If you’re trying to reach your desired weight, Thanksgiving can be a holiday in hell rather than a relaxing one. With just so much delicious food reeling you in, it can be hard to keep your health at the top of the agenda.

Thanksgiving does not have to be a day for you to destroy all of your hard work, and to gain a lot of weight that you will regret having after a few days.

This is why I would like to share with you 5 Ways To Make A Healthier Thanksgiving!  

1. Get Active- Before you pftt me, instead of thinking of the actual day, why not in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, make a conscious effort to get as much exercise as you can. Try going that little bit further by increasing your steps or lengthening your stride and you are that step closer to achieving your weight loss goals. No one is saying you need to a run a marathon or lift weights either, a simple brisk walk will do you the world of good. Just make a goal to say that every day I will make this walk in the holidays “so I can step closer to my weight loss goals”.

Bonus Tip: If a walk seems lonely or just too plain boring for you, why not make it a family adventure and go to some place that is nearby that you’ve never been to or never been to on foot and go explore. You will be surprised at all the things you  overlooked whilst you were in your vehicle.  

2. Eat your Breakfast– The most important meal of the day, but on Thanksgiving? YES!  While you might think that it makes sense to skip it and to wait for your big meal, I would suggest you start your day on Thanksgiving with a small meal in the morning that will give your more control over your appetite, rather than it dominating you. So make sure it is a small but satisfying breakfast- such as egg with a slice of toast, or a bowl of whole-grain cereal with low fat milk. This way you will not be starving when you get to feast time.

Bonus tip: Eating meals with protein and fiber before you arrive at the feast will take the edge off your appetite and that then helps you to not over indulge and make better food and drink choices.  

3. Watch your Portions– If you are not the one hosting your Thanksgiving dinner this year, and are not able to tinker with the food that is already in place before your eyes, then portion control is really going to be your best friend for the evening. Start off first by choosing the foods you love (which I hope are healthy) then serve up your portions a little bit smaller than you normally would. 

Bonus Tip 1: The odds are there will be leftovers after you have finished your meal, and I would say if you are still hungry after your meal and look to grab more food, be sure to give yourself some time between plates to identify if you really need to eat more or simply want to eat more, as they are two different things. Whilst deciding, take into account your long term goals, where you want to be and if eating that extra food  ( just for eating sakes)  will benefit you.

Bonus Tip 2: Strike up a conversation with those around you while you wait on what decision you’re going to make. I say this because it gives you something else to concentrate on rather than having your thoughts as your main focus, especially if you are in state of uncertainty and not really sure on  the decision.              

4. Be Realistic– The chances are if you are reading this, what you consume on a daily basis’s is not up to scratch to where you would like it to be, right? And some of you will have made changes to your diet, and others not so much, but however big your changes have been, its progress – do not beat yourself up if you falter on eating a few of those unhealthy temptations. So long as you are being honest with yourself and you know you have given it your all on the day, who is anyone to judge you on it? 

Bonus Tip: With this holiday being a very busy one, it is a good time to strive for weight maintenance instead of weight loss. The more I think about it, the more it strengthens my belief that it will benefit you more to shift your mindset from “weight loss” to “weight maintenance”.  It is only then you will win on Thanksgiving Day, or any other holiday; if you can avoid gaining any weight  during those celebration times.  

5. Focus on F.F- No need to check urban dictionary to know what F.F means its just abbreviation for Family& Friends (Which I made up). Thanksgiving is not just about the endless amounts of delicious food on the table. Really it is a time to celebrate relationships with family and friends.