Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving is a holiday to give thanks and enjoy a good meal with family. More than 46 million turkeys will be consumed tomorrow. What's even more shocking is the average American will consume ~3,000-3,500 calories this Thanksgiving and most of the calories will be from fat. Some websites estimate that people consume ~229 grams of fat from this one day alone (which means 58-68% of the calories consumed are from fat ALONE).

Thanksgiving doesn't have to be this bad for your waistline. Here are some suggestions to make your Thanksgiving day healthier.

• Don’t skip breakfast. When you skip a meal you arrive at the next meal famished and overeating is more likely to occur. Focus on having a low fat breakfast that is high in fiber or protein to fill you up until your big meal. Try oatmeal with nuts and fruit or a non-sugar filled cereal with skim or soy milk. 
• Go light on appetizers. Appetizers tend to be high in fat and calories. If fresh vegetables are available go for these as they will supply fiber without a lot of calories. If you are only offered cheese and crackers or a creamy dip then avoid the pre-meal munching as much as you can. 
• Lay low on alcohol as it adds calories and makes some people more hungry. If you are going to drink choose a light beer or glass of wine over eggnog or a baileys coffee.
• Don’t skip your exercise routine. Go for a walk or run in the morning or gather your family and friends for a group walk or game of football after the meal.
• Try filling ¾ of your plate with foods that are lower in calories such as salads, vegetables, turkey or ham and use the other ¼ of the plate for foods higher in calories such as mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing
• Unsure which pie to choose? Go for pumpkin over pecan and you can save 100-200 calories just from one slice.  

Now go enjoy some Turkey (or for my family ham) and Have a Great Thanksgiving!