5 tips for a healthier Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is on Thursday you guys! How crazy is that? I feel like it was just September! Oh well, time flies. With thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to share a few tips on how you can enjoy the holiday without completely derailing your health and fitness progress. The holidays should be enjoyable and I don't believe in extreme restrictions, so I would never sit there and eat celery the whole weekend. However, I also wouldn't go completely overboard for days on end. Its all about balance and here are my best tips for enjoying the Thanksgiving dinner (pumpkin pie and all) while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

1. Drink a lot of water. Not only does water help regulate hunger but it also helps flush toxins from your body, and it helps keep you regular. With all the food we tend to eat during Thanksgiving, its important to drink enough water to help your body digest it all and avoid constipation.

2. Eat healthy meals whenever you can. For example, I always try to keep breakfast healthy and lunch if I can, and also any snacks in between. Then I can splurge for dinner and feel good about it!

3. Start with vegetables and the healthy stuff. A really great tip during any time of year is to always start with vegetables. Eat lots of them, and then go into the other goodies like the stuffing, pies, etc. What this does is: a) it ensures you get your daily veggie intake, and b) it makes you fill up on healthy veggies before digging into the rest. If you start with the unhealthy items when you're super hungry, you will overeat to a larger extent than if you start with veggies.

4. After the meal, brush your teeth! Its so easy to keep coming back for seconds, thirds and fourths... and then the pies and other desserts. I usually feel like I need something sweet as a "refresher" after eating so much savory food, but brushing your teeth has the same effect! Try it and let me know how it works for you!

5. Dont do it all over again the next day! Give yourself one day, and then get back to it. Start Black Friday with a workout! Eat a healthy breakfast. Go very easy on the leftovers and try to skip the sweets. Thanksgiving doesn't have to make you gain 5 lbs, but if you keep over eating all weekend, it will.

Let me know what other tips you have and what your plans are for Thanksgiving?

Cheers,

Elina