Table of Contents
1. Control Your Portion Size
It can be a nightmare trying to keep track of what you have eaten on Thanksgiving. When you’re given an empty plate and told to help yourself to trays and trays of food, the temptation is there to just give in and load it high! Try to be sensible though and you will stick to your diet plan. Fill your plate with a sensible portion all in one go, rather than eating in bits and pieces from the bowls or platters. This way, you can monitor what you are eating accurately and make sure you don’t overdo it. If you are looking around the table with envy, you can make your plate look loaded by adding more vegetables and less carbs or meat. But just be careful the vegetables are not covered in butter!
READ Ten Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dishes
2. Go Easy on the Alcohol
I know, I know this is an unpopular suggestion but there are so many empty calories in alcohol. A pint of standard strength beer has nearly the same number of calories as six chicken nuggets! And it will take you 15 minutes of cycling to burn off just one pint. So all that booze will soon add up - even if you only have a few glasses.
Try to stick to one or two glasses of wine or beer and in between get some healthy, but still good tasting alternatives. Fizzy flavored water is a great option for people who are dieting, as they are sugar free and have almost zero calories while still being very festive. While it won’t get you drunk, it will taste better than plain water or squash and trick your brain into thinking you’re still drinking alcohol even when you’re not.
If you really can’t avoid having a drink, then look at some low calorie and low sugar alternatives.
READ Diabetic Recipes for Thanksgiving Dinner
Surprisingly, a glass of prosecco is better for you than a glass of wine – although it still has quite a lot of sugar.
A small glass of red wine only has 75 calories and if you’re a fan of cocktails just ask for a mojito with no sugar syrup, replace it with a sprinkle of brown sugar instead. Gin and tonic or Bacardi and (diet) coke are also great options if you want to drink but still watch your waistline.
3. Eat Slowly
It really isn’t a myth, if you eat more slowly you feel full quicker. Give your stomach time to react to the food hitting it and pay attention to how (and how fast) you eat. If you find your Thanksgiving plate is clean before the rest of the table and you still feel like you could eat more, this is a classic sign you’re eating too fast. It will be hard, but force yourself to physically put down your knife and fork every three or four bites.
Eating slowly means your stomach has time to register the meal hitting it and you will feel full quicker so you won’t overeat.
And besides, with lots of catching up to do with your friends and family there should be plenty of distractions to slow your eating down!
READ 12 Steps To Recession-Proof Your Thanksgiving
4. Spend Time with Family and Friends
Instead of sitting around watching the TV with a huge bowl of snacks balanced on the coffee table, break up your Thanksgiving with some games and activities. Not only will the activities distract you from feeling peckish, the quality family time is much better than watching the same old movies on TV again.
Break out the Monopoly, charades or card games to keep everyone entertained and your cravings for sweet treats at bay! If you're disciplined enough, offering to help out in the kitchen will burn some calories, too.
READ How to Detox After Your Thanksgiving Feast
5. Don’t Worry if You Slip Up
Diets are difficult and no one will stick to their diet 100 percent of the time. If you’ve been following your diet strictly but you have a slice of cake or an extra helping of turkey on Thanksgiving, it won’t be a complete catastrophe. It is how you deal with those slip ups and setbacks that determine whether you will ultimately achieve your weight loss goal.
If you do wake up the day after Thanksgiving feeling like you overindulged, get your running shoes on and get straight back to it, rather than feeling like you're a failure because you had one large feast. The longer you leave it and allow yourself treats the harder it will be to get back to the diet plan. So if you slip up, don’t beat yourself up but get back to it the very next day!
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