Thanksgiving Nutrition Success Guide

Can you believe it’s almost Thanksgiving!? I can already taste the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes roasting in the oven and I’m fully salivating. For most, the holidays are a time of happiness, love, family, and friends – but for others, they can cause undue stress and anxiety. My clients are already mentioning fear surrounding over-indulging the Thanksgiving meal in our counseling sessions, so here are my three tips to conquering Thanksgiving Day!

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  1. Never “Save Up” – this is the number one most important rule of Thanksgiving or any other day when you are expecting a larger-than-average dinner. Restricting earlier in the day ONLY leads to arriving at the meal hangry and famished, over-doing it with the appetizers, shoveling food into your mouth too quickly, subsequently over-eating the main meal, and becoming miserable and completely stuffed as an end result. Consume a healthy, well balanced breakfast (and lunch if the Thanksgiving meal is later in the night), to prevent calorie overload, regret, and lethargy.

  2. Portion Control – take a small portion of each food item, aiming to fill 50-75% of your plate with vegetables, protein, and fiber-rich carbohydrates which are both satiating and nutritious. Try to keep simple carbohydrates such as white bread or stuffing to 25% of your plate if you plan to indulge in dessert (which you absolutely should!) 

  3. DON’T STRESS! Thanksgiving is one of 365 days of the year. This one day, one meal is NOT going to even dent any progress you’ve made with nutrition/wellness goals this year, and it’s definitely not going to impact your future goals. Eat slowly and mindfully, and truly enjoy your food.  Chances are, someone you love worked extremely hard to prepare a delicious meal for you, and you have every right to enjoy each part of your meal. Cherish this time with family and friends, and relax! 

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By Kylie Gearhart MS, RD-AP, CDN, CNSC

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