TRAINER TUESDAYS

Trainer Tuesdays

Welcome back to the weekly edition on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check in at our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff. Aside from being fantastic exercise coaches, they are also extremely knowledgeable in many aspects of health and fitness; so, it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville. Also, this week, we are excited to introduce a new staff trainer, Jenn Noggle.

How Can I Prepare a Healthy Meal for Thanksgiving?

Adam May:

Honestly traditional Thanksgiving dinners are already healthy. Turkey, stuffing, beans, fruit salad, pumpkin,

cranberries and bread are all foods served at my family Thanksgiving, and all of those foods have very good nutritional value. The problem is people eat too much. Remember weight loss and weight gain all boils down to calories in and calories out. If you consume 5,000 healthy calories in a day, you are going to gain weight because there is no way you are going to burn that much. Here is the strategy I go with on Thanksgiving: I know I'm going to eat way too much that day, so I make sure I wake up a little early and get in at least an hour work out before I see family (unless I play football with Sean Sullivan that morning and he breaks his hand). Even working out on Thanksgiving Day does not offset all of the calories I consume; so, Monday through Wednesday, and Friday through Sunday I make sure that my diet is PERFECT. No eating out, no big meals at home, no unhealthy snacks. I also make sure to work out at least four other times that week. To sum it up, I say eat like crazy Thanksgiving day, but get in a good, hard workout that morning, and every other day of the week be 100 percent committed to being perfect with diet and exercise, no slip ups, no excuses. If you do that, the week after Thanksgiving your body will be the same as it was before Thanksgiving.

 

Justin Traft:

Serving a healthy thanksgiving dinner doesn't mean you have to take all the fun away from enjoying a family meal and giving thanks for what you're grateful for. There are some easy ways to help you do this. One, instead of all the unhealthy snacks like crackers and cheeses before dinner, try fruit and vegetables with a low fat dip. Also, maybe use plain greek yogurt with a little seasoning ex. dill as a sub.  Second, instead of using just regular old white mashed potatoes try getting some sweet potatoes that are packed with nutrients and mashing them. Third, when its comes to stuffing try a different approach like adding parsley, tarragon, paprika, nutmeg, cranberries, water chestnuts and chopped apples. This helps give the stuffing a little more nutritional value to it along with adding flavor. Fourth, instead of maybe the traditional green bean casserole, substitute the thick soup with low fat soup . Instead of canned green beans get fresh ones and add some almonds in there as well. Fifth, the most important side--turkey. Try for an organic or maybe non hormone induced turkey. This way you know you are getting a healthy protein source that needs minimal seasoning for added favor.

Adam Teplitz:

There's no reason why you can't enjoy Thanksgiving and be health conscious as well.
Here are some tips to help you serve a healthy thanksgiving meal:
Make your recipes are healthier with less fat, sugar and calories. Use fat free chicken broth to baste the turkey and make gravy; use sugar substitutes in place of sugar; reduce oil and butter wherever you can; try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in mashed potatoes and casseroles; have reasonable-sized portions.
Your best bet would be to choose white turkey meat, plain vegetables, roasted sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. All of these choices are lower in fat and calories.

Jenn Noggle:

Most traditional thanksgiving recipes call for far more fat and sugar than is actually needed. By reducing oil and butter and/or using sugar substitutes, herbs, or garlic, you can make your dishes much healthier by decreasing the calories, fat and sugar…and no one will even notice the difference!