In just over 2 days, the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving will be here and it’s time to celebrate.
If you are like most Americans you enjoy the holidays because it means time off from work, spending time with your family, and getting some time to reflect on what you are thankful for in your life.
However, if you are also like a lot of Americans Thanksgiving can be a time where you are nervous about gaining weight, you are nervous about undoing all of the hard work you have put in working on your health over the past few months.
If this sounds like you check out my blog I wrote last week HERE on why you should not have so much anxiety over the holiday season.
Today I want to share with you my 3 biggest tips you can use this Thanksgiving to help you enjoy yourself, but not overindulge and lead you onto a bad path.
Eat Slowly
If you have read a few of my nutrition blogs in the past you probably have heard me talk about eating slowly. I might even sound like a broken record talking about it all the time, but it is that important.
You’re probably wondering how you even got to feel like that. Chances are you ate way to fast!
You sat down, saw all that delicious food in front of you, loaded up your plate and chowed down without even taking a breath (I know because I am guilty of it too).
This year instead of leaving certain foods off your plate and not enjoying yourself all I want you to do is eat slowly. Still, add all the food that you love on your plate (just in smaller portions) eat it slowly and return for seconds if you feel like you need more. You will be able to recognize your body’s fullness signals easier and will avoid that after dinner slump.
Thanksgiving time often means a whole lot of booze along with the food. Having some alcoholic drinks to celebrate is not a problem at all, I know I am going to be enjoying a few delicious beers this Thursday.
It can cause an issue when all you drink on Thanksgiving is alcohol, which will lead to increased caloric intake and increased hunger.
Do Not Deprive Yourself
I see it time and time again people will get so caught up in not allowing themselves any “bad” food on Thanksgiving that it leads them to overindulge daily for the weeks following.
You may feel like you missed out on the holiday or can “allow” yourself a treat each day because you were good during Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Coach Pat
