Thanksgiving Strategy Guide

We are two days away from one of my favorite holidays of the year! See, I'm a foodie and LOVE all the delicious foods that the holidays bring out, and I'm sure you do too. However, with all this delicious food, studies from different sources say that the average American gains anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds over the holiday season! Yikes! That's quite a bit of weight to work off post holidays. So how can we still partake in the festivities without the extra weight? Glad you asked. All it takes is some very simple planning and a little strategy and you, my friend, can escape the holidays with zero or minimal weight gain! If you think the first thing I'm going to suggest is to give up some of Grandma's stuffing or your Aunt's award-winning pumpkin pie, you're wrong. What's the point of trying to be healthy if you can't enjoy the good stuff once in a while? . Here we go (keep in mind these are just ideas): 1.) If you are currently one of my clients, you have a specific macro nutrient profile that is specific to you and your goals. If you wanted to, you could cut back on some carbs and fat today and tomorrow and "bank" them for the big day. For example: If you cut out 50g of carbs and 10g of fat today and tomorrow, that would technically create almost a 600 calorie buffer that you can use on Thanksgiving. Depending on your current macronutrient profile, 50g of carbs and 10g of fat may be too much of a cut, but you could lessen it to something like 25g of carbs and 5g of fat--That still leaves you an additional 300 calories banked for the day. 2.) Workout the day of If you currently are an active person, by all means, if you have time, get a little workout in during the morning. The extra carbs during your Thanksgiving meal will help replenish glycogen stores. If you're in the Chippewa Valley, hit up the Festival Foods Turkey Trot! Does your family play flag football before dinner? Join in and have some fun! Heck even if you're not that great at football, I'm sure you will be playing better than the Packers have been :-) 3.) Pay attention to meal timing the day of. If dinner is around 5 p.m. maybe eat 2-3 lighter meals leading up to dinner. Typically I like to stick with lean proteins and veggies or go very light on the carbs. Or if you really wanted to, you could try to intermittent fast leading up to the meal, however, I personally wouldn't recommend this unless you know you can handle it without feeling hypoglycemic and it won't result in a giant binge come dinner time. 4.) Make some trades or deals with yourself. This is one of my top go-to strategies for me personally. I like to look at all the food (and booze) that's laid out and barter with myself. Those dinner rolls? Nah. I'll pass on those for a slice of pumpkin pie. I can have dinner rolls any time of the year. Candy on the table? Pass. Again, I can have that anytime. I would rather take a little extra of Grandma's stuffing. Figure out what you would rather eat and what you could live without and make the trades. 5.) Watch the booze. I'm not saying don't drink the wine or booze, just be mindful of what kind and how much you're consuming. A 5 oz glass of red wine is about 120-130 calories which equals about 31g of carbs. Those calories can add up pretty fast! Also if you're anything like me, a few too many drinks go down and it's like it releases a bunch of magic hunger inside you and before you know it, you find yourself back in the kitchen 5 slices deep into the pumpkin pie! You're best bets for drinks are spirits with zero calorie add ins such as tonic water or diet sodas. Along with the alcohol, stay hydrated. It will help keep you feeling full. 6.) Realize Thanksgiving is only ONE day. This is a big one. Many people extend the Thanksgiving eating all the way to Christmas time. This is where all those unwanted pounds come from. Eat your big meal, enjoy it, then jump right back on your normal eating plan.

In conclusion, just remember that Thanksgiving is only one day. One day of eating some decadent foods probably isn't going to do that much damage. Just like dieting for only one day isn't going to magically make you drop a few pounds. Part of flexible dieting is being flexible. Learning how to incorporate holidays and delicious foods and stay right on track with your goals helps many of our clients sustain their weight loss for years and years. Enjoy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your friends and family that you don't get to see that often and don't be afraid to enjoy the food!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends!