Must we Gobble ‘till we Wobble?

Well the holiday season is upon us….and if you’re like me…that scares you a bit. Here comes two straight months of big meals, constant snacking, and a food barrage like no other time of the year. My willpower crumbles under such forces as left-over Halloween candy, chips and dip, and what seems to be an endless supply of snack foods. So do we just accept the inevitable 5 pounds…or do we fight back?

Thanksgiving dinner can easily include 2000-4000 calories. If you’re able to prepare the meal, you may be able to substitute skim milk and low-fat butter and cut down on the calories. My down fall is all of the ‘picky’ foods before the actual meal…the peanuts…the chips…the pretzels…the soda…the beer. These junk foods can really send the bathroom scale spinning. Here’s a breakdown of some of the typical foods you might consume next week:

Turkey breast (4 oz) – 200 cal …dark meat is almost 100 calories higher.
Gravy (1/4 cup) – 80 calories
Stuffing (1 cup) – 400 calories
Mashed potatoes (1 cup) – 300 calories
Candied Sweet Potatoes (1 cup) – 400 calories
Buttered Rolls (2) – 300 calories
Pumpkin Pie (1 slice) – 400 calories
Coffee (1 cup black) – 0 calories
Beer (12 oz) – 150 calories
Soda (8 oz) – 100 calories
Peanuts (2 oz) – 350 calories
Potato chips (2 oz) – 300 calories
Pretzels (2 oz) – 200 calories

So what can we do? Save yourself for the good stuff. Don’t cut out your favorites, but you may want to be conscious of the ‘fillers’. I can easily consume 2,000+ calories of filler-type snacks during the Thanksgiving football games without even realizing it. If stuffing or potatoes are your favorite, have a second helping…but try to pass on that second buttered roll. Cutting back on the fillers and non-favorites will reduce the holiday belly!

I know there are some folks out there saying things like, "C’mon…live a little!"…"have some fun!"…and I whole-heartedly agree. But why must we associate over-eating as fun? The difference between deprivation and gorging oneself can be measured in the thousands of calories and there’s plenty of fun to be had in between…before we wobble!