Interested in staying healthy this Thanksgiving? While many people will try to fit in a little bit of exercise during the holiday season, you may want to consider ways to cut down on your calorie consumption. Eating healthy during this period can be very difficult. Along with having a lot of excellent foods to choose from, the risk of stress eating or overeating increases as well.
Thankfully, you have some options to help avoid those extra Thanksgiving calories even when confronted with a strong desire to eat more. Below we look at how drinking water, identifying and passing up empty calories, as well as managing portion control can help you get through Thanksgiving without developing holiday love handles.
1. Drink Plenty of Water
We begin with the one thing people most frequently fail to do, drink water. A lot of traditional Thanksgiving staples have higher than average sodium content. This will dehydrate you, making it harder for your body to process what you are eating correctly. Along with aiding your metabolism, water is beneficial for making you feel fuller. Drinking water before you eat will result in you feeling full, quicker then usually. While you may temporarily retain some extra water weight, you’ll find that it’s easier to lose than fat. Roughly you should be drinking around 8 cups of 8oz water each day, but for a more accurate estimation I recommend reading here.
2. Identify Empty Calories
Empty calories are what doom many who try to take their diet through the Thanksgiving holiday season. In the typical Thanksgiving meal, there are a number of dishes that provide you with tasty empty calories. If you can, eliminate things like rolls, bread, macaroni and cheese, and any/all liquid calories (sodas, alcohol) from what you eat and drink. While these empty calories may provide some short term comfort, they are actually quite bad for your weight. You will feel less full after eating / drinking them, and the increase in calories will contribute to an overall gain in weight. Instead of consuming empty calories, try eating food that is high in protein, as an increase in protein consumption has been linked in studies to a decrease in appetite. Alternatively, fat burners have ingredients which can help with appetite control and hunger.
3. Portion Control
If nothing else, be aware of portion control. Begin by getting an estimation of how many calories you need for a given day. Understand that overeating on thanksgiving is typical, and that you will have a lot more food to select from than you need. There will also be things like desserts to choose from, so try to pace yourself when food is on display. You should overeat on the turkey if you know dessert is coming. The trick is to limit how much of everything you try. Identify and try to fill up on those items that have less calories. Ultimately, controlling your Thanksgiving portions and planning ahead so you are not left regretting your food limit or instead overeating.