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Don't let Thanksgiving derail your weight loss efforts
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AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski
When it comes to maintaining your weight loss goals through the Thanksgiving holidays, a holiday where food is the centerpiece, having a plan and knowing what you're putting in your mouth is paramount to your success.
Did you know that the typical Thanksgiving meal checks in at more than 3500 calories? Most people don't know. In all honesty, most people don't care.
Here is the rundown of a traditional turkey dinner:
| Dish | Calories |
| Roasted Turkey - 6 Ounces Dark + White Meat, Untrimmed | 450 calories |
| 1 Cup of homemade stuffing | 400 calories |
| 1 Cup of Giblet Gravy | 300 calories |
| 1 Cup of Mashed Potatoes | 350 calories |
| Stuffed Celery - 1 stick | 100 calories |
| 2 Sweet Pickles, 10 Black/Green Olives | 125 calories |
| 1 Cup of Candied Sweet Potatoes | 400 calories |
| 1/2 Cup of Cranberry Sauce | 200 calories |
| 2 Rolls With Butter | 300 calories |
| 1 Cup of English Peas with Butter | 150 calories |
| 2 Glasses Sweetened Tea, Wine, Punch or Cider | 300 calories |
| 1 Slice of Pecan Pie | 650 calories |
| Grand total | 3750 Calories |
Most people do not have a lot of control over what is served for Thanksgiving dinner which makes maintaining control increasingly difficult. There is a way, however, to control your calorie intake and it involves portion control.
Most normal people don't travel with measuring cups or scales and you probably don't want to break them out even if you had them during Thanksgiving. No worries, though. You can just use the hand method. Here is how it works:
1 Cup measurement
Best for: beverages, cereal, casseroles, soups, fruits, and salads.
Just make a fist and, generally speaking, it should be roughly the size of one cup. As you can see from the list of foods above, most of the portions are measured in cups. Instead of a cup, go for a half a cup which would be half the size of your fist. By doing so, you would immediately cut 800 calories.
1/2 Cup measurement
Best for: pasta, rice, beans, potatoes, cooked vegetables, pudding, and ice cream
Make a cup with your hand and you will have roughly a 1/2 cup measurement. Make sure you are only cupping one hand though and not using both hands to make a bowl!
3 Ounces measurement
Best for: beef, pork, poultry, and fish
This one is for your meats. The recommended serving size for meat is 3 ounces. Lay your hand out flat and use your palm for the measurement (thickness and surface size). This will give you a measurement of about 3 ounces.
1 tablespoon measurement
Best for: salad dressings, peanut butter, sour cream, and cream cheese
The tablespoon measurement gets a lot of people in trouble. It is very difficult to visualize a tablespoon without an aid and a good rule of "thumb" is that any food that has a serving size of a tablespoon is usually calorie dense. No problem, though! Just use your thumb as a guide. Your thumb is roughly the same size as 1 tablespoon.
1 teaspoon measurement
Best for: butter, margarine, mayonnaise, and oil
As with the tablespoon, this is another serving size that is difficult to visually measure. Again, use your thumb but this time only use the tip of your thumb as the measurement. That will give you approximately 1 teaspoon.
There you have it! There is no need for measuring cups and scales as long as you have your hands. Using these basic techniques, you can maintain control of your portion sizes and make sure you don't blow your weight loss efforts during the Thanksgiving holidays.
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