Worrying about what you eat on Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrating abundance and the harvest, just creates anxiety. It really doesn't matter what you eat, just eat less of it.
If you spend most of your time thinking about eating healthier or on a diet, this is a good opportunity to stop worrying about what you eat and think not so much about what you are eating, but eating less.
For many the winter holidays are just another excuse to indulge. Face your fears, have everything you want but spread it out over the holiday weekend. One of the worst things to do is deny yourself and end up feeling martyred (and in the refrigerator at mid-night.)
Try to put the focus of the dinner on the people celebrating with you instead of the food gracing the table. If you can take the focus off food, you will have a gone along way to the state of mind required for everyday healthy eating. Everyone’s favorites can be part of the celebration, just not the focus of the day.
Break up the food service. Don’t eat late and have everyone be starving when the food hits the table. A few extra calories on Thursday are going to make or break your diet but a complete binge might put you a funk through Christmas (not too mention making you very uncomfortable that evening.)
Remember there will be leftovers --keep back some of the dishes to jazz up the leftover table.
Make sure everyone has a water glass full pitcher on the table.
If it is possible, plate everyone’s food in the kitchen and use normal portions --not supersized. (Some advise using smaller plates but probably not for Thanksgiving.)
Remember there will be leftovers --keep back some of the dishes to jazz up the leftover table.
Make sure everyone has a water glass full pitcher on the table.
If it is possible, plate everyone’s food in the kitchen and use normal portions --not supersized. (Some advise using smaller plates but probably not for Thanksgiving.)
You could also try this SERVING DISHES: In studies, people ate as much as 56 percent more when they served themselves from a one-gallon bowl than they did from a half-gallon one. You can hedge your bets by choosing ceramic over glass: One study in the International Journal of Obesity found that women ate 71 percent more out of transparent containers than they did out of dishes they couldn't see through.
Next year remember to paint your dining room blue. Or paint your dining room blue WALLS: Make them blue -- the color is thought to be a natural appetite suppressant. In a study published in Contract magazine, gala attendees who dined in a blue room ate 33 percent less than those who ate in a yellow or red room. Blue lights make food look less appealing, while warmer colors, especially yellow, have the opposite effect. Fast-food restaurants have known and used this fact for decades, which is why almost all of them have yellowish interiors -- they want you to eat more.
Try to eat slowly. It takes your stomach a while to catch up with everything. Most people are full before they stop eating -they just don’t know it yet.
Eat breakfast, make it part of the celebration. People say breakfast is the most important meal of the day for good reason. Studies show that people who eat breakfast have a lower BMI (body mass index) and consume fewer total calories each day than people who skip breakfast altogether. A professor at the University of Texas found that eating earlier in the day leads to lower total intake throughout the day. A common explanation is that eating breakfast allows a person to feel less hungry throughout the day. Another is that those who skip breakfast allow for “extra calories” later in the day because they skipped a meal, but in reality end up overshooting their energy goal. Whatever the reason, eating breakfast IS part of a healthy lifestyle and an important factor in healthy weight maintenance. ACTION TIP: Many people simply don't "feel hungry" in the morning or don't like how breakfast makes them feel. Start small. You CAN retrain your body to feel hungry and enjoy breakfast. Soon, you'll wonder how you ever skipped breakfast in the first place! Start with these quick and healthy breakfast ideas.
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