The holiday season is an opportunity for many people to spend time with friends and family, and to catch up on some rest. That’s not all it’s famous for, though. Thanksgiving is well known for it’s relatively unhealthy foods served in massive portions.
Weight control is regulated by 80% diet and 20% exercise, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to enjoy traditional holiday foods without giving up on being healthy. A great way to look at the holidays is the idea of “Maintain, don’t gain.” If a person can get through November and December without gaining excessive weight, they have a much better chance of staying healthy year-round.
One way to maintain health through the holidays is to make a few subtle modifications to traditional foods and habits. Here are a few examples:
Green-bean Casserole
Get more of the healthiest ingredient, and keep the traditional taste by adding extra green beans and less filler ingredients. Use low-sodium soup, and instead of using evaporated milk, use skim milk.
Mashed Potatoes
Replace mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower. Combine 2-3 heads of cauliflower with a few potatoes. This option is much healthier and won’t change the taste or consistency of the dish, especially with gravy.
Meat
A serving of protein should be no larger than the palm of your hand. Limiting portions is essential to keeping Thanksgiving from being a source of un-needed weight gain.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are an extremely healthy addition to Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, most sweet potato casseroles are loaded with marshmallows, brown and white sugar and loads of butter.
There’s an easy fix to this one: Pick one topping. Get a tasty treat that feels less like a dessert by choosing one sugary topping instead of all of them.
Non-alcoholic Beverages
Sodas are packed full of sugar. The average 20oz soda contains 15-18tsp of sugar. That is over double the CDC’s recommended daily intake. Now imagine drinking several of them.
Instead of soda, try unsweet tea or water. They provide a tasty and fulfilling substitute that greatly reduce the chance of health risks and unwanted weight-gain.
Alcoholic Beverages
Alcohol metabolizes into sugar, so drinking alcoholic beverages is essentially adding directly to sugar intake.
Limiting intake of alcohol is key to being healthy. Have a glass of water every other drink. This helps to cut caloric intake and keeps dehydration from becoming an issue.
Portions
Most meals are served with 2 sides. Thanksgiving, however, is usually served with 4 or more side dishes. Without thinking, plates are loaded with regular-sized portions of each side and plates are cleared. Ultimately, the meal becomes 20-100% larger than average meals.
This is another simple fix; replace regular portions with half-portions of each side. This allows for a full-portioned meal without excessive eating.
Practicing healthy habits is important to staying healthy. Maintain your health this Thanksgiving. Don’t gain unnecessary weight.
