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 of expert personal trainers. 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 personal trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.
How Do You Plan For the Extra Calories on Thanksgiving?
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| The expert personal trainers at Fitness Together in Brecksville give helpful tips on how to plan for the extra calories for your Thanksgiving Meal this year |
Bojana "Boki" Soljaga: As both a Serbian and an American citizen I often say that when it comes to food I refuse to be either of these two nationalities, and I choose to be a healthy person. With roast turkey, small amount of stuffing, sweet potatoes, and a salad Thanksgiving makes the perfect holiday to load on protein and vegetables. Not having a dessert immediately after the meal usually means not overating, and that is an ultimate goal. Also, 30 minutes of exercise in the morning while my kids are playing and the turkey is roasting should feel great. I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and please join Fitness Together staff for our 8:00AM walk or run on Thanksgiving Morning!
Brooke Kratche: I've always been told, my habits will make my health, not my actions.
Therefore, don't let the Thanksgiving feast scare you! As long as
Thanksgiving feasts don't become your habits. That being said, doing a
little prep work before you chow down can give you a little had start in
minimizing the damage. Turkey Trots are offered in most neighborhoods
so check out your local race! Better yet, join us on Thursday morning at 8am for a little group run of our own! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Mike Roberto: With
Thanksgiving coming up, it can be very easy to overeat and derail your
progress towards weight loss. My advice is to simply slow your eating
down. Taking longer to chew your food will make you feel fuller faster
and longer. Do your best to move around a little more than usual.
Rather than sit down after the feast (tempting, I know), burn a few
calories by helping someone wash dishes. You'll be on your feet and
using your muscles to scrub those pesky stains on the dishes, keeping
your metabolism burning. Finally, go for a walk. Give your food time
to digest before digging into the leftovers. With these tips, you'll
enjoy a wonderful meal AND be able to stay on track of your weight
goals.
Amanda Ricci: In order to prepare for the extra calories over thanksgiving I plan
to make sure that I am consistent with my workouts, and eating as
healthy as possible, as well as continue moving.
On thanksgiving
day I will be doing the burn the bird 5k run. That way I'll be getting
in some exercise in the morning prior to eating and since I did my
workout in the morning I will be burning more calories for the day. At
meals, I'll be drinking more water to make sure that I stay hydrated
and prevent myself from confusing hunger with dehydration. I also plan
eat my salad prior to the meal due to the high fiber content that will
help me to feel more full. I try to avoid standing near the snack table
to prevent or reduce temptation. Even personal trainers get tempted.
However, coming up with different strategies to avoid or reduce
temptation and having a plan in place in advance is a good way to
prevent holiday weight gain from creeping up on you.
Also
just continuing to stay moving during the day is helpful as well. For
example: taking the dogs out for a walk, offering to help with dishes,
etc. helps to burn more calories than what you would just sitting in one
spot all day.
Justin Traft: There are many ways to plan for extra calories for thanksgiving. One
make sure week or days leading up to thanksgiving is filled with either
working out or some sort of cardio. Maybe plan a workout the day before
and plan on working out the morning of thanksgiving before the day gets
to crazy . Also , after maybe you can plan a family walk after to help
get the body moving after the big meal. Also, in the days before
thanksgivings maybe make sure your doing a little extra cardio or
fitting in a extra workout this way you can give yourself a little room
to enjoy the holiday meal. Also make sure stay hydrated it help with not
only the body during the meal to not over eat but to help the sodium
that the body may be taking in or any added extra sugar.
Cody Plank: Luckily for me I don't have to worry about the high number of calories
that I'll consume on thanksgiving because I'm at a point in my life
where I want to gain weight so the more calories the better! If I were
to be cutting tho and monitoring my caloric intake I would plan on going
on a walk right when I woke up and I would also plan on doing cardio
latter in the night. I would also due my best to try and cut my portion
size down as well.
Heather Plucinski: Thanksgiving
only happens once a year and one of the focal points is feasting. While
we are engaging with our company, reminiscing our blessings and
enjoying the splendor of the atmosphere it's very easy to overindulge on
more things than good conversation. 
However, a few "preventative maintenance" steps can help prevent damage to your waist lines but not sacrifice the fun!
There are different routes for strategizing the fool-proof calorie plan, but at the end of the day you must:
1)
Find what works best for you. Whatever you step(s) you choose, they
must work for your lifestyle and realistic (because no one is only going
to eat 3.25 spears of steamed asparagus!).
2)
Remember it is only one day. If you mess up, recognize the mistake and
move on. (Fitness together will be ready to help burn off the excess
calories!) 
Ok,
so let's get on with it, right? Here are some strategies that I have
found that work for a vast group of clients I have worked with and for
myself too!
- EPOC!
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (try saying that three times
fast!). Better known as EPOC, is the scientific term for the afterburn
effect, which can help you burn more calories long after you’ve left
gym. Once you're done with your workout and back to your daily routine
(maybe just scrolling through Facebook) your body at rest will burn more
calories sitting than it would have if you did not engage in exercise
that day. So, you're number one defense to excess calories: engage in
exercise prior(or post if you're not too sleepy) to feasting! I always
say prior because time flies and before you know it it's time for bed
(& sleep is just as equally important when it comes to weight loss
& maintenance).
- Breakfast!
Just because it's Thanksgiving doesn't make it any less important! Eat a
balanced breakfast which will help prevent a breakout binge session at
dinner!
- Portion
Control & mindful eating. Both of these go hand in hand. I've never
told a client to take a food scale to Thanksgiving dinner and weigh
their starches by ounce. I do encourage mindfully paying attention to
their portion sizes. Three ounces of meat is the approximate size of
your palm, aim for a small handful for your carbohydrates (I.e. -
potatoes, breads, pastas, stuffing), fats (butter, olive oil) are around
the size of your thumb, vegetables (not fried or casseroles) around two
fists is a serving. I typically discourage seconds, but if you must,
wait at least 20-30 minutes and go
after protein and vegetable sources. Lean meats are a great source of
protein (and protein does offer a thermal effect which burns more
calories!) and vegetables, especially those of the dark leafy green
variety offer much needed fiber! Fiber helps greatly fight against bloat
and keeps us regular!
- Water.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Drinking water prior to
eating your meals and between each bite will help prevent you eating
excess calories. A lot of times when we think we are hungry, it's our
body cueing us that we are actually thirsty. Before you get up for a
round of seconds, drink 8-12 ounces of water first and wait. You
might've just saved yourself an additional 450 calories.
- Speaking
of calories, I'm personally a "calorie-hoarder". Meaning, on special
occasions I save calories for items that I normally don't have on a
regular basis (I'm a glutton for pumpkin pie! I skip the crust though so
I have room for brown sugar on my Brussels sprouts). Though I try to
save calories for "fun items" my main priority always is to always aim
for 25-30 grams of fiber daily.
- Weather
permitting (or you have a treadmill at home) go for a walk after
dinner. Have your family join you for some bonding time, too. Studies
have shown that a 20-30 minute walk helps aid with digestion after
meals.
I
hope some of these options may work for you for this holiday season. My
main goal for everyone, no matter what, is to avoid the
"binge-purge-restrict" cycle. It's very easy to fall in that trap of
"well, I already messed up, might as well keep eating" or the
guilty/failure feelings and it's our body that pays the price. I like to
remind anyone who is reading this that Thanksgiving is just one day.
That is it. There's 364 other days to improve! At the end of the day,
the holidays are about embracing happiness and our blessings. Happy
Thanksgiving!
Lisa Clark: During Thanksgiving we all tend
to eat more than we normally would, however we don't have to feel guilty
about those extra calories if we plan in advance for them. I usually
try to eat less the whole week leading up to Thanksgiving. By eating
50-100 calories less each day for a week I don't feel deprived at all
but can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner without the guilt! Also by starting
out the day running in a Turkey Trot 5k, I start the day burning lots of
calories and that allows me to eat a small piece of pie guilt free!!
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