Thanksgiving
One of the most difficult times of the year for those trying to lose weight is the holiday season. While the holidays are a time to get together with family, friends and coworkers, it’s also a time for eating & drinking, and drinking & eating. Every party and gathering is an excuse to take a holiday from your healthy eating habits. A cookie here, a chocolate there, washed down with some egg nog, and before you know it your pants are too tight. It’s no wonder that the average American gains 9-11 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
The good news is that with a little foresight, those holiday pounds can be easily avoided while still enjoying the holiday season.
To start off, here are our tips for getting through Thanksgiving
Tanya’s Tips:
- Baked Turkey: choose a plain bird over a self-basting bird, bake un-stuffed, leave the skin on while roasting and remove from the oven when internal temperature reaches 170 degrees in the breast.
- Gravy: use a gravy cup or refrigerate the pan juices (to harden the fat) and skim the fat off before making gravy. Save around 656 grams of fat per cup!
- Candied yams: leave out the margarine and marshmallows. Sweeten with fruit juice, such as apple and flavor with cinnamon.
- Green bean casserole: cook fresh green beans with chunks of potatoes instead of cream soup. Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings.
- Mashed potatoes: use skim milk, roasted garlic, and a little parmesan cheese instead of whole milk and butter.
- Bread: serve smaller pieces or omit it altogether. Always opt for the whole wheat varieties (more fiber!).
- The plate method: imagine your plate divided into thirds. Use the first third to fan out white meat turkey, no skin. Use the second third for salad and low-fat vegetables. Finally, the last third is for all the starches (sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce).
*F-Factor Best Bets
|
Calories |
Fat (grams) |
Carbs (grams) |
Fiber (grams) |
Roast turkey (dark meat with skin) |
251 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
* Roast turkey (light meat only, no skin) |
177 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
Candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows (1 cup) |
430 |
19 |
64 |
5 |
* Baked sweet potato |
180 |
0 |
41 |
7 |
Green bean casserole |
137 |
8 |
15 |
2 |
* Sautéed green beans |
82 |
4 |
11 |
2 |
Jellied cranberry sauce |
209 |
0 |
54 |
1 |
* The F-Factor Diet cran-berries sauce |
48 |
0 |
12 |
6 |
Caesar salad (small side) |
84 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
* Mixed green salad with light dressing |
25 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
Mashed potatoes with milk and butter (1 cup) |
635 |
35 |
66 |
5 |
* Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and skim milk (1 cup) |
161 |
2 |
32 |
3 |
Apple pie with vanilla ice cream |
501 |
25 |
68 |
2 |
* Apple crisp |
201 |
4 |
40 |
2 |
Pecan pie |
456 |
21 |
65 |
4 |
* The F-Factor Diet best light pumpkin pie |
79 |
0 |
16 |
5 |
Sample meal for Thanksgiving dinner while on step 1:
- Roast turkey (light meat only, no skin) 4oz
- Sautéed green beans
- Mixed green salad with light dressing
Raspberries with non-fat whipped cream
Total net carbs: 19g Total fiber: 11g
|
Past
Nutrition Tips
