You know that plate loaded down with holiday food isn’t healthy for you, but it’s easy to shrug it off and immerse yourself in the taste of every bite. It’s so difficult to resist when there is an endless display of deliciousness stretched out before you, but there is something that you can do right now to help you control your intake of this holiday food later in the season.
You can learn about your holiday foods so you are armed with knowledge. When you know exactly what is in the food being shoveled into your mouth and fully understand what it will do to your body, it is much easier to put down the fork and walk away before you go too far.
Keep yourself in the dark and you will gain weight this year just like every year before. Educate yourself with the shocking holiday facts and you will have a fighting chance at keeping your weight under control.
To get you started toward understanding what is on your plate during the holidays, let’s take a look at a typical thanksgiving meal that millions of people will eat come the end of November:
Turkey, roasted, 6 ounces = 350 calories
Stuffing, 1 cup = 340 calories
Gravy, 1/2 = 250 calories
Potatoes, mashed, 1/2 = 120 calories
Green bean casserole, 1/2 = 90 calories
Cranberry sauce, 1/2 cup = 210 calories
Roll, medium with butter = 120 calories
Without adding in extra calories for drinks consumed with the meal, you are looking at 1,480 calories for a single meal. That is more than most people should consume in an entire day if they want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
You also have to consider that most people will not eat just six ounces of turkey and many will consume a lot more than a half cup of gravy. This meal could easily be increased to the excess of 4,000 calories when you factor in second helpings, drinks and differences in ingredients and recipes.
Now, what about dessert? We all know that a typical Thanksgiving meal doesn’t stop at the turkey and gravy. We have to be just as thankful for the pies, cookies, brownies and other treats, right?
A single slice of pumpkin pie could easily add up to 500 calories to this meal and the smallest piece of fudge could easily add 100 calories. Realizing that most people do not eat just one small piece of fudge or one slice of pie, you see how a Thanksgiving meal could easily go over 4,000 calories before it is all said and done.
Yes, 4,000 calories! Some people will eat even more than that over the course of a day of feasting, so it should be clear why so many of us struggle with our weight during the holiday season.
Here is another holiday food fact to keep in mind: one pound of fat is 3,500 calories. If you consume 4,000 calories on Thanksgiving Day without exercising to burn some of it off you could easily gain a pound in that one day alone. Add up the many different social events you eat your way through and you have the potential to gain 5 pounds or more for this holiday alone.
Take the time to look up your own holiday favorites and add to this list. Keep these numbers in your mind as you look at holiday meals in the months to come.
Get a head start on your Thanksgiving morning and join us at No Limit Boot Camp for FREE workout for everyone Thursday, November 25 at 9am at Eucalyptus Park. Also feel free to tell your friends!
If you’re in the Cambridge area, check out Cambridge Boot Camp.
