Guest Post: Thanksgiving Dinner on a Diet

Thanksgiving Dinner on a Diet

by Aleksandre McMenamin

 

Disclosure: This is a guest post, I am not the author of the post.

Most people tend to gain weight during the holiday season, that’s just a simple fact of life. The cold weather makes people less inclined to exercise, while there are a vast assortment of delectable treats that aren’t exactly great for your cholesterol. On top of this, studies have shown that most people don’t lose any added weight once the holiday season is done. One particular holiday that is geared around a lot of amazing food that will expand your waistline is Thanksgiving. Indeed, dinner is often the main attraction of the holiday (outside of family spirit and giving thanks). It doesn’t have to be this way, though. Your Thanksgiving dinner can be fun, delicious, and even healthy! You don’t have to give up your diet to celebrate the holiday. Here’s some tips for eating Thanksgiving dinner, while on a diet...

Eat a small breakfast

Many people seem inclined to not eat anything all day until the giant meal that is Thanksgiving dinner comes along. However, this isn’t necessarily a healthy thing to do to your body. It’s much better to make sure that you eat something in the morning, even though it may seem counterintuitive. Eating a small, but healthy breakfast is a big part of getting your body the energy that it needs to function throughout the day. It’s particularly importing when it comes to getting your metabolism moving. Not only that, but having a nutritional breakfast will help you control your appetite later on in the day, when you would otherwise want to eat everything on a, likely, very large table. Being able to control your appetite means that you won’t consume as many calories, because you won’t feel an uncontrollable urge to bite off more than you can chew.

Enjoy family

The entire point of this holiday isn’t to stuff our faces with an unimaginable amount of food. It’s to remind us what we are thankful for in our lives, and to remind us how blessed we are to be surrounded by people who love and care about us. This is the spirit of Thanksgiving. Remembering this will take the emphasis off of the mountainous meal before us. Remember to talk and have meaningful conversations while you eat. Not only will this make for a better Thanksgiving, but you will savor your food over time, rather than rushing yourself to get seconds and thirds. The longer that you are enjoying the company of your loved ones, the longer the feast will last. Not only will everybody cherish these memories a lot more, but eating slower will make your metabolism work faster.

Eat smaller plates

There’s nothing wrong with having a couple servings of Thanksgiving dinner. After all, this meal only comes once every year. However, if you are going to do this, it’s much better to try and lower your overall calorie intake by eating smaller plates of food. Rather than trying to fill every inch of your plate with goodies, try thinking of the meal as several small courses. By doing this, you will probably find yourself eating a plate of salads and fruits before you reach some of the bigger, and more fattening, courses. Eating that food first will also help you gain a better control of your appetite. This also spreads out the amount of food you are consuming, which relieves your metabolism of having to process it all at once.

Eat lighter fare

Aside from tips you can use while you eat your Thanksgiving dinner, there are also plenty of ways that you can just have a much healthier meal overall, which makes it much easier to watch your calories while you celebrate. For example, opting to use low-fat oils while you are cooking, instead of butter, will greatly reduce the fat that is consumed at the table. There are also plenty of fat-free substitutions that can be used on almost every plate of a Thanksgiving dinner. When it comes to the turkey, stick to the white meat, as well. The dark meat on a turkey is usually a lot more fattening, and less nutritionally beneficial. Don’t forget to eat lots of produce, as well. Filling up on the greens around the table will be more fulfilling for your body, once the meal is all done. Fall is also a great time of year for fresh produce. 

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