How To Survive The Turkey Day Food Coma

Thanksgiving Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The big day is approaching. Thanksgiving is a wonderful day filled with family, friends, celebrations and giving thanks to the many blessings we have in our lives. Most of this celebrating comes with what seems like a never-ending feast. This is just the beginning of feasting, drinking, partying, etc.. It marks the beginning of the “holiday” season, so before you begin to gobble down your first feast, here are a few bits of info and tips that may help you and your waistline survive the season.

According to the American Council on Exercise, the average Thanksgiving meal consists of 3000 calories. Keep in mind many of us begin the glorious day by snacking and indulging in the vino, whiskey, beer, soda pop, or sweet tea while sitting watching the exciting parades and ballgames. Combine this pre-feast ritual with the actual meal and it can easily take it up to 4500 calories with 229 grams of fat. Wowza!

Now, we all have heard that turkey contains the essential amino acid tryptophan which has a sedating effect right? The truth is that the “food coma” you experience is actually a result of your poor little body working overtime to digest all that fatty food 🙂 It takes a lot of energy to digest a large meal. The body redirects blood to your digestive system to tackle the big job. Since you have less blood flow elsewhere, you may feel the need for nap time after the feast, so it is not really the little Butterballs fault after all.

Oh, and don’t forget, the holiday cocktails (remember alcohol is a central nervous system depressant) play a role in the desire for nap time too.

Tips To Help Your Waist Survive The Holiday

1. Make up for the feast (we are all going to indulge, I sure will) by choosing low-fat and low-sugar meals (we should be doing this anyway) for the week leading up to and after the big day. Never skip meals, just choose your foods wisely.
2. Make physical activity a regular habit. Exercise not only burns calories, it is important for good health, stress management, and overall well-being.
3. Be consistent with your workouts. It increases your metabolism which will help assist your calorie burn when you binge on that big day.
4. Before you leave for your feast, try having a small salad, light soup, fruit or veges. This will help you feel a little full and you may feel less likely to “oink out”.
5. When you prepare your Turkey Day plate, it should not topple over on your way to your seat. Practice patience and portion control 🙂

I have many things to be thankful for. I have been blessed and I will, just like many, indulge a bit to celebrate. I have a weakness for pecan pie so I am going to do many burpees this week! Video coming soon. I am thankful for pie and for burpees too.

What is your favorite Turkey Day dish? What is your favorite part of the holiday? Happy Early Thanksgiving!