Happy & HEALTHY Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to be in gratitude, celebrate your blessings and spend time with people you love and enjoy a meal together. However, sometimes, instead of being full of thankfulness we end up being full of food! You might enjoy the food in the moment, but later you feel stuffed, bloated, and can have guilt or bad feelings about what you ate or how much you ate.

It is possible to celebrate and enjoy your family, your friends and your food and feel good physically and emotionally. I would like to share a few ways you ways you can make your Thanksgiving happier and healthier!

Start your day in gratitude:  As soon as you wake up, before you get out of bed think of all the things you have to be thankful for, then set an intention for the day. It can be something like - I am thankful I can make choices. Today I choose to make some healthier choices, and enjoy my food in moderation, so I feel good today and tomorrow.

Eat prior to your main meal: .If you don't eat the whole day, thinking you are saving your calories for the Thanksgiving meal, you be more likely to over eat later on. Choose as many whole foods as you can. For example, snack on some fresh vegetables and a low-fat dip instead of chips.

Drink water throughout the day: It will help you stay hydrated, feel fuller, and help reduce bloating if you have any foods higher in salt during the day.

Limit or avoid alcohol: This can be a challenge for many people, but remember, you can have a drink anytime, but you may only get to have cornbread or pumpkin pie once a year. If you are going to have an alcoholic beverage, consider having it separate from your meal. Drinking water with your meal will allow you to enjoy the taste of your food more. Have your glass of wine, or drink of choice, before or after your meal and enjoy it as its own treat.

Eat larger portions of a few items or have very small portions of a variety of foods: You may also want to focus on eating foods that you don't have on a regular basis - maybe its the stuffing or green bean casserole.

Eat one plate worth of food: Many people eat dinner early in the day, closer to what is typically lunch time. If you eat one plate of food, later in the evening you will most likely be hungry again, then you can have a little bit more of some of the foods you enjoyed the most.

Savor: Enjoy everything about the meal. Eat slowly and truly taste your food. Have more conversation with the people you are with.

Wait at least half an hour after your meal to have dessert: This give your body time to start time to start digesting your food, and you can truly feel how full you are.

Remember Thanksgiving is a holiDAY - Friday go back to your normal routine.

Your body will be thankful for the choices you make! Even one or two different choices can make a huge difference in how you feel.

Most of all, remember no matter what choices you make, you can always do better the next day!

Happy Thanksgiving!