Holiday Food For Thought

By: Laura Burk MPH, RD, LD

Holidays are here which means pure indulgement and weight gain.  The average American gains five to ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years.  We try to follow healthy behaviors to prevent holiday weight gain, but why doesn’t it work?

 

Regardless of our behavior, weight maintenance solely depends on calorie input versus calorie output.  So when it comes to our holiday meal how many calories are we actually consuming?

 

A typical holiday meal includes:

2 Rolls with butter                   300 calories

6oz Roasted Turkey                450 calories

1 cup of stuffing                      400 calories

1 cup of Giblet Gravy             300 calories

1 cup of mashed potatoes        350 calories

10 black/green olives               125 calories

1 cup sweet potatoes               400 calories

½ cranberry sauce                   200 calories

1 cup green bean casserole      195 calories

2 glasses of wine                     300 calories

1 slice of pumpkin pie             450 calories

2 holiday cookies                    200 calories

1 cup eggnog                           400 calories

 

Grand Total                        4,070 calories (This number may vary depending on food preparation.  Values came from Bowes & Church’s Food Values of Portions Commonly Used).

 

Wow…did you ever think that consuming 4, 070 calories in one meal was possible?  For the daily caloric intake you must add the calories that you ate for the rest of the day.  On average, we consume another 2000 calories before and after this wonderful holiday meal munching on desserts, nuts, cheese balls, and candies.  Now that makes our daily caloric intake 6, 070 calories, which is triple the amount of calories that most of us need in one day…and we wonder why we feel full and tired after this most wonderful time of the year.

 

Tips to decrease unwanted holiday calories:

  • Ditch the candy starting from Halloween
  • Eat your food slowly and savor each bite
  • Skip the appetizers
  • Stay well hydrated with water instead of high caloric beverages (alcohol)
  • Substitute with low calorie and low fat foods
  • Consume only one dessert with a bowl of fresh fruit
  • Stay away from cranberry sauce…very high in calories
  • Consume one potato side dish
  • Keep portion sizes reasonable

 

By adding a few of these healthy tips to your holiday meal, you can decrease your holiday calories by half.  Therefore decreasing the risk of the unwanted holiday weight gain.  Enjoy your holiday with fun filled exercise and good nutrition!

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