Turkey Day Survival Guide and More Good Stuff! (not stuffing!)

Okay, tomorrow biggest eating day ever, right? The holiday most centered around eating is here, but it's all in the planning. You can make it a fun day, have all your favorite foods, and skip the regret and bloat!

It seems everywhere today there were tips on how not to go overboard. Here are mine:

I think the number one rule is this: THIS IS NOT THE ONE DAY WHERE YOU ARE "ALLOWING YOURSELF TO EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT CAUSE ITS A HOLIDAY AND YOU DESERVE IT AND EVERYONE ELSE IS!" (HAVE YOU NOTICED MANY OF THE "EVERYONE ELSES" ARE OVERWEIGHT AND UNHEALTHY?) What i am saying is yes, you can eat what you want today, but in MODERATION. I also think it is extremely important to know that if the next day comes and you want a slice of pecan pie, you can have it. DO NOT GO INTO IT THINKING YOU WILL EAT WHAT YOU WANT ON THANKSGIVING AND YOU WILL DEPRIVE YOURSELF THE NEXT DAY. That thinking will most certainly lead to overeating.

HERE IS A QUOTE FOR YOU BEFORE WE MOVE ON: "When i exercise, eat well and get enough rest, I thrive. Repeating those things every day is how i show myself love." Now that is something to think about.

So because you do care about yourself, here are some guidelines for tomorrow:

Eat normally before the party starts. Do not save all your calories for the big meal or you will binge for sure, you will be so hungry. Eat a great breakfast with protein, complex carbs...have a protein rich lunch and even a snack before the party. You will be amazed at your will power when you're not starving.

If you plan on drinking, between each drink have a full glass of water or sparkling water. It will keep you hydrated and slow you down. Again, if there are to die for cocktails, have one, but red wine the rest of the time and if you need to have bailey's then no pie...i would rather have the pie personally. ok maybe small slice of pie.

Desserts: Have ONE...if you need to try two, go ahead, but half slices of each, and truly savor each bite, then be done...a nice cup of herbal tea afterwards will fill and warm you up.

Get active: with all this snow, why not get on your snowpants and play with the kids a bit, or do some snow shoeing...fun and the fresh air will do you good!

Your main meal should have the largest portion of a healthy veg, then the turkey of course, then the starch the smallest...if multigrain or wheat breads are being offered have a slice with no butter. Eat slowly...Here is the main tip: DO NOT GO FOR SECONDS for at least 15 min if at all....i find that when i am getting up to go for seconds i know that i am really not HUNGRY anymore, but i just want to eat again cause it tastes good. Maybe we can all avoid that this year. I think that wil be my goal! One plate, done...

Cocktail Hour: Make yourself a plate of mostly the healthiest offerings..if you are going to be a guest, bring something healthy you can enjoy. If you are the hostess, you are lucky to be in charge of what will be served.

Try to focus on the people at the party and maybe learn something new about them and recent news or things you never asked about before..focus on friends and family, not the food. Maybe even think up a fun game to play after dinner (charades can burn LOTs of calories and is FUN!)

So, i was very well behaved today food wise. I stuck to a great healthy eating plan in anticipation of tomororw. I was busy all day cleaning, so that kept me active too. I hope i can follow my own advice, we'll see!!

YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY!

I try to anyway...Did you know there are two kinds of fat in our body (great news, right?) Brown and White? (so, i thought is it like food the brown stuff is the good fat, the white the bad?) Most of your fat stores is the white fat, which serves mainly as stored energy. brown fat makes up only 1% or so of your fat. The book i am getting this info from, called The No-Nonsense Guide to Diet, Exercise and Disease Prevention, says that if your body overheats (like in exercise, like if you overdress for exercise, you decrease your brown fat activity thus lessening the buring of the white fat. It goes on to say that brown fat is stimulated by cold, and that by cooling your brown fat areas (underarms, around the shoulder, at the nape of the neck, between the ribs,you will stimulat more white fat burnig...the book suggests ending each hot shower with aminute of cool water...does this mean after a winter zumba class when we head outside into the frigid air, we are burning more white fat?? I hope so!!

Next post, an awesome granola recipe made with egg whites as the binding agent, not oil!! Talk about protein! Happy Thanksgiving...