New Monday - New Week - New Goals

Thanksgiving break is a magical time of food, football and fun. After you’ve gorged on casserole and slept off the turkey coma, it’s easy to wallow in the fridge of leftovers and elastic pants. The results of a study by the Calorie Control Council concluded that the average American could consume as much as 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day.  According to USA Today, that’s equivalent to seven Burger King Whoppers or 15 Dairy Queen hot fudge sundaes.  (Oh MY!)

Too many carbs, too much sugar, too much booze.......

But it’s important to get back on track with healthy eating after the day of splurging and stuffing, especially before the stress of Christmas hits you. Getting back on track is easy with these simple tips:

1. Keep Positive. Beating yourself up over a day of bad eating will not help you get back on track. Remember, when you have thoughts that are negative, mad, sad, hopeless or helpless, your brain releases chemicals that make you feel bad. Conversely, every time you have a thought that is good, happy, hopeful, kind or loving, your brain releases chemicals that make you feel good. Don't let the "stinking thinking" sabotage your attempts to get back on track.

2. DON'T Skip Meals. Don’t try to make up for the extra calories by skipping meals the next day. That just leaves you hungry. Plus, skipping meals can trigger your metabolism to slow down and can throw off your hunger/satiety hormones. Instead, focus on eating lean protein and lots of fresh vegetables, while avoiding sugar. The protein and fiber in the vegetables help to slow digestion, which will help you feel full longer, and keep your metabolism churning.

3. Get Moving. Exercising is a great way to get back on track. But don’t do a mega-workout to try to burn off all the calories you just ate. Just get moving. This helps control cravings, burns calories and helps to balance your mood and blood sugar. Go for a long walk (walk like you’re late), or maybe do some lunges, squats and crunches while watching your favorite holiday movie. Exercise will induce sweating out excess salt and helps you regain your sense of what a healthy body feels like.

4. Do What You Say You're Going To Do (No Matter How Small)  The single best (and most effective) way to get yourself in your flow is to say you are going to do something--and then do it. For example: You say you're going to wake up early tomorrow morning, so actually do it. You say you're going to start your day by reading 10 pages in a book, so actually do it. When you make promises to yourself and keep them, you are ingraining in your subconscious that what you put your mind to, you will get done.

0

So Called "Healthy Food Choices"

With school back in session and the holidays near, most of us find our days hectic. Adding to that, we are all trying to "manage" what we are eating, at least as healthy as we can. Let's say we aim to eat around 1400 calories a day. With today's marketing "sneaks", we might realize our so-called food choices are sabotaging our healthy eating.

Most have us have good intentions with our healthy eating, but in reality most of us struggle with always choosing the best option. Take a quick calorie quiz from HMR Weight Management here to see how you’d do selecting “healthier” options when dining out.

So, let's take a look at what might be a typical day.

We stayed up late last night watching a ball game or Christmas movie, so our morning starts out with lots of caffeine coffee to reboot our fog-filled brain. Flavoring it with a little sugar and half and half is more calorie-friendly than those coffee shop drinks, we think

• 6 ounces black coffee
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 2 packets sugar

Now, it's time to get this kids something to eat, so they pour a sugar coated cereal into their bowls with some milk. We decide you want something a little heathier so decide to eat granola with skim milk.

• 1/2 cup granola
• 1/4 cup skim milk

After getting the kids out the door and we arrive at work, and immediately tackle the pile of work left on our desk from the night before. Next time we look at the clock, it's almost lunchtime already. We had intended to pack a lunch the night before, but never got around to it, so let's head to the cafeteria to see what healthy choices we can find. There, we spot the chicken Caesar salad, which consists of chicken strips on a bed of romaine lettuce with various salad toppings, all tossed with Caesar salad dressing. We know that's the ticket—low calorie and nutrient rich. For a beverage we opt for a soda, figuring just one little splurge won't hurt since our other food choices so far today have been carefully planned.

• chicken Caesar salad
• 16 ounce soda

In the afternoon, someone has brought in "goodies" to celebrate someone's birthday in the office. There are so many yummy foods, we struggle to resist. Finally we get some cheese and crackers, thinking that's a better choice than the brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

• 6 crackers
• 3 cheese cubes

Finally, we get home and decides it's pasta night because we're tired and don't want to fuss with a fancy meal. We choose whole wheat pasta because we've read it's better than white pasta. To go with the pasta, we top with a basil pesto sauce.

• 2 cups whole wheat pasta
• 1/4 cup basil pesto sauce

Most of us feel the need for an evening snack. (I do!) We really want ice cream, but decides to go for the healthier frozen yogurt.

• 1 cup frozen yogurt

We head of to bed thinking, I've done pretty well today with my eating. A few more days like this, and I might actually lose a pound.

What would you guess our calorie intake was for the day?

A. 1,389
B. 1,845
C. 2,417
D. 3,321

C Is the Correct answer!!!

Coffee:

6 ounces black coffee = 4 calories
2 tablespoons half-and-half = 40 calories
2 packets sugar = 22 calories

• Total = 66 calories

Breakfast:

1/2 cup granola = 210 calories
1/4 cup skim milk = 21 calories

• Total = 231 calories

Lunch:

chicken Caesar salad = 793 calories
16 ounce soda = 208 calories

• Total = 1,001 calories

Afternoon Snack:

6 crackers = 80 calories
3 cheese cubes = 207 calories

• Total = 287 calories

Dinner:

2 cups whole wheat pasta = 348 calories
1/4 cup basil pesto sauce = 263 calories

• Total = 611 calories

Dessert:

1 cup frozen yogurt = 221 calories

• Total = 221 calories

TOTAL for the DAY = 2,417

In today's calorie-filled food environment, it doesn't take much to go over our daily calorie allowance. We made a conscious effort to take in only 1,400 calories for the day, but was actually 1,142 calories over our goal.

So what can you do? An easy way is to write down everything you eat. Using an app like MyFitnessPal is a great tool. Portion control is a great way to keep your calories in check. You can buy portion control containers for less than $10.

Stay tuned and I'll share more tips on how to survive Thanksgiving and still eat some of your favorite foods without getting offtrack.

*Source: SparkPeople

0