No-Pressure Eating - Enjoy Your Thanksgiving!

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving?

Getting together with family and friends of course enjoying great food and drink.

Did you know most people now look forward to Thanksgiving more than Christmas because there is less pressure?

It is also the time of year when people gain seven to ten pounds. The average calories consumed at a Thanksgiving dinner is 3,000...and with appetizers, drinks and dessert it can add up to 4,500 calories! That is at least a one-pound gain, depending on what else you ate during the day.

Here is a list of the calorie content of some of your favorites:

1. 1 cup of eggnog without alcohol - 223 calories

2. 4 oz. of wine – 100 calories

3. 1 oz. of peanuts – 170 calories

4. 7 (28g) cubes of cheese – 110 calories

5. 10 oz. glass of whiskey and coke with single shot of whiskey – 195 calories.

You may think some of those aren’t too bad, but it takes time to burn those calories!

Consider how long it would take you to burn off calories if you weigh 150 pounds. If you weigh less than 150 pounds it will take even longer.

1. Walking (3 ½ miles per hour): 140 in 30 minutes

2. Weight lifting (general light workout): 110 in 30 minutes

3. Hiking: 185 in 30 minutes

4. Gardening: 165 in 30 minutes

5. Chopping Wood: 220 in 30 minutes

Consider these numbers when you are trying to decide which foods you will eat and which you will avoid.

Have a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving

How to Incorporate Fresh Vegetables into Your Diet

I always look forward to this time of year because I am able to get fresh vegetables from the garden. The trick is to get variety because we all tend to eat the same thing every week.

Dark green vegetables like broccoli, dark green leafy lettuce, spinach, collard greens and kale are excellent sources of potassium, vitamin A and C. They are also good sources of calcium and iron. 

The red and orange vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, red peppers and squash) are easy to incorporate because they tend to be sweeter, therefore more appealing. These veggies are great sources of potassium, vitamins A and C, and are natural carbohydrates.1

Next you have the beans and peas; these are high in fiber, which helps with proper bowel function. Fiber helps to reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Try some of these: black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, white beans, split peas.

Then you have your starchy vegetables (potatoes, water chestnuts, green peas and green lima beans, for instance), which have a higher sugar content but still provide you with essential vitamins.

Don’t forget about bean sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers, mushrooms and onions. These are also great sources of vitamins and fiber.

Choosing just a few from all the groups can provide you with a nice balance of nutrients to help you fight against heart disease, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. Eating vegetables high in potassium may help to lower blood pressure, help to reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and decrease bone loss. Besides being good for you, vegetables have less calories than many other foods and will keep you full longer.

Sugar: The Enemy of Good Health

It's well known that sugar is bad for you, but many people do not realize how just how bad. Doctors always say reduce your salt intake if you have high blood pressure; now they are saying you should also reduce your sugar intake. Sugar is one of the leading causes of heart disease. Studies are showing it has the same effect on your brain as drugs. It gives you the feel-good boost that drugs do - one of the reasons we consume so much of it.

Almost all of the packaged food you purchase has some kind of sugar in it, some of it worse for you than others. Do you know that even the salad dressings you buy have added sugar?

Processed packaged food is a quick, easy way to cook when you are in a hurry, which we all seem to be these days. But those quick easy foods are ruining your health. Look at the ingredients on the package before you purchase processed food to be sure sugar has not been added.

Better yet, buy fresh vegetables and fruit with all their natural sugars. You will be amazed at how sweet a peach tastes when you haven’t had processed sugar in a while and how much better you feel consuming natural sugars over processed.