Ah, Thanksgiving. The food holiday.
But we are, after all, Smart ” Health ” Today. Which makes writing about Thanksgiving kind of challenging.
Why let that stop us? Here are 10 tips to a healthy (kind of) Thanksgiving.
- Get moving. Take a walk in the morning. That way you have exercised. When someone suggests you’ve had enough sweet potatoes, you can say, “Yea, well, I walked 3 miles this morning and burned 1,000 calories, so I can have some more.” It might be an exaggeration, but who’s going to call you out in front of everyone?
- Control your eating during the day. First, find out what time dinner is ““ and then work backward from that. I know people who say the starve-and-carve method doesn’t work (not eating all day so you can gorge later). To them I say, “Bah, Humbug.” Oh wait, wrong holiday.
- Distract yourself. Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Then watch a lot of football. This keeps you out of the kitchen and prevents you from sampling as the cooking is going on. This applies to anyone not preparing the meal.
- Eat lunch? Uh, no thank you. Pass.
- Establish a pre-meal game plan. You have to ask yourself how much you like turkey, gravy, stuffing, etc. ” Because if that’s your thing, you have to stay away from appetizers and hors d’oeuvres that can fill you up before the main event. Now, if you don’t care about the traditional food and the appetizers are awesome, go for it.
- Do dessert prep. Same approach applies to pies. If you are a huge dessert person, pass on the second helping of mashed potatoes and save room for the sweet stuff that’s coming after the table is cleared. Just be polite and make sure everyone gets a fair chance for a piece of pie or cake before you grab seconds, especially if you are a guest.
- Help clean up. Carrying dishes and leftovers to the kitchen can be construed as exercise, Thanksgiving style. Take several trips. Burn calories. If you walk in the morning and then help clean up, this can be considered two rounds of working out in one day. Woo-hoo. Nice job.
- Catch up with your family. All that talking with Aunt Linda means moving your jaw ” a lot ““ and burning calories. Look at all the exercise you’re getting today.
- Embrace your second wind. With all that exercise, you may work up an appetite for a snack. People always say not to eat after 10 p.m. So starting plotting your strategy around 9:30 (another piece of pie or heat up some turkey for a sandwich?). You should have it all prepared by 9:45 p.m. so you have 15 minutes to eat before that magical 10 p.m. chime. Don’t forget to clean up. If you walk around the kitchen repeatedly, you could be getting ““ you guessed it ““ more exercise!
- Keep the food far away. After you’ve settled into your 10 p.m. food coma, you won’t want to get off the couch, walk all the way through the house and get a plate out of the cabinet. Park yourself in the basement or upstairs in your room ““ even your favorite food is no match for a comfortable seat.
Most of all, don’t let the food stress you out, enjoy the time to relax with family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!