Hopefully over the past few weeks, your weekends were filled with warmth, love, and… food, of course. Many people have been asking me how to control themselves around the plethora of calorie-laden Thanksgiving meal, and ensuing holiday party options, seeming to be kicking themselves well before any havoc-wreaking decisions had even been made. This got me thinking… Is there anything we can truly eat in one day to undo an entire year of treating our bodies right?
After much deliberation, I decided the answer is no. There may be gray area here, and other nutrition and health professionals may disagree. But this dietitian’s theory is one of self-love, by any means necessary.
The facts can be scary. Many are hearing numbers like 3000-5000 calories in the typical Thanksgiving MEAL (not even the whole day). I know for the calorie counting mavens reading this, such stats are bone-chilling. But how about the fact that if you do your best 95% of the time, the other 5% will NOT be detrimental. If you think about how many days there are in a year, and how many meals we eat each day, this ONE meal out of the 1,095 we consume annually, only accounts for 0.09% of your consumption. So, you overdid it a little bit. Congratulations – you’ve got more than 99.9% this year. You still have an A!
This isn’t to say that we should take all we know about healthy eating and sound lifestyle choices, and throw them out the window. Tips I’ve given to clients this week have included:
- Modeling your dinner plate after MyPlate
- Fill up on veggies
- Be sure to eat breakfast that morning so you aren’t ravenous by feast time
- Grab some coffee or tea once you know you’ve had your fill – sipping on that may prevent you from going overboard
- Go for a walk after dinner
I encourage you all to utilize these tips whenever you are in a situation that may tempt you back into old behaviors. However, remember to treat yourself with compassion, and don’t forget that overdoing it from time to time is a part of normal eating.
After much deliberation, I decided the answer is no. There may be gray area here, and other nutrition and health professionals may disagree. But this dietitian’s theory is one of self-love, by any means necessary.
The facts can be scary. Many are hearing numbers like 3000-5000 calories in the typical Thanksgiving MEAL (not even the whole day). I know for the calorie counting mavens reading this, such stats are bone-chilling. But how about the fact that if you do your best 95% of the time, the other 5% will NOT be detrimental. If you think about how many days there are in a year, and how many meals we eat each day, this ONE meal out of the 1,095 we consume annually, only accounts for 0.09% of your consumption. So, you overdid it a little bit. Congratulations – you’ve got more than 99.9% this year. You still have an A!
This isn’t to say that we should take all we know about healthy eating and sound lifestyle choices, and throw them out the window. Tips I’ve given to clients this week have included:
- Modeling your dinner plate after MyPlate
- Fill up on veggies
- Be sure to eat breakfast that morning so you aren’t ravenous by feast time
- Grab some coffee or tea once you know you’ve had your fill – sipping on that may prevent you from going overboard
- Go for a walk after dinner
I encourage you all to utilize these tips whenever you are in a situation that may tempt you back into old behaviors. However, remember to treat yourself with compassion, and don’t forget that overdoing it from time to time is a part of normal eating.