Ms Bliss Fit

Thanksgiving does not have to be the start of your 10 pound holiday gain! Use these tips to keep your cool and to keep those numbers on the scale steady!

• If you are visiting someone else, offer to bring two dishes. These dishes can be healthy and tasty at the same time. You want to consider other people but also yourself when preparing these dishes. You can clean up any dish without sacrificing flavor. Bring a salad or green bean dish. When you eat, fill most of your plate with your healthy food.
• Exercise on Thanksgiving morning. Hit the weight room and do heavy cardio in the morning to get your metabolism burning those calories. You can also sign up to do a Thanksgiving race. Many cities have 5k races on Thanksgiving day. You don’t have to run, you can walk or jog/walk.
• Eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks as usual. Do not wait until dinner to eat. You will wreck your metabolism by doing this. You will also prevent yourself from overeating when you see all that delicious food in front of you. If you are going out-of-town, take your breakfast and snack foods with you (protein shake, oatmeal, protein bars, sandwiches etc…). Try not to eat fast food on the way. You are already going to indulge in a Thanksgiving meal. Why add more fat on top of that?
• Take a small bite of everything. This will keep you from feeling deprived. Just get a spoonful of casserole, pie, cake etc…you will have satisfied your need to try it. If you fill up on veggies and turkey you will be less likely to eat a lot of the other foods. (Beware of the salt and fat laden collard greens. Most people turn these healthy greens into a very fattening side…just get a little bit)
• Drink a whole lot of water before you eat. It will help fill you up.
• Do not take a “to-go” plate. If you don’t take it with you, you can’t eat it.
• Use this day as your cheat day. Eat SUPER clean for the rest of the week. This will soften the damage. Enjoy yourself. This is a day to be with family and friends. It is only one day out of the year BUT it is not an excuse to be a glutton. Don’t fall into the trap of holiday weight gain. It is all marketing strategy to get you to spend a whole bunch of money on food, gain weight, and then spend a bunch of money trying to lose it.

Here are some websites for healthy recipe ideas. If you are the cook, you have control. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Clean Eating Magazine

Eating Well

Kalyn’s Kitchen 

Paleo Diet Lifestyle

Cooking Light

Yummly