The holidays are here! Did you know the average person gains 7-10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Needless to say, the extra pounds will not make reaching your goals easier or set you up for an easy New Year resolution.So how can you start and enjoy Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday season and stay on track? Well here are our 10 tips to help you enjoy a day filled with food but not run off the tracks this Thanksgiving.Keep in mind it is a Holi-Day. This day comes once a year. A day where foods are made that typically are only served on that day. So enjoy the food! Do not go running away from dinner or not have a piece of your grandma’s apple pie when she only makes it once a year. The following tips help you keep this balanced though!Don’t starve all day. If you starve all day you may just over indulge at dinner, or even before with the appetizers. This may leave you overly stuffed so that you can not enjoy your favorite dessert, time with your family because you are in a food coma, and you have gone completely overboard on calories.Use a small plate. This will help you portion control and have a reasonable amount to start! Then you can decide what you want seconds of, and eat a more reasonable amount of all the foods. Remember you can always take seconds!The first thing on that small plate of your’s should be a roasted protein. This will help most likely be one of the lower calories and filling food choices.. This will help cut any initial hungry and help you choose your second serving wisely. Plus your body burns the most calories digesting protein! #winning!The second should be veggies! You need to be careful though, some veggies are still loaded and covered in high calorie additions such as green bean casserole or veggies covered in cream sauce or cheese. Instead focus on roasted or baked veggies to add lower calorie, high fiber and filling volume. Items such as roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, caramelized carrots or sauteed green beans with roasted almonds are just a few good options!Put your fork down! No I am not telling you to stop eating. What I am saying is to put the fork every once in awhile, take longer to chew and assess how full you are before you go for another bite or second serving.Ask yourself, are you hungry, or is there another course you want to try afterwards? If you know you are going to want to dessert don’t go for a second or third plate of those higher calorie side dishes such as stuffing, buttery whipped mashed potatoes or sweet potato souffle.Try to workout beforehand. Get moving, don’t just sit down watching tv all day, make sure your body has a reason to put at least some of those thanksgiving dinner calories to good use!Add an active tradition. Try to get everyone to play some family football or go for a walk after dinner. This again will help some of those calories be used and will be good for anyone with high blood sugar. At the very least go run around with some of the kids!Enjoy the food you want for the day and try to stop there. Maybe a few leftovers for the next day but really that’s it! As mentioned earlier it is a holiday not a weekend or week. Those 7-10 pounds of holiday weight are gained by consistently going overboard with leftovers, followed by holiday parties, drinks out with co-workers and more. Instead save your indulgences for the actual holiday!Enjoy the fresh food, make some good choices, but enjoy yourself! The name of the game is balance!If you have any questions, please email our team at coach@shredz.com. Wed love to hear from you!
The holidays are here! Did you know the average person gains 7-10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Needless to say, the extra pounds will not make reaching your goals easier or set you up for an easy New Year resolution.
So how can you start and enjoy Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday season and stay on track? Well here are our 10 tips to help you enjoy a day filled with food but not run off the tracks this Thanksgiving.
- Keep in mind it is a Holi-Day. This day comes once a year. A day where foods are made that typically are only served on that day. So enjoy the food! Do not go running away from dinner or not have a piece of your grandma’s apple pie when she only makes it once a year. The following tips help you keep this balanced though!
- Don’t starve all day. If you starve all day you may just over indulge at dinner, or even before with the appetizers. This may leave you overly stuffed so that you can not enjoy your favorite dessert, time with your family because you are in a food coma, and you have gone completely overboard on calories.
- Use a small plate. This will help you portion control and have a reasonable amount to start! Then you can decide what you want seconds of, and eat a more reasonable amount of all the foods. Remember you can always take seconds!
- The first thing on that small plate of your’s should be a roasted protein. This will help most likely be one of the lower calories and filling food choices.. This will help cut any initial hungry and help you choose your second serving wisely. Plus your body burns the most calories digesting protein! #winning!
- The second should be veggies! You need to be careful though, some veggies are still loaded and covered in high calorie additions such as green bean casserole or veggies covered in cream sauce or cheese. Instead focus on roasted or baked veggies to add lower calorie, high fiber and filling volume. Items such as roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, caramelized carrots or sauteed green beans with roasted almonds are just a few good options!
- Put your fork down! No I am not telling you to stop eating. What I am saying is to put the fork every once in awhile, take longer to chew and assess how full you are before you go for another bite or second serving.
- Ask yourself, are you hungry, or is there another course you want to try afterwards? If you know you are going to want to dessert don’t go for a second or third plate of those higher calorie side dishes such as stuffing, buttery whipped mashed potatoes or sweet potato souffle.
- Try to workout beforehand. Get moving, don’t just sit down watching tv all day, make sure your body has a reason to put at least some of those thanksgiving dinner calories to good use!
- Add an active tradition. Try to get everyone to play some family football or go for a walk after dinner. This again will help some of those calories be used and will be good for anyone with high blood sugar. At the very least go run around with some of the kids!
- Enjoy the food you want for the day and try to stop there. Maybe a few leftovers for the next day but really that’s it! As mentioned earlier it is a holiday not a weekend or week. Those 7-10 pounds of holiday weight are gained by consistently going overboard with leftovers, followed by holiday parties, drinks out with co-workers and more. Instead save your indulgences for the actual holiday!
Enjoy the fresh food, make some good choices, but enjoy yourself! The name of the game is balance!
If you have any questions, please email our team at coach@shredz.com. Wed love to hear from you!
