Raise your hand if Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday! A day full of friends and family, social events, and a whole lot of food. Sounds like the most wonderful time of the year, right? For many of us, fitness and food around the holidays may be stressful and overwhelming. We often think of all the ways to restrict throughout the day and then end up sabotaging our nutrition later that day. Good news! Today's blog shares ways to stay mindful and healthy this Thanksgiving!

Keep on reading for ways to enjoy the holidays while keeping your goals on track!

Thanksgiving

I feel that I can speak for many when I say that Thanksgiving and holiday events can cause some stress on what to eat, when and how to workout, and even the fear of losing results! However, it is important to keep in mind the idea of practicing balance. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks with family and enjoy all the yummy food! One meal or even one day is not going to ruin your progress, I promise.

Dietitian Laura Cipullo tells CBSN News, "It's really about making choices, not about cheating. And I want everyone to know that one meal is not going to do anything for their long-term health."

Instead of restricting all of the foods to limit from your day, think of the foods you can and allow yourself to have. Thanksgiving is such a great holiday to enjoy and not stress! Below are 9 ways to enjoy Thanksgiving with a mindful and healthy approach.

Ways to Have a Healthy & Mindful Thanksgiving:

Eat breakfast

Does your family have their Thanksgiving "dinner" at 1PM in the afternoon? Meal times throughout the day on this day are usually all over the place and are hard to make a consistent meal schedule for yourself. Whether the big feast is at 1PM or 6PM, make sure you get a small, but satisfying breakfast in! This will allow you to have more control over your appetite and won't go into Thanksgiving starving.

Eating a nutritious breakfast filled with protein, fiber, and healthy fats will help you stay mindful of all the Thanksgiving food selections instead of grabbing the first thing in sight!

Avoid restriction

Restricting early on in the day will increase the chances of overloading at the Thanksgiving meal. Instead, try to treat it like any other day. Aim for a nutrient dense breakfast, maybe a get a small lunch in, and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner with a healthy portion of foods you love!

Move your body throughout the day

So we know Thanksgiving is all about food, family and friends, and social events that bring us all together, right? A strenuous workout might not be on top of our agenda and that's okay! If you're itching to get moving that day, an early morning workout may benefit you or even suggesting a family walk after the meal.

Everyday is a chance to stay moving and some how active, so finding an activity you enjoy will help you move toward that step goal!

Listen to your Body

Are you a member of the "all or nothing" club? If you're currently tracking macros, it's quite easy for us to clear our plate. This Thanksgiving try to enjoy your meal with an intuitive approach. Listen to your body for signals on satiety and stop when you feel full or comfortable. This way you will be able to enjoy the foods you love and can wrap them up and take them home for leftovers!

Still hungry? Craving some pumpkin pie? Go for it. If you're too full to taste some of your favorite foods, take them to go or eat them a little later on when you're hungry again!

Pace yourself

I don't know if you're a mashed potato or stuffing lover, but I know I definitely go ham on the green bean casserole. A healthy and mindful approach to eating all your favorite foods is to get a well-portioned and balanced plate of all the good foods and eat them slowly. Put your fork down in between bites and spend time talking to relatives. This will allow your body to have time to register that there is food entering your body.

In correlation with eating a nutritious breakfast, pacing yourself will allow you to not overeat!

Serve yourself small portions

Serving yourself small portions may be tricky when all of the best tasting foods are right in front of you. Before loading your plate, survey the food table and decide what you're going to choose. You can then serve yourself smaller portions of each of the foods you want to try and enjoy. If you're still hungry after the first plate, go and get a little bit more!

It's important to lean away from the "making the most out of one meal" mindset, but rather getting a taste for all the foods you love, just smaller portioned!

Stay hydrated throughout the day

Make sure you have your HydroFlask by your side this Thanksgiving! Dehydration not only leads to poor digestion and essential function of the body, but it also leads to cravings and increased hunger.

Making sure you stay hydrated throughout the day can also help you approach your Thanksgiving meal with mindfulness and away from overeating.

A quick rule of thumb is to aim for at least 100 oz or more of water throughout the day. Not sure what this looks like? 100 oz equivalents to about 12 cups of 8 oz of water or a little more than 3 32 oz HydroFlask bottles!

Staying hydrated will help curve your cravings, reduce overeating, and help with proper digestion and energy levels. So drink up!

Bring your own healthy dish

I know not everyone has a Brussel sprout, asparagus loving type of family, so here is your time to shine!

You can simply bring your own healthy dish to pass such as a lightened up green bean casserole or a yummy balsamic Brussel spout dish!

Bringing your own healthy dish will keep you on track and can help family members with healthier food selections! Pinterest has so many healthy Thanksgiving dishes and desserts to whip up for a dish to pass!

You can also head on over to our blog for a ton of healthy dessert recipes that are delicious and packed with protein!

Enjoy time with family & friends

For most, getting together with family and friends for Thanksgiving is one of the best days throughout the year. Instead of it being focused solely on the foods you can and cannot have, try to remember what the holidays'a are about: bringing everyone together in one place and enjoying not only rest, but also quality time with one another! Food is the extra bonus!

It's easy for us fitness and health gurus to have the mentality of only allowing ourselves "good" and "bad" foods or what we can and cannot have. Going into Thanksgiving with a healthy and mindful approach will help take the stress off the idea of food being the main focus. Try to view it as just another day, but with new memories shared with family and friends!

RESOURCES

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tips-for-healthy-thanksgiving-meals/

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