Surviving Thanksgiving On A Diet

It is, without question, the hardest weekend of the year for anyone trying to eat properly. Giant turkeys, stuffed with all kinds of things, covered in gravy, with a plethora of side dishes both savory and sweet. How on earth is a person supposed to resist?!

See how this lady, already 4 plates deep, has started to eye up both the child, and his pie...

The truth of the matter is, you don't have to resist. Being healthy isn't about suffering your way through the rest of your life. It does mean you have to make some smarter choices though. First off, one plate. Seriously. And no, that doesn't mean you should set out to construct a skyscraper of food, held together by strategically place mashed potatoes. Take what you want, within reason, but remember that there's no need to stuff yourself. Unless you're ok with pile driving a week or more of hard work in the gym right out of you, you need to keep in mind some self restraint. 

That's the common sense stuff. You probably already knew that if you don't stuff yourself harder than you did the turkey, you'll probably be ok. If you're looking to cut a few more corners, and do some damage control, here's a few things to keep in mind. The skin of the turkey is not all that healthy. It's mostly fat, and probably contains a fair portion of whatever you used to cook the turkey in. Also, white meat tends to be a tad healthier for you. There are two things that most people love with dinner at this time of year, but if you go easy on the cranberry sauce and gravy, you'll come out better in the end. Gravy usually ends up high in sodium, and that can shaped blob of red is pretty much made of sugar. The gravy is usually made up of turkey drippings too, which means it is essentially fat sauce.

Go too hard on the gravy, and you might as well cover your meal in this stuff. 

Another thing people forget about is that not all your calories are going to come from the food. If you're over 18 (19 if yer a Saskie), you're probably going to have a few adult pops throughout the day. Remember, liquor is loaded with calories, and it dehydrates you. It's fine to have a couple social sips, but if you still feel it the next day, you'll be working it off for a week.

One other thing most people forget about, and it's easy to forget about because you're busy all day getting this feast together, but it's really simple. Eat! Have a good size breakfast, a nice healthy lunch, a nutritious snack here and there, and when the big meal comes around, you won't have room in your poor stomach to eat yourself in to a coma. If you don't trust yourself to stop when you should at dinner, just don't leave extra room in there to start with. 

Other than that, relax, it's just one meal. We're getting healthy by doing smart things for 365 days. That's over 1000 meals! Sure, this 1 meal might set you back a bit, but overall, it's not going to kill you.

Unless you're planning on eating any of that E. Coli beef. Then it might. 

Seriously, don't eat that stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving! And if you're looking for me when it's over? I'll be the guy on the exercise bike, cursing heavily that this holiday exists.

Always remember, you're just on a diet. It could be a lot worse...

 

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