I was excited this year, as I am every year to write the “Survival Tips for Thanksgiving” eating post. Let’s start by dispelling a huge myth!
Myth: Too much turkey at Thanksgiving causes you to be sleepy and lethargic.
Truth: It’s the 3,000-4,000 calorie, High carbohydrate, high sugar, high-fat meal, consumed with alcohol, which puts your body and your brain into a “food coma” that makes you tired and lethargic.
But it cracks me up how the innocent, high protein, turkey gets blamed.
2 reasons; the first is because it has an element called tryptophan which can be used as a supplement to help aid sleep. Keep in mind the turkey has some tryptophan but not even close to the amount that will aid your sleep.
Secondly, and likely most accurate, people would rather blame the turkey element than acknowledge that they just ate 2 days’ worth of calories in a single meal, or even drawn out to multiple meals adding up to 5-6,000 calories. Yikes.
Ok, let’s get to one massive tip:
Set yourself up for success. Yes, that’s it! But here is how:
- Eat a decent breakfast and include protein. This will keep you full and satisfied longer and will help keep your blood sugars balanced. Not a full carb breakfast, this will cause a carb craving later.
- Eat a snack before your big thanksgiving dinner. Be sure you are not pulling up to the table super ravenous. This will obviously make you want to over eat.
- Backwards load your plate. Start loading your plate with veggies and salad first. Followed by protein. And finally the starchy carbs. This will leave less room for the starches and help you control the amount.
- Be done with one plate. Stick to one plate of food at a sitting. You can always come back later after this meal is digested and used by your body.
- Be active. Get in a workout, play with your kids, go for a pre and post dinner walk. Keep your body moving.
The biggest tip of all: Enjoy your family. Its been a tough year for many people and families. Take this time to find and be grateful for everything you can think of.
I am grateful for all of you. Your support in our fitness business. Reading these posts. Training or coaching with me.
