Tips for A Healthy Thanksgiving or "Friendsgiving"

By Elana Goodwin on November 24, 2014

While most students can look forward to going home for Thanksgiving and spending the holiday with family, heading back home isn’t always possible.

But that doesn’t have to stop you from celebrating Thanksgiving at school. If you’re stuck at college for the holiday, host or go to a “Friendsgiving” celebration, which is a Thanksgiving spent with friends.

Photo Credit: Huffington Post

However, whether you’re going home or not for Thanksgiving, there’s one common problem many face — how do you enjoy your meal without gaining a ton of holiday dinner weight?

Registered dietitian, board certified nutritionist and consultant for The Coca-Cole Company Cristine Rivera, has some advice on how to have a healthy Thanksgiving.

The first tip for a healthy Thanksgiving is when serving yourself food, make sure to have a balanced plate. This will let you have your favorites but also take in important nutrients and not overeat.

Be sure half your plate is filled with veggies (especially those that are high in fiber) because those will make you feel full which means you won’t eat as much of other more fattening foods. The other half of your plate should be split between turkey or another protein and starches, like potatoes, stuffing, etc.

A second tip is eat everything in moderation. You may be tempted to overindulge because some of your favorites may be seasonal or Thanksgiving-specific, but don’t let yourself binge.

Enjoy and don’t feel guilty about some indulgence but moderate how much you eat, and don’t just eat because the foods taste good and they’re there. Eat enough to make you satisfied and move on to another dish, keeping it all in moderation.

Thanksgiving on “Friends”
Photo Credit: smallscreenscoop.com

If you’re at school and hosting a Friendsgiving, you may be worried about your budget. One way to avoid this issue is to serve smaller portions which will give you and your guests the perfect amount of food with less calories.

Also, many schools put on Thanksgiving dinners for students who can’t go home and they’re typically free, too! Bonus: you can bring bags and containers and fill them with leftovers so you and your friends can have a Friendsgiving without doing much shopping.

Another tip is when you’re enjoying your meal, eat slowly. Research shows it takes up to 15 minutes for our brains to register we’re full. So instead of scarfing down all the food on your plate, take the time to talk to your friends, enjoy their company, put down your fork, and let your brain catch up with your stomach.

Lastly, both Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving are great times to be active. Play some holiday-themed games or do some exercises to balance your calories from eating with calories you burn through exercise. This will help keep the holiday weight from catching up to you and can be a fun way to work out this holiday, either with friends or family.

So make this Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving a healthy one by employing some of these tips — because Christmas is just around the corner which means even more holiday food is coming up!

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