Thanksgiving. While this word should evoke feelings of gratitude and happiness, it often strikes a sensitive cord with those who get anxious about all the opportunities for indulgence and overeating that present themselves to us throughout the holiday season.
Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, oh my! It may be called comfort food, but all too often Thanksgiving feasts leave us uncomfortably full.
Thanksgiving should be spent being grateful for the blessings in your life, not feeling sick from how much food you consumed. It should also not be spent battling thoughts of anxiety and worry over the impending and seemingly inevitable weight gain that so often accompanies the holidays. A Thanksgiving meal doesn’t HAVE to be an eat-everything-in-sight feast that will only leave you feeling full not only of apple pie and mashed potatoes, but full of regret and guilt too.
While many see Thanksgiving as an opportunity or an excuse to free themselves from their usual diet and healthy lifestyle for one day of all-out feasting, this kind of mentality often leads to feeling bad about ourselves. (Hence, New Year’s Resolutions and the reason why gym memberships spike in January.) Thanksgiving CAN be a guilt-free holiday, if you do a little pre-planning and go in with a healthy mindset. Here are a few tips for how to pig out without packing on the pounds:
Try everything, gorge on nothing. You can still enjoy every food at Thanksgiving by just sticking to reasonable portions. Stick to a palm-sized portion of turkey, go light on the gravy, a baseball size portion of potatoes or stuffing, and load up on vegetables.
Pick a pie, any pie. But just one. Or, use it as an excuse to bond with a family member and split a piece with your long-lost cousin so you each get half of two different desserts.
Pre-game (eating not drinking). If you starve yourself all day, you’re going to treat the meal the way an actually starving person would. You are way more likely to overeat and feel uncomfortably full. Eat a late-morning, protein-packed breakfast that will tide you over until turkey time so that by the time you get to the dinner table, you don’t feel like it is the first time you are ever seeing food, and thus feel the need to eat everything in sight.
Master the art of mindful eating. Eat calmly, slowly, and thoughtfully. Really take the time to savor and appreciate each bite. If you treat finishing everything on your plate like a race, you’re more likely to overeat and feel sick. Once you’ve finished your plate, wait a few minutes to digest before immediately getting back up for seconds and then reevaluate your hunger level. Chances are you’ll realize you have hit a comfortable level of fullness and won’t feel the need to eat more.
Family first, feast second. Focus on the company you’re with and truly enjoy them instead of placing all the emphasis on the food. After all, family is what the holidays are all about! The feast is just the icing on the cake (or the cranberry sauce on the turkey, if you will).
With these tips in mind, we can all enjoy a healthy and happy holiday and avoid entering into a food coma that would distract us from enjoying time with our loved ones, and maybe even force us to sit out Black Friday (God forbid).