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9. Do something healthy afterwards! And no – taking a nap and watching football doesn’t count as healthy (finger pointed directly at myself!). Go for a walk, play a game, help with clean-up; anything to stay up and active and burn off a small number of those calories you never should have touched. This will also help you to not feel so sluggish later on.
By Jared Beckstrand
THANKSGIVING IS THIS WEEK ON THURSDAY!!
Hey everyone! Are you as excited as I am for Thanksgiving this week?? This is probably one of my favorite holidays – we always get together with family/loved ones, eat, express gratitude, eat, watch football, and eat!! Did I mention there’s usually food involved? In the past Thanksgiving has been notorious for blowing up my good eating habits. This year, however, I’m determined to make things different! I am stronger than you, succulent Thanksgiving turkey and delicious creamy mashed potatoes, and here’s how this is going to go down this year! Today I’m sharing 10 ways that you can enjoy a healthier Thanksgiving. Don’t let one day ruin weeks of exercising and eating right! Take back your Turkey Day and let’s stay on track together!
1. Wake up and do something healthy!! We’ll be kicking things off in style this year with a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl! There’s been a lot of smack talk in the last couple of weeks, but a family football game is going to be a perfect way to start the day healthy and active! I’m almost 100% sure there are also plenty of “Turkey Trots” … 5K-10K races… in your area that you can take part in. At the very least, you can burn through a quick at-home workout on Thursday morning… here are a few of my favorites!
2. Eat a good breakfast. You should be eating a good breakfast, anyway, but especially on Thanksgiving! Eating a good breakfast is going to put some sustenance in your stomach and get the digestive system fired up. You’ll be less-likely to over-indulge if you’re not completely starving going into the turkey meal. Need some breakfast ideas? Here are 10 quick and delicious breakfast recipes to help you start the day off right!
3. Bring a healthy side dish. If your family is anything like mine, you’re probably in charge of bringing some sort of food item to the feast. Here is your one, guaranteed, true way that you can ensure there will be something healthy for you to eat. Might I suggest some Roasted Parmesan Asparagus, Veggie tray with Greek Yogurt Onion Dip, some Oven Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower, or Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini!!
3. Bring a healthy side dish. If your family is anything like mine, you’re probably in charge of bringing some sort of food item to the feast. Here is your one, guaranteed, true way that you can ensure there will be something healthy for you to eat. Might I suggest some Roasted Parmesan Asparagus, Veggie tray with Greek Yogurt Onion Dip, some Oven Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower, or Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini!!
4. Look for healthier options when preparing the meal. Replace butter with margarine. Greek yogurt can replace sour cream in most recipes. Egg whites instead of eggs. Even skim milk instead of 2% makes a huge difference. When you’re shopping this week, look for low-fat, low-cal, sugar-free options that you can substitute in your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. Cumulatively these small efforts add up in a big way!
5. Drink a glass of water before the meal and keep drinking water throughout. It’s been proven that if you drink a big glass of water before meal time you will consistently eat less food during the meal. This is such a simple way to start the meal, take up some room in your gut, and avoid over-eating. Here are 10 great reasons why you need to be drinking more water.
6. As much as it pains me to say it – portion control. If you’re anything like me, Thanksgiving is always an excuse to blow things completely out of proportion. One great tip to ensuring that you keep Thanksgiving eating under control is to focus on portion control. Make sure that half of your plate is fruits and vegetables with the other half consisting of carbs and protein. This year I am planning on doing my best to get away from my usual half a plate of turkey and half a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy and spending a little more time on the salads and veggies.
7. Eat slowly. There’s a proven difference between what happens physiologically between eating slowly and eating quickly. Eating slowly allows your stomach time to expand, thus activating stretch receptors and triggering satiety neuropathways (English = eating slower makes you feel fuller faster, with less food). Shoveling it in actually enables you to eat more food until your stomach reaches the satiated phase. This usually is accompanied by the nauseous, bloated feeling that all too many of us are familiar with!
6. As much as it pains me to say it – portion control. If you’re anything like me, Thanksgiving is always an excuse to blow things completely out of proportion. One great tip to ensuring that you keep Thanksgiving eating under control is to focus on portion control. Make sure that half of your plate is fruits and vegetables with the other half consisting of carbs and protein. This year I am planning on doing my best to get away from my usual half a plate of turkey and half a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy and spending a little more time on the salads and veggies.
7. Eat slowly. There’s a proven difference between what happens physiologically between eating slowly and eating quickly. Eating slowly allows your stomach time to expand, thus activating stretch receptors and triggering satiety neuropathways (English = eating slower makes you feel fuller faster, with less food). Shoveling it in actually enables you to eat more food until your stomach reaches the satiated phase. This usually is accompanied by the nauseous, bloated feeling that all too many of us are familiar with!
8. As much as it pains me to say it number two – quantity control. Not only is it important to keep your portions in check, but quantities as well. To be completely and brutally honest, rarely do people ever really need more than one plate of food. As a general and completely obvious point that is often-overlooked… STOP eating when you’re full. It’s really so easy to get caught up in fun conversation, good company, and “bored eating” (eating because there’s nothing else to do). Try to pay attention to your stomach – when your body tells you it’s had enough – LISTEN TO IT! If you do find yourself still looking for more after plate number one, go back for more salad or more fruit. As a general rule, you can have as many of those things as you can handle.
9. Do something healthy afterwards! And no – taking a nap and watching football doesn’t count as healthy (finger pointed directly at myself!). Go for a walk, play a game, help with clean-up; anything to stay up and active and burn off a small number of those calories you never should have touched. This will also help you to not feel so sluggish later on.
10. Plan on a day-after-Thanksgiving workout. There’s no better way to avoid the sluggish lethargy that comes after turkey day than with an in-your-face, total-body, calorie-melting workout. Don’t know where to find one of those? You better believe I’ve got one dialed up for you! Join me on Friday for Tone and Tighten’s total-body at-home calorie meltdown! We’ll shred together… or die trying… 🙂
There ya go! Follow these 10 tips to a healthier and happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy a wonderful and blessed day surrounded by family, friends, and those you love!
There ya go! Follow these 10 tips to a healthier and happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy a wonderful and blessed day surrounded by family, friends, and those you love!
What’s your favorite tip for staying healthy during the holidays? Share it in a comment below!
Make it happen,
Jared
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By Jared Beckstrand
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Have a great day!
Jared