Marcie Goldman vs. Thanksgiving bloat.
by elephantjournal dotcom on Nov 27, 2008
Dear friends,
Are some of you going into tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday expecting to feel stuffed, sleepy and guilty after your feast?
Okay, maybe some of you are saying “everything but guilty.” If that’s the case, you will still gain to heed these suggestions.
Marcie’s Tips on How to Eat Plenty Without Feeling Uncomfortable or Bloated:
(Beware, some of these might surprise you)
- Make sure to eat breakfast.
- A substantial one at that, rich in protein and well balanced.
- I know, most of you think you need to skip breakfast to save room for all that food later. Wrong!
- Skipping breakfast or any meal is not a good idea as it slows your metabolism. You won’t be able to eat very much because the furnace of your metabolism is not running efficiently (or you’ll eat a lot anyway & feel icky).
- Schedule your meals so they are about 4-5 hours apart. If you’re having a 5pm Thanksgiving dinner, eat lunch between 12:00 and 1:00pm.
- Note: This should be the plan everyday!
- Get Moving
- Make some time this day to get some exercise. Not the, “I’m going to over eat so I better burn off enough calories to make room for this gigantic meal.”
- Just some movement and maybe even sunshine, to boost your serotonin so your cravings are not kicked into full gear.
- Plus, you’ll feel better about yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you’re less likely to make yourself feel bad (by over eating, etc).
- Avoid the “Well, it’s only one day of the year, why not…” mentality.
- Remember, it’s only one day of the year everyday.
- For most of us, binging or compulsive eating just one day will have consequences that effect our bodies long after Thanksgiving is over.
- If you know over eating causes guilt, then don’t be fooled that you won’t experience the guilt on Thanksgiving (or any holiday).
- The effect of over eating keeps its promise: You get excited by all the food, you indulge, you over indulge, and you feel guilty. It’s as simple as that.
- Just don’t pretend that it’s all going to feel good if you have a history of feeling guilty when you over eat.
- Make every day Thanksgiving (a holiday)
- When you learn how not to deprive yourself, every day is a holiday.
- Special occasions can then be appreciated for things other than food, like friends and family and the things we are grateful for.
- When you learn to give yourself the foods you love, everyday, the desire and need to binge on them is eliminated.
- Ask to take food home with you, ask for recipes…you can create this amazing meal whenever you want.
- You will make every day feel as abundant as this day does, when you begin to learn how to take care of yourself.
- (This is what I help you with if we haven’t gotten here yet).
- Balance your plate with Protein, Starches and Non-Starchy Veggies
- Most all of you know that bread is filling - so are starchy foods. This means: mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, squash and the like.
- So, don’t fool yourself. If you want room for everything, take smaller portions of the starchy foods so they are balanced with the other food groups.
- Watch what you drink: sugar in your beverages fills you up similarly to starches. This includes alcohol.
- Again, balance, and go for water (with lemon to aid digestion).
- Don’t Skimp on the Gravy
- I’m serious, gravy is a digestive aid.
- Good quality fats (that includes animal fats, organic butter and extra virgin olive oil) add enzymes that help break down food.
- This includes butter on your potatoes and dressing on your salads.
- Don’t think going low fat is going to save you calories or points. It actually makes the quality of your food less digestible.
- Take your L-Glutamine
- This will help curb your cravings for over indulging in sweets and carbohydrates. Watch your interest in all 3-5 desserts diminish to just one.
- Take 500-2000mg first thing in the morning, an hour and a half after breakfast, and 30 minutes before Thanksgiving meal.
- This is helpful to take everyday if you have low blood sugar symptoms.
- Take GTF Chromium
- with your dessert to help your body process, digest and not store the sugar as fat.
- This is something you can take everyday, with meals.
- Have something with cinnamon and cloves
- Studies show that cinnamon, especially, and cloves, stimulate insulin activity and thus help the body process sugars more efficiently.
- This is all good so we don’t store those sugars as fat.
- The pumpkin pie is not a bad choice.
- After dinner digestive aids
- Tea: Ginger, Mint, Chamomile, Fennel, Chai spice (without the milk)
- These taste good as well as effectively aid digestion.
- Bring a couple tea bags with you if you’re traveling to someones house.
- A sip of someones coffee (before they add the cream and sugar), it has to be bitter to get the digestive aid benefits.
I hope these have inspired you to re-think Thanksgiving feast as one that can be enjoyed without feeling bloated or uncomfortable by the end.
Did you notice that most of these tips can be applied to your everyday?
Please feel free to forward this to friends and family.
If you think anyone could use ongoing support, feel free to send them my offer of a free initial “get acquainted” session. Here, we discuss their main health concerns and I show them how I can help.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Gratefully your health expert,
Marcie
Marcie Goldman, Nutrition Counselor and Health Expert
The secrets to sound nutrition for health, happiness and beauty.
P. 303.520.2480 O. 303.923.5570 (for phone consultations)
F. 877.759.3942
marciegold@yahoo.com
