It’s that time of year again. The holiday that is pretty much defined by the delicious food cooked in your kitchen (obviously I know the real reason behind Thanksgiving but let’s be realistic we are all thinking about pie) Now some of you might be dreading this day of turkey and carbs but Katie and Miguel to the rescue! Because we aren’t horrible slave drivers who stand over you cracking a whip and demanding you power eat lettuce, we are here to provide you with the best way to still enjoy your turkey day without the gobble guilt or extra pounds. There are tons of easy options to make your day still enjoyable without feeling like it will take you a week to recuperate.

1. Burn some calories! Create a calorie deficit before you even hit the buffet by doing some exercise. Do anything that will get your heart rate up for around 30-45 minutes. Take a jog, or a long, brisk walk. Make it a family affair and head to the park or water front and cruise around. Grab a green tea to keep warm (and burn extra calories while you are at it) Or do a quick workout before your morning shower. Choose around 5 high intensity workout moves (examples: jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jumping squats etc) and do 40 seconds of the move then rest for 20 before moving on. Do this until your half an hour is up and I guarantee you will be sweating. And it will burn around 300 calories!
2. Eat more throughout the day! Have a big healthy breakfast and lunch. If your body is well nourished throughout the day you’re less likely to be starved and binge on everything during dinner. You’ll have better self-control if you aren’t rabid for nutrients.
3.Substitute. Try using greek yogurt instead of sour cream for certain dishes. Substitute it in mashed potatoes (instead of tons of butter to make them fluffy) Use it in casseroles or dips to reduce fat (around 45g fat and 445 calories in 1 cup of sour cream to 14g of fat and 220 calories in 2% greek yogurt!) It has the same texture and tanginess as sour cream so most people can’t tell the difference. Also you are getting almost double the protein!
4. Speaking of protein. Fill up on that first! Make sure you watch your portion sizes. Most thanksgivings dinners have tons of sides. Do your best to have a large portion of the protein of the meal (chicken, turkey, ham etc. Whatever you choose but make sure to skip the skin which is high in bad fats) Focus on having tons of veggies (try for ones that aren’t slathered in butter) and try to limit your simple carbs like buns or pasta made with white flour. If you fill up on the healthier options you are less likely to have too much of the less healthy things, but are still able to let yourself indulge. If you are like me and love condiments and sauces, switch things out. I LOVE cottage cheese on my potages and veggies instead of butter.
5. Grab a smaller plate! A lot of eating secrets are physiological. We tend to automatically want to fill and then finish our plates. By choosing a smaller sized plate and filling it, your brain sees that as a lot of food and you will more likely to realize that you are full instead of powering through to finish those last few bites.
6. Eat slowly! Let yourself ENJOY the food you are eating. It takes your brain longer to realize you are full than your stomach. That’s why you get that bloated, filled to bursting feeling after going to town on a huge meal. If you take the time to eat slower and really enjoy each bite, it gives your tummy more time to send the single to your brain that enough is enough, lessening your chances of overeating and feeling sick.
7. Watch out for liquid calories. Avoid high calorie drinks like lattes, alcohol and juices which are high in sugar and carbs. There are 117 calories in 1 ounce of Baileys. So skip that hot toddy and save yourself hundreds of calories. Or try to stick to just 1 glass of wine.
8.Have your dessert and eat it too! Just try to aim for a smaller portion. And skip the whip! There are about 217 calories in half a cup of sweetened whip cream.

Most importantly, ENJOY! I cannot stress this enough. We always encourage the occasional cheat meal, so let yourself indulge! Cheat meals help with cravings and overall well-being. If you deprive yourself you are going to feel that way. Deprived. This doesn’t mean binge every day, but treat yourself for being dedicated and following your meal plan the other six and a half days a week. You guys work hard! Allow yourself some of that stuffing, a bit of that dessert and don’t beat yourself up about it. We will make sure you sweat everything out next week. Promise 😉

Share in the comments below any other tips you may have for us  🙂

Katie