Thanksgiving survival guide

Ah, the joy of stuffing our faces among great company. Yes Thanksgiving is a few days away and for most of my clients this time scares them.

You see they have been on target with all their goals and they know that Thanksgiving is a day to EAT.

I will share some tips that I relate to them to make this day of thanks happy and not stressful.

1) The average person will consume 3,000 calories at the dinner. WOW! It takes 3,500 calories to gain a pound so this number is significant.

2) Do not skip breakfast or a small lunch before the feast. If you think that this will save you calories you are off track. It will make you more hungry later and you will then over eat. Plus no matter how much you starve yourself realize that ingesting 3,000 calories is way more then the body can handle at a sitting so it will be put away in the fat stores of your body. So by "saving" those calories you have done nothing but make you eat more. Eating before will make you less hungry and yes likely to over-indulge. I am sure this bursts a few bubbles of your Thanksgiving attack.

3) Sample everything. What I mean by that is take a small helping of "everything". By engaging your taste buds to a variety of foods and textures you are less likely to over indulge in 4 helpings of sweet potatoes. Plus you are more likely to eat more healthy choices.

4) Watch the bread it is the killer of many successful diet strategies. If you love bread choose a multi-grain variety and dip in olive oil or use a butter substitute. Any never touch your bread till you have eaten 2/3 of your meal. By the time you get to your bread your feeling of fullness should just be about starting to register.

5) Don't skip the desserts. But rather use the same strategy you used with your meal plate. Take a lot of different items just assure that they are small slices or portions. And use a napkin to hold them all (if possible). This forces you to manage those portions more effectively then a plate where you could layer the sweets on to.

6) If there is a fat-free option available jump at it: Example: fat-free ice cream to top that apple pie etc.

7) Eat your meal as some traditional Italian families do: Eat in small focused sittings. Like soup/salad first then leave the table and come back 1 hour later and eat the main course etc. The same applies to waiting 1 hour for the dessert. This strategy works so well that this one step alone could make your day must more pleasant and less stomach bulging.

I hope my tips help you out and actually allow you to enjoy a day of feasting without all the guilt.
And for all you hard-core exercisers out there I remind you of my TV workout. In the search window in the top left corner (of my BLOG) just type in tv workout and you will be taken to the article.

Enjoy and I wish all my followers a rewarding Thanksgiving Day.

All my best,

Eddie Camaroto