HelpMeEat

www.helpmeeat.org If there is one day a year where overeating is acceptable it must be Thanksgiving. Think about it, this is the only holiday where the main focus is around the meal. Christmas=presents, New Years=waiting for the ball to drop, 4th of July=fireworks, and Thanksgiving=Turkey. Some might say, the hell with the diet, if I’m ever allowed a cheat day shouldn’t it be on Thanksgiving? To that I say, YES, you should be allowed to cheat on Thanksgiving. Where the problem lies is HOW MUCH, cheating can be done? Here are the cold hard facts: The avg. person consumes over 5,000 calories on Thanksgiving. That is roughly 2.5 days worth of calories jammed into one. The turkey dinner itself accounts for around 3,000 of those calories. No wonder most people fall asleep watching football for the rest of the afternoon, talk about feeling sluggish. So, how can we do this? How can we cheat, but cheat respectably? The last thing you want to do is set yourself back an entire week or more because you had too good of a time. So here is a way to enjoy Thanksgiving to its fullest (no pun intended) and not gain 5lbs on the way. 1. Partake in an activity if you can. No matter where you live there most likely will be a turkey trot (5k run), or get together with the family and friends for a flag football game. If you belong to a gym, most will be open until mid-afternoon, which is perfect for a morning workout, before your dinner. 2. Be the host if you can. I know it’s a ton of work, but this way you can control the menu, so you know what you are putting into your body. And, it’ll take you away from snacking before dinner. If you are too busy cooking the meal, you’ll have less time to snack. 3. If you do snack, snack wisely. Load up on the healthy options. Say yes to shrimp cocktail, fruit and peanuts. Stay away from the Nachos, cheese and crackers, and m&m’s. 4. For dinner choose the white meat instead of dark, and carrots, broccoli, corn, squash, and sweet potato are all safe bets. Try to avoid mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing. My plate will look something like this: White Turkey, squash, broccoli and sweet potato. 5. Pick one dessert and eat it. Do not pick at everything. A little of everything can add up to A LOT of calories. 6. Drink a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you have. The water will fill you up more, thus leading to eating less. Plus, hopefully keeping you sober, as most people tend to overeat the drunker they get. 7. Try to cut back earlier in the week. If you know you are going to go overboard try eliminating 100-200 calories a day the week leading up. If you can eliminate around 1,000 calories the week prior you’ll be way ahead of the game. Good luck, I know it won’t be easy, it’ll be hard for me too. I’ll let you know how I fared next week. Happy Thanksgiving, Jason Fitness Nutrition Coach www.helpmeeat.org