Tips To Stay Lean During Thanksgiving

Have a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving? You love the spirit of it, having family over for a big get together, and probably even love pumpkin pie… but don’t so much love what it does to your body.
 
You aren’t alone. You’re working hard in the gym day in and day out and the last thing you need is an overindulgent meal to derail that progress.
 
If you’re serious about sticking to your guns and keeping it healthy this Thanksgiving, there are things that can be done.
 
You just got to take steps to help keep your food intake in check all while enjoying the holiday and not offending others. Yep, it really is possible!
 
Here are 7 top tips for keeping your diet in check this Thanksgiving:



1 – Plan ahead
First and foremost, it’s important that you plan. Chances are, even if you do try and eat as healthy as you possibly can, you’ll still eat a few more calories than you normally would.
 
That’s no problem. Remember that it’s your total daily calorie intake at the end of the day that matters.
 
To compensate for the upcoming overindulgence, you should cut back a bit on the meals leading up to your Thanksgiving dinner, building yourself some wiggle room into the picture.
 
Even if you just slash 100 calories from each meal prior, if you eat 6 meals a day, this is an additional 500 calories you can afford to eat. That’s huge.
 
2- Host the meal
If you’re really into cooking, you could offer to host the meal instead. This way, you have complete control over what goes into the food, how it’s made, and so forth.
 
Keep in mind not everyone may share your determination to stay fit and healthy, so have a mix of dishes for them and for you.
 
This gives you far more control and can help to ease any anxiety you’re experiencing about the big feast.
 
3 – Don’t show up hungry
Whatever you do, don’t show up hungry. This is the golden rule of any large holiday meal or event you have to go to. When you’re hungry, your willpower to make smart decisions pretty much shoots out the window.
 
So ask yourself, do you really wanna go down that path? Do you really wanna feel as if you have no control?
 
There’s nothing that’ll tempt you more than being around mouth-watering food and feeling so hungry you’d happily guzzle a whole plate of cheese.
 
Make no mistake you will cave if that’s the scenario you put yourself in. Have a light meal – chicken and some steamed broccoli for instance, before heading there.
 
Think lean and green for this meal. Fiber and protein will help tame your hunger, putting you in the driver’s seat of your decision making.

4 – Eat slowly
Another note that you’ll want to remember is to eat slowly. The slower you eat, the greater the chances are that you’ll stop eating when you should.
 
One big mistake too many people make at their Thanksgiving dinner is just shovelling food in full speed ahead. It’s like they think there won’t be enough left over to have more if they want it. But there are always leftovers. No need to rush it.
 
Put your fork down between bites. Socialize a bit. It’s a great way to help your body better register how much food you’ve eaten and whether you really need to eat more.
 
If you can obey your body’s commands, you’re all set. If you’re too busy shovelling food in, you’ll eat far more before your body tells you it’s full, leaving you feeling overstuffed – and likely in regret mode.
 
And on this note, try to wait at least 10 minutes before going in for seconds if you can. This will further drive this point home.