When one pictures a typical Thanksgiving dinner, it is often a beautiful array of foods piled atop a table: seasonal vegetables, mountains of mashed potatoes dripping with gravy, delectable cranberry sauce, succulent stuffing, and hopefully a not-too-dry Turkey. With so much bounty on display, it is easy to ignore the number of calories in a typical Thanksgiving meal.
On average, Americans consume 3,000 to 4,500 calories during a single Thanksgiving meal, according to USA Today. After consuming so many calories, Americans can expect to see a weight gain of two to four pounds reflected back to them on the scale.
Luckily, the weight gain mostly consists of water. However, after having gorged oneself on an assortment of pies following a Thanksgiving meal, it is easy to lose healthy habits and splurge throughout the winter.
“There have been surveys that show an average of a five-to-seven-pound gain in weight in winter,” said Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center to WebMD.
Casey Bonano, a nutritionist for over 10 years and CEO of Dallas Nutritional Counselling, told The Dallas Express that a mindful Thanksgiving meal begins before the dinner has even begun.
“Make sure to have a normal meal before Thanksgiving so that going into the dinner, you are not overly hungry,” suggested Bonano. “When you’re overly hungry, you tend to overeat and become overly full.”
Bonano observed that people may be anticipating mom’s delicious cooking and try to “save room” for the delicious dinner. However, eating throughout the day, although counterintuitive, may lead to better portion control. Plus, it will make you more patient with the turkey that never seems to be cooked on time.
Although there are many tips online for cutting calories during the cooking process, Bonano recommended diners to instead enjoy time-honored family recipes.
“I don’t like messing with any holiday food,” Bonano said. “I don’t think you should health-ify it.”
After eating the most scrumptious mashed potatoes, going back for seconds may be a reflex. However, Bonano said to examine the motives behind the eating pattern and avoid doing so if you are already full.
“There’s going to be leftovers … Don’t feel like this is your only opportunity to get those favorite foods,” said Bonano.
Try as one may, it is easy to overeat during Thanksgiving dinner. I mean, did you taste that green bean casserole? For the days following Thanksgiving, Bonano recommended continuing to eat normally instead of cutting back calories to compensate, as it often backfires.
“A lot of the time, we get into the cycle of restricting, getting very hungry, and then overeating.”
As The Dallas Express has previously reported, with obesity rates showing a concerning upward trend among Texans, this advice is all the more pertinent to Lone Star State residents.
May your Thanksgiving be full of delicious food, but as for getting “stuffed,” consider leaving that to the turkeys.
