Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Avoid Holiday Heftiness--But Enjoy! Need LF Turkey Gravy Recipe!

Lots to look forward to...Thanksgiving--my favorite holiday, even though I still have to cook. My stress fracture is healing very nicely and I'm slowly returning to my normal workouts. Boy did I get out of shape from 6-weeks of doing hardly nothing. Today I actually did 23 minutes of a bootcamp workout, and will be swimming tonight and of course will do 30 minutes of something tomorrow morning to offset my caloric intake...WHICH brings me to the best advice I read for this season. Be a Gourmand, not a Glutton! The article from November, 2010 issue of Comsumer Health Reports written by a cardiologist discussed the potential harm to your heart and body from eating a 2k-4k calorie Thanksgiving Meal. His featured patient consumed over 4,000 that day and sustained a heart attack. Its amazing what all those carbs, fats and alcohol do to your heart, brain, pancreas, kidneys, liver and digestive tract! Here are some great tips to avoid holiday weight gain: workout that morning; drinks lots of water all day; have water in between just a couple cocktails, and/or have wine spritzers instead of a whole glass of wine; don't go to the party hungry or skip meals, have a healthy snack or a protein before you get there; use a small plate and only choose what you really want to eat; keep it to one serving; choose small tastes of the desserts you like and enjoy them slowly; but stop there; try to socialize while eating so your mouth is busy talking, instead of gulping food down; eat slowly, and put your fork down several times; be mindful of what you are eating, of the occasion and of the people you are sharing the meal/holiday with; be mindful when you are satisfied, not stuffed to the point of misery or to a heart attack!
p.s. Anybody out there have a good tasting lowfat turkey gravy recipe?