Thanksgiving Healthy Eating Tips

If only Thanksgiving weren’t so frightening to those of us trying to watch what we eat. We have to suffer through all of the beautiful dishes screaming our names to just “try” them. We all know there is no such thing as “trying” a piece of cheesecake. So why do we make ourselves so miserable, or even pretend like we can handle the pressure?

So, Thanksgiving stands accused as the least healthy holiday. Like your mother used to say, “Don’t hang out with the wrong crowd.” Thanksgiving, as far as its effect on health, is just another day in November, it’s just guilty by association. More specifically, its association with food, lots of food! Well, this is a free country, we are free to do, or eat what we want, and we are innocent until proven guilty. So let’s give Thanksgiving a fair trial and see what our final verdict is.

The first witness is Turkey, the center of attention for Thanksgiving day.

5 ounces of white mean Turkey: Total Fat: 11.9g Saturated Fat: 3.4 Trans Fat: 0 Cholesterol: 107.8mg Sodium: 89.3mg Carbs: 0 Protein :40.6g

Turkey does have a little bit of fat, no saturated or trans fats though, but healthy unsaturated fats. There is a very small amout of cholesterol, sodium, and no carbs. It has tons of protein, and protein from turkey is a great source because it is a complete protein with all of the necessary amino acids. It seems like turkey is not bad for us, but actually healthy. The jury says that Turkey is innocent!

Now for Sweet Potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes, Dark Orange, Fresh, 5″ long Total Fat: .1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 71.5mg Carbs: 26.2g Protein: 2g

Hmm, it appears that sweet potatoes are essentially fat free, and cholesterol free. The sodium content is negligible, and so is the protein content. It does have 26.2g of GOOD carbs. Good carbs you ask? Yes, the carbohydrates found in sweet potatoes are complex carbs, meaning they digest slowly, providing your body with energy, not your “spare tire” with more “air.” No fat, nothing else unhealthy, healthy source of essential carbs: The Verdict: Sweet Potatoes are innocent!

Now let’s look at canned, sweetened cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce, Sweetened and Canned, 3 slices: Total Fat: .3g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 49.6mg Carbs: 66.5g Sugars- 64.5.g Protein: .3g

It would seem like cranberry sauce is fat free, but think of the rules the FDA puts on fat, preservative or even trans fat free items. If an item has less than .5g per serving, then it can claim to be free of it. Just keep that in mind. Imagine that it all has .49g and that is how much fat you are consuming. Cranberry sauce has no cholesterol and a limited amount of sodium. There are tons of carbs, 64.5g from sugar to be exact. Why don’t you just measure out 65g of sugar and attach it to your waistline, we can cut out the middleman that way. It would appear that cranberry sauce is guilty! At least the canned sugary kind is.

Next on the stand is Stuffing:

Stuffing, bread, prep/dry mix 1/2cup Total Fat: 8.6g Saturated Fat: 1.7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 543mg Carbs: 21.7g Sugars: 2.1g Protein: 3.2g

Stuffing does have a little bit of fat, but it’s not bad fat. It is low in sodium, but also low in protein. There is a ton of sodium, but actually less than most canned or boxed goods, so it’s not that bad compared to most American diets. There are a fair amont of carbs, but they are from the white bread and not sugar. It would appear that stuffing is innocent!

The jury is in, we’ve seen all we need to see. Turkey is not bad but healthy, sweet potatoes are not bad but healthy, cranberries are healthy, but the sweetened canned version is loaded with sugar, and stuffing isn’t healthy, but isn’t bad.

So, is Thanksgiving innocent or guilty? It’s innocent. Think about it, if we eat a serving of turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries (not the canned sugary kind), and stuffing, we actually have a pretty healthy meal made of real, natural food. For some, it would be the healthiest meal they have eaten in a while.

I think we know who is really guilty.

No matter what you eat, whether it’s turkey or a hamburger, if you eat too much you will gain weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.

Why is everyone so afraid of Thanksgiving? It’s because we overeat, and not only on turkey, but also dessert. You know that sugar is bad if you are trying to keep your weight in check, so I don’t need to tell you to take it easy on the pie.

Let’s stop accusing Thanksgiving, and get real with ourselves. How about this year we take responsibility for ourselves and call it quits when we know we should. We won’t feel guilty, or miserable and actually enjoy our time with family. This year let’s be thankful for our family and that fact that we have so many leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Klint Newton has released his 7 Part Muscle Building Guide that you can recieve, if done before Thankgiving, for free. Klint Newton is a recognized expert in teaching people how to gain muscle fast. Claim your copy of his 7 Part Muscle Building Guide Now.

categories: Weight Loss,Thanksgiving,Holidays,Food,Eating,Fat Loss,fitness,health