Thanksgiving Tips

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

As we approach Thanksgiving, I thought of a few more tips to share.

1.) Like to snitch while you're waiting on dinner? Snitch things like raw veggies from the veggie tray while you wait. They're low calorie and they're full of fiber so they'll curb your appetite before dinner.

2.) When you get ready to eat, think about this: what foods can you have all year round? (I can think of a few - mashed potatoes, corn...) Try skipping those. Go instead for the things you've been picturing in your mind since November 1. You know the foods I mean: the ones you only get to eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And only serve yourself a tablespoon or so of each.

3.) Don't eat all of one food and then move on to the next. Taste each food on your plate and then go back to the first. This prevents overeating due to Sensory Specific Satiety. (Big complicated phrase that means "each subsequent bite tastes less yummy than the first".) When you eat all of one food, by the time you're done with that food, it doesn't taste near as good as when you first started. If you do that with every food, you'll wind up eating more so you can taste each food. If you taste each food first, you'll get that best bite of each and won't feel the need to eat all of everything.

4.) Don't go back for seconds. Make sure you have a little of everything you want to try on your plate the first go round.

5.) Don't graze.  Sit down. Eat what's on your plate and stay away from the food table. If you do feel the need to eat again later, grab a small plate and put what you want on the plate. Then go sit down away from the food table.