Fitness Together Brecksville: How Do You Plan For The Extra Calories on Thanksgiving?

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?

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!!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

How Do You Plan For The Extra Calories on Thanksgiving?

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