Its that time of the year again, my favorite holiday – Thanksgiving! I will admit,I do like to indulge in some apple pie and stuffing but I try to be sensible about it. A lot of people treat Thanksgiving as a free for all by overindulging and allowing their diet to spiral out of control for 3 days. Then comes the post-Thanksgiving guilt when you notice the scale has gone up and things are feeling just a bit tighter.
Studies have found that most people tend to gain about 1 lb between Thanksgiving and Christmas, doesn’t sound too bad right? The only problem is most don’t lose it post- holiday which results in an accumulation of pounds over the years. I’m not trying to scare you, I am just going to provide you with some tips to avoid the trend and still enjoy the holidays. I know It’s hard when there is all of these temptations around you, however it is possible to stay on top of your fitness goals.
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Here are some tips:
- Eat Breakfast – Some people think it’s a good idea to skip breakfast in order to prepare their stomach for the big meal. By doing that, you are starving your body which will result in eating a lot more than you planned. If you’re the one who’s in charge of cooking, by eating a wholesome meal you will feel energized and ready to rock the kitchen. Having a good breakfast with protein and fiber such as an egg with whole wheat toast or oatmeal blended with some protein powder is a good option. It will offset your appetite and make you more discriminating about your food and drink choices.
- Make healthy sides – we all know the common side dishes are stuffing, mashed potato with loads of gravy and let’s not forget the cranberry sauce. By the time we try a bit of all these high calorie side dishes we often forget there is a even a turkey. Try something new this year by creating healthy sides such as baked sweet potato instead of mashed potato, spinach salad with avocado, sweet potato slices and some pecans, stuffed peppers with cous cous inside or cooked quinoa with garlic, pecans and raisins.
- Stay active – staying active is crucial during this time of the year especially when our calorie intake is much higher! This might be asking for too much but If you are committed enough it will work. Perform a long cardio session the day before the big meal in order to boost your overall calorie burn. On Thanksgiving morning, perform a high rep strength training workout to deplete the glycogen levels in your body before filling them up again with your high carb meal. The day after you should perform a high intensity interval workout to boost the metabolism and burn off any additional calories you might have taken in.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my clients and friends, I am grateful for having you all in my life! xo