutrition and weight loss goals.

So, my question for you is, do you have a game plan in place to avoid Holiday weight gain and start the New Year off healthy?

 Balance and moderation may be the last things you think about during Thanksgiving. But, the fact is, the Holiday season and entertaining gives us too many opportunities to take a step away from our nutrition and weight loss goals.

Here are a few of my most powerful strategies you can use to minimize the effects of your Thanksgiving feast on your body:

1. Don't go to the Thanksgiving dinner hungry.  You should eat breakfast and maybe a healthy snack as you normally would on any other day. Fill up on healthful complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, or whole grains for breakfast and protein to sustain you until lunch.  If you notice that you are getting hungry well before the meal is served, have a healthful snack such as an ounce of almonds, edamame, fresh fruit, or veggies. 

Do not go the dinner table ravished or you’ll end up eating too much too quickly. Starving yourself all day before the big meal will send your metabolism for a ride - a SLOW ride, making it more difficult to burn calories after the big meal.

2. Pace yourself though dinner. Once you sit down to eat, try to pace yourself by placing your fork down between bites. The slower you eat, the more aware you will become of your body's needs and the less likely you will overindulge. It takes up to 20 minutes for your stomach to send a message to your brain indicating that you are full. Eat slowly and savor every bite so that you do not miss your body’s cue that you’ve reached your limit. You'll be able to savor your food and feel satisfied with less calories. 

3. Make sure you show up to dinner hydrated. Burning calories requires an adequate amount of water. Being dehydrated slows down your body's fat burning capabilities making it harder to burn calories following your holiday meal. Be sure to drink plenty of water on the days leading up to the big dinner to keep your metabolism revved.

4. Be mindful of your portions.  Being aware of your portions will give you an advantage when it comes to maintaining your weight. Take a moment to survey the foods available before you make your choices. Serve a smaller portion of the foods you want using a smaller plate. Doing so will psychologically give you the same feeling as eating from a full size dinner plate. You'll still enjoy trying many foods without the extra calories. Don't deprive yourself of the foods you love. Doing so will only increase your cravings and you'll be more likely to indulge.

5. Have all the turkey your want, just remove the skin. Turkey breast is a great low-fat protein choice. Just make sure your turkey is baked, not deep fried and take the time to remove the skin before you eat it.  A 4 ounce serving of turkey has only 153 colories and 34 grams of quality protein and zero carbs. Try to fill up on turkey and veggies before hitting the desserts.

6. Don’t weigh yourself down with tempting leftovers.  If you are hosting the dinner this year do yourself a favor and send every guest home with a plate of leftovers.  You don’t need tons of left over ham, gravy, potatoes, and heavy macaroni and cheese calling you from the refrigerator for days to come.  Divide up left over cakes and pies and make sure you see all of it walk out the door!

7. Plan an activity following dinner that encourages your friends and family to get up and moving.  Sure, there are some people you will not be able to drag away from the football game but offer to lead anyone interested on a walk around the neighborhood or to a nearby park.  You could organize a game of touch football in the backyard, toss the frisbee or set up croquet course.  Just get moving!  You could even sign your family up for the local Turkey Trot. 

Check back here on my blog for an amazing total body boot camp workout you can do on the day after the big meal to rev your metabolism and avoid Holiday weight gain.

According to USA today, a 45-minute boot camp workout burns more calories than moderate or vigourous weight training or walking at 3.5 miles per hour for 45 minutes.

Oh, and if you do find that you overindulged on Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect and then get over it. Don’t let a day of overindulgence sabotage your workout motivation.

We all know the holidays are hard and if you find you were not so good on Thanksgiving Day, don’t beat yourself up about it.  You will not be able to go back in time and erase your mistakes but you can make a conscious decision to make a quick recovery. 

Friday morning get moving again and make better choices.  Remember, in the long run you just need to take things one meal at a time.  Give yourself a clean slate on Friday and get back on track!

Theres still time to schedule your fitness consultation before the big January Rush!