Having A Balanced Turkey Day

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cclaborn22
cclaborn22 Posts: 85
in Food and Nutrition
Having A Balanced Holiday:


1. Avoid snacking on candy, chips and other munchies that are left out either around your house or someone else's. If you are going to be the host this year, leave out snacks that are healthy and include a veggie platter.

2.Eat a hearty breakfast. For those of us who are cooking, we get up early in the morning and go non-stop. Having a hearty breakfast of oats and egg whites will curb your appetite for later.

3. Drink lots of water. Be sure to have small bottles of water stashed in your fridge that you can just grab while you are working on that turkey day feast.

4. Avoid emotional eating. Our families bring out the best and sometimes the worst in us. We don't realize sometimes that we are trancing out stuffing our faces and filling up with food what we are missing from our families. Watch this one especially, only eat when you are hungry and avoid mindless eating.

5. Give away the leftovers. (except the turkey) offer to send away the cakes and candy as well as stuffing.

6. Make low fat varieties for those who wish to eat healthy. Set aside some of the mash potatoes without butter, and offer low fat versions of deserts like fruit cups. If you are going to someone's house bring a healthy desert or fun healthy treat.

7. Take it easy on the wine and alcohol. Most people are concerned about drinking due to the calorie content and try to pick low fat choices, the problem with alcohol is not so much the calories rather that it slows down the metabolism dramatically. This is especially problematic since we most likely will eat more than usual. Go for one glass of wine with your meal and leave it at that.

8. Relax and meditate. Often the holidays actually make us feel more stressed out than relaxed. Give yourself some time in the morning to relax and meditate or do some hypnosis to clear your mind. It will help you tremendously to avoid emotional and mindless eating.

Replies

  • MercedesV
    MercedesV Posts: 70 Member
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    this was so useful i'm printing it out! that's right... usefull enough to print out! That's pretty serious...
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    or simply put... plan ahead....
    its just another day where you plan a meal in advance.. .and dont stress over it..
  • cclaborn22
    cclaborn22 Posts: 85
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    GREAT topic and awesome advice!!!!!

    My big challenge is all the carbs-it's insane!!!!!!!! Potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, rolls, pies..........and also just having WAY TOO MUCH FOOD!

    I try to have at least one green vegetable and take a huge serving of that but even taht ends up being a broccoli casserole everyone likes that is a little bit laden with fat.

    In the end I just remind myself it is only 1 day and get back to healthy eating on Friday but your tips all make doing that easier :)

    Enjoy the holiday everyone :)!!!

    Haha there are always tons of carbs! That's why I take on the cooking job. I know what is going in my food that I'm cooking, and do not include any breads. I am making a sweet potato casserole, but am using oats for the topping instead of breaded bloatedness haha.
  • MyCoachNYLA
    MyCoachNYLA Posts: 158 Member
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    GREAT topic and awesome advice!!!!!

    My big challenge is all the carbs-it's insane!!!!!!!! Potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, rolls, pies..........and also just having WAY TOO MUCH FOOD!

    I try to have at least one green vegetable and take a huge serving of that but even taht ends up being a broccoli casserole everyone likes that is a little bit laden with fat.

    In the end I just remind myself it is only 1 day and get back to healthy eating on Friday but your tips all make doing that easier :)

    Enjoy the holiday everyone :)!!!

    Haha there are always tons of carbs! That's why I take on the cooking job. I know what is going in my food that I'm cooking, and do not include any breads. I am making a sweet potato casserole, but am using oats for the topping instead of breaded bloatedness haha.

    I totally do the same thing. I love it when I don't have to sell out to the food. Don't you love coming back from the holidays really into giving thanks and getting to know your family better and yourself for that matter all the while knowing that you did not abandon yourself or buy into the idea that there is "a life" in the food. Seems so depressing to me anymore to even think of being stuffed, depressed, tired and bloated. Who the heck wants that? LOL - I guess some, but that does not seem like much fun to me.

    Nyla
  • stubsy1968
    stubsy1968 Posts: 165 Member
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    Seems so depressing to me anymore to even think of being stuffed, depressed, tired and bloated. Who the heck wants that? LOL - I guess some, but that does not seem like much fun to me.

    Nyla

    I agree - that sounds totally uncomfortable. We don't have Thanksgiving in Australia but it sure sounds like a lof of fun.

    Enjoy the holiday my American friends :flowerforyou:

    Kathy
  • cclaborn22
    cclaborn22 Posts: 85
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    Seems so depressing to me anymore to even think of being stuffed, depressed, tired and bloated. Who the heck wants that? LOL - I guess some, but that does not seem like much fun to me.

    Nyla

    I agree - that sounds totally uncomfortable. We don't have Thanksgiving in Australia but it sure sounds like a lof of fun.

    Enjoy the holiday my American friends :flowerforyou:


    Kathy

    Thank you Kathy! It's a bittersweet day for a lot of people just because of the food. Really it's like anything, keep it in moderation or plan to eat as much as you're going to eat. I'm definitely going to enjoy a piece of pumpkin pie, because I'm making it and I can't let the hard work go without trying some :)

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