Get Rid of the Thanksgiving Day Bloat

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and holiday weekend. For those of you whose Thanksgiving meal turned into a long weekend gorge-fest, it’s time to get back on track before the next wave of festivities hit. Holiday parties, tempting sweets in the office and holiday cheer are just around the corner. Here are some tips to help you get back in control FAST before the holiday season really gets underway.  (pic credit) 

 Here are some tips to get back on track:
1. Don’t beat yourself up for eating more than you planned.  Let it go and move on. If possible, learn from what happened and try to come up with a better plan for the next holiday.  I am actually dealing with the holiday aftermath right now. I usually keep minimal food in my apartment. So spending with weekend with my family with a house full of food is very tempting for me … too many late night pieces of dessert. I’ll need to come up with my own plan for the next holiday trip home. But most importantly, I’m not beating myself up!

2. Avoid the scale for at least 3 days. Even one day of overeating can cause a 2-3 pound weight increase on the scale. While part of this gain may be due to fat storage, the majority is fluid retention from the extra carbohydrates and sodium. You need to consume an extra 3500 calories on top on your maintenance calorie level (maintenance calorie level is ~ 1800 calories for the average women and 2100 for the average man) to gain one pound. Note: this calculation is being debated by medical experts, but it’s the best one we have now!  Even if the scale showed a gain of 2 pounds over Thanksgiving, I would tend to doubt you consumed an extra 7000 calories in addition to
your maintenance calories. This would mean 8800 for the average women and 9100 calories for the average man!

3. Clean house. If you have any tempting treats left over from the holiday, get rid of them. Bring them into the office, hide them or just throw them out. 

4. Schedule in exercise. Look at your planner now and find time to fit in at least 4 exercise sessions this week. Schedule it in like you would any other meeting. Increased exercise will burn off some of the turkey day calories, as well as help you feel better physically and
psychologically.

5. Stock up on healthy foods. If you don’t have the right foods around, you can’t eat them! Stock up on fruit and veggies, yogurt, eggs and  lean protein.

6. Drink a lot of water. This can help to flush out extra sodium and can help you feel fuller at meals.

7. Lose the booze for 5 days. Less booze means better sleep, less hunger and more discipline about what you eat. 

8. Record what you eat. Studies have shown that people who keep track of what they eat lose significantly more weight than those who don’t. Even if you hate to do this, commit to doing it for the next 5 days. Do it on paper or try an app. My favorite app is myfitnesspal.com.

9. Jump start. For those of you who really overdid it and want a little jump start diet after your Thanksgiving gorge, try a lower carb low sodium diet for 5-7 days. This will help you shed water weight as well as some fat. While I usually don’t recommend rapid weight loss or really low carb diets, there is no danger in following this type of plan for a few days. It can be motivating to see the scale drop by several pounds. You would then ease into a more realistic eating plan.

SAMPLE MEAL PLANS
Breakfast (pick one):
-2 eggs or 5 egg whites with veggies and cup of berries
– Greek yogurt, 0% or 2%%, 7 oz container, 1 T. ground flax or chia seeds,
½ cup berries
– one slice of whole grain toast with 1 T. peanut butter
– 1 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 cup fruit

Snack (pick one): 1/2 oz nuts such as 12 almonds or  20 pistachios or
14 peanuts or 9 cashews or  string cheese or
one fruit

Lunch (pick one):
– 4-5 oz grilled chicken, shrimp or lean meat  on a salad, 2 cups assorted veggies, 1 T. oil & unlimited vinegar (pic is of salad with grilled shrimp at Le Pain Quotidien)
–  5 oz grilled salmon or skinless poultry and steamed veggies
– egg white omelet or 2 eggs  with veggies

Snack (pick one): piece fruit,  nuts as above, string cheese, nonfat yogurt, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (6 oz, plain, 0% or 2%)

Dinner (pick one): 5 oz lean meat, fish or skinless poultry, grilled or baked plain, no sauce, with unlimited veggies, preferably steamed plain and salad as desired. Use 1 T. oil/fat somewhere in the meal.

Snack at night: anything you want for 100 calories or less 

In addition: Drink at least 10 cups of water. No alcohol. No bread or other starch (except as allowed on meal plan).

How do you plan on getting rid of your Thanksgiving Day bloat?

If you want coaching staying on track with your healthy eating plan, contact me to schedule a Nutrition Consultation 
(212 879-5167) or mmckittnyc@gmail.com