created and written by Sara Ben-Ami
Personal Chef & Co-creator of The Fitness Nomad
"Eat Like A Nomad" Nutrition System...
Everyone has trouble with portion size even on a good day…and now, here comes Thanksgiving.
Are you going to shrug and let yourself off the hook with that old standard, “I’ll get on track after the holidays”?
Or, will this be the year that you will be prepared: ready to enjoy the holiday and still eat a healthy feast that will leave you satisfied and at peace with yourself.
Here is a typical T-Day menu, with portions & calorie counts:
Traditional Roast Turkey (1 lb raw) 143 calories
Bread Stuffing (1/2 cup) 120 calories
Giblet Gravy (1/4 cup) 128 calories
Green Bean Casserole (1 cup) 158 calories
Scalloped Corn (2/3 cup) 190 calories
Mashed Potatoes (1 cup) 200 calories
Glazed Sweet Potatoes (1 cup) 240 calories
Dinner Roll & Butter (1/1 Tbsp) 380 calories
Pumpkin Pie (1/8 of 9” pie) 280 calories
Total calories = 1739 calories
Yikes! And that doesn’t include turkey skin, or whipped cream, or picking at the carcass every time you pass through the kitchen. Any wonder everyone falls asleep after this? See the pictures below to get an idea of how bad it can really get...
So let’s look at how you can eat on Thanksgiving, enjoy the holiday, and still be able to button your pants after dinner, and when you get back to work on Monday. Because sweat pants are not going to cut it in December!
Dinner based on 1500, 2000, and 2500 calories needed per day would be about 500-665-835 calories that you should consume for dinner.
Now, let’s see how that looks for the same menu:
Turkey 4.5 – 6 – 7.5 ounces
Stuffing 2 – 3 – 4 Tbsp
Gravy 1 – 1.5 – 2 Tbsp
Green Bean Glop ¼ - 1/3 – ½ cup
Corn 3 – 4 – 5 Tbsp
Potatoes ¼ - 1/3 – ½ cup
Sweet Potatoes ¼ - 1/3 – ½ cup
Roll/Butter ¼ + ¾ tsp – 1/3 + 1 tsp – ½ + 1.5 tsp
Pie 1/32 – 1/24 – 1/16 of a 9” pie
So, that should help put your meal in perspective a bit.
Here are some even better choices and strategies:
But the real alternative is to make healthier choices before you even walk into the kitchen to start preparing the feast. Roast a turkey breast (220 calories for 8 ounces); make a corn bread or whole wheat stuffing with pecans & dried apricots, baked in acorn squash halves (212 calories per half, stuffed); make a cranberry relish from scratch replacing part of the sugar with white grape juice (32 calories for 2 Tbsp); prepare fresh or frozen green beans with herbs & tomatoes (54 calories for 1 cup); and finish with pumpkin custard made with fat-free evaporated milk (100 calories for 1/10th of a pie plate).
Total calories: 618
Add 2 cups of green salad & low-fat vinaigrette: 733 calories
Ready to try to reshape your eating habits as well as your body? Time to talk turkey with John. On Friday, go directly to this link to take advantage of his special offer on our new "Eat Like A Nomad Nutrition System." He's offering a great opportunity for the first 25 who purchase this new service.
Go to: http://www.EatLikeANomad.com
For now...here are those pictures I promised that will help keep you indulgences in perspective. Both photos are from "Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss Book"
Your typical holiday meal - not that hard to add up a lot of calories...
That's a log more food at half the caloric price! Wow!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sara & John
