Yesterday you read about the Holiday Survival Guide program that will be on "The Doctors TV" on Monday. Be sure you have your TV set to record it, as it looks like it will be a shocker when it comes to overeating on the holiday. In the meantime, if you want to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving Day with a little leeway in your eating plan, then consider the following tips that you can easily implement now.
1. Prepare for the Thanksgiving Day meal by adding an additional 5-10 minutes to your daily exercise routine, starting NOW.
2. If you are going to eat at a restaurant, go online to review the menu ahead of time. That way you won't feel rushed to look at it to find food that is healthier to eat. Be sure to ask if they have a fixed menu for that day. By choosing what you will eat ahead of time, keeping your goal in mind--to stick with your weight loss plan--you will minimize the temptation to make any changes when you are at the restaurant. (Remember how long it will take to work off the calories you consume at Thanksgiving Dinner!)
3. Drink a large glass of water or a cup of tea before you go and again at the restaurant before you even eat any food.
4. If the portions are large (read: enough for 2 servings), ask for a to-go box and put all but one serving into the box, getting it out of your view immediately. Be sure to eat slowly so that the fullness feeling kicks in on time at 20 min. If you don't feel satiated at 20 minutes, then perhaps you are eating too fast.
5. Thanksgiving Day wouldn't be complete without pumpkin or pecan pie. (Even your most diehard of dieters would probably agree with that statement!) Both are high in calories: pumpkin at 300+, and pecan at 500+. They have different types of fat, which, my guess is, I don't think most people think about on Thanksgiving. Since many of us probably think that having the pie is traditional, and what would the meal be without the pie, then why not eat just a couple of bites to get that "urge" out of your system? You get to taste that favorite taste and give your Thanksgiving Day meal a finale in the traditional way. If you order the pie at a restaurant, then pack up half of it to take home, and spread it out over 3 meals. (While my favorite is key lime pie, even I would bow to pumpkin on this holiday.)
6. When you get home, take a walk for at least 45 min. Do not take a nap. You will still feel pretty bad and sluggish if you do.
Follow these tips, and you will avoid that really awful feeling where you think you will burst every seam in everything you are wearing, not to mention being in pain, often with some other undesirable consequences...
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