My clients are beginning to worry about the upcoming holidays coming up. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I decided to break down a typical Thanksgiving meal:
- Turkey = 260-320 calories per 6 ounces
- Cranberries (the canned kind) = 225 calories per 1/3 cup
- Sweet potatoes (Normally healthy) but prepared the “thanksgiving” way = 315 per 1/2 cup
- Mashed Potatoes = 240 calories per cup
- Stuffing = 265 calories per 1/2 cups
- Green bean casserole = 240 calories per 1 cup
- Buttermilk biscuit = 190 calories
- Pumpkin pie 1/8th pie = 340 calories
One serving of each = 2,135 calories and 70 grams of fat. This is before any appetizers, pats of butter, oily dressings, wine, cookies, and of course, second helpings. Yowza!
If you are completely serious about eating clean, you have to host Thanksgiving and prepare everything yourself because chances are, the rest of your family doesn’t care about eating healthy. In fact, I encourage people for one day, put away the guilt, and enjoy the day. Believe me, I will be ingesting all of the above along with the wine, appetizers, more wine, and probably double up on the deserts. I am in no way panicked, it’s okay, it’s one day! If you indulge, please follow my survival tips:
Thanksgiving Survival Tips:
- Start your day with a workout
- Drink plenty of water that day because you’ll most likely be ingesting WAY too much sodium
- Bring a veggie tray as an appetizer and sit right next to it so you’re not tempted by any other things. 1/2 cup of mixed nuts = 400 calories = yikes!
- Eat breakfast! Starving for the big meal is not ideal for your metabolism and will spike glucose levels making it impossible to even out
- Load up on turkey but avoid the skin and go easy on the fatty (yet delicious) gravy
- Help with the cooking and the clean up and avoid sitting after that big meal
- Begin the following day with a workout, or you can shop ALL DAY (what I will be doing)
- Throw away left overs – extremely hard to do, but you need to get back on track ASAP because the Christmas cookies are coming
Just remember that Thanksgiving isn’t all about the food. It’s also about family, community, and gratitude. Have a wonderful holiday!
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