Thanksgiving Tips

Here are 10 ways to make your Thanksgiving Day a little healthier. Do at least 3 of these and I'll be very thankful!

1. Eat a healthy breakfast on Thanksgiving morning (it prevents overeating later.)
2. Get some exercise.
3. Be the slowest eater at the table. Set your fork down between every bite of food.
4. Drink lots of water the whole day through and have small snacks when you get hungry.
5. Eat your turkey and healthiest veggies first, before you eat the stuffing, potatoes, etc.
6. Go for a walk after dinner (it helps prevent your blood sugar from rising too high too fast.)
7. Remember the 3-bite rule: 90% of the flavor is in the first 3 bites. That means you don't need a huge slice of pie!
8. Give away the most unhealthy leftovers.
9. Have healthy meals and a good workout planned for the day after Thanksgiving (to get right back on track).
10. Take a moment to be thankful and to enjoy your family and friends (I'm not being sentimental--research shows that this can improve your health!)

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Fat-Burning Factoids

Now we're starting Holiday Weight-Gain Season, so here are a few of the latest research findings on how to prevent holiday heft:

1. People who eat breakfast consume about 5% fewer calories over the course of the day. That's about 100 calories, which adds up to losing over 10 pounds per year!

2. New studies are finding that cortisol--the stress hormone--interferes with the transmission of leptin, the "satisfaction" hormone that tells you to stop eating. This explains why you are hungrier when you're stressed. Try to manage stress and be extra consciencious about watching your portion sizes when things get hectic.

3. Saturated fat--the kind in cheese, cream, butter, beef (i.e., fat from any animal except fish)--does not trigger the release of leptin as much as healthy fats, like nuts or olive oil. That means you get less satisfaction and "fullness" from these unhealthy fats.

Tips for Weight-Gain Season

Hello!

I hope you had a happy Halloween and have thrown out all the leftover candy. (If you haven't, do it right now! Yes...NOW! You'll be happy you did!)

Now we're starting Holiday Weight-Gain Season, so here are a few of the latest research findings on how to prevent holiday heft:

1. A study at Arizona State found that people who eat breakfast consume about 5% fewer calories over the course of the day. That's about 100 calories, which adds up to losing over 10 pounds per year!

2. New studies are finding that cortisol (the stress hormone) interferes with the transmission of leptin (the "satisfaction" hormone that tells you've had enough to eat.) This explains why you eat more when you're stressed. Get proactive about managing your stress this holiday season and do your best not to overeat when you are stressed.

3. Workouts that burn the most fat are ones that include intervals and (not surprisingly) are longer and more intense. It turns out that you don't get very much of a metabolism boost for the day unless you do a fairly long hard workout.


Have a good week!

Jill

Didn't throw your leftover candy out yet? Now! Do it NOW!