If only Thanksgiving weren’t so frightening to those of us trying to watch what we eat. We have to suffer through all of the beautiful dishes screaming our names to just “try” them. We all know there is no such thing as “trying” a piece of cheesecake. So why do we make ourselves so miserable, or even pretend like we can handle the pressure?
Thanksgiving has been deemed the least healthy holiday by most Americans. It doesn’t quite seem fair considering we are the ones who have given it this title, but we are the ones eating all of the ridiculous amounts of food we seem to think needs to be consumed on the day. Before we all get mad at Thanksgiving and the pilgrims, let’s take a look at what is expected to be consumed and what that means for our waistlines.
First up, I’d like to call to the stand, Turkey, the main character in the Thanksgiving feast.
5 ounces of white mean Turkey: Total Fat: 11.9g Saturated Fat: 3.4 Trans Fat: 0 Cholesterol: 107.8mg Sodium: 89.3mg Carbs: 0 Protein :40.6g
Turkey does have a little bit of fat, no saturated or trans fats though, but healthy unsaturated fats. There is a very small amout of cholesterol, sodium, and no carbs. It has tons of protein, and protein from turkey is a great source because it is a complete protein with all of the necessary amino acids. It seems like turkey is not bad for us, but actually healthy. The jury says that Turkey is innocent!
Now for Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes, Dark Orange, Fresh, 5″ long Total Fat: .1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 71.5mg Carbs: 26.2g Protein: 2g
Hmm, it appears that sweet potatoes are essentially fat free, and cholesterol free. The sodium content is negligible, and so is the protein content. It does have 26.2g of GOOD carbs. Good carbs you ask? Yes, the carbohydrates found in sweet potatoes are complex carbs, meaning they digest slowly, providing your body with energy, not your “spare tire” with more “air.” No fat, nothing else unhealthy, healthy source of essential carbs: The Verdict: Sweet Potatoes are innocent!
Up next, canned cranberry sauce.
Cranberry Sauce, Sweetened and Canned, 3 slices: Total Fat: .3g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 49.6mg Carbs: 66.5g Sugars- 64.5.g Protein: .3g
Well, it appears that cranberry sauce is fat free, please remember that the FDA lets food be labeled as fat free, preservative free, or trans fat free as long as there is less than .5g of the substance per serving. Please don’t think that everything is actually fat free. Just think of it as .49g of fat per serving. Canned cranberry suace has no cholesterol and a very low sodium level. It does have 66.5g of carbs, 64.5g of those are sugar. Think of those 65g being pasted right to your belly, that’s not a pretty sight. It looks like canned cranberry sauce is guilty!
Up next, stuffing:
Stuffing, bread, prep/dry mix 1/2cup Total Fat: 8.6g Saturated Fat: 1.7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 543mg Carbs: 21.7g Sugars: 2.1g Protein: 3.2g
Well, stuffing has a small amount of fat, but not bad fat. There is a limited amount of cholesterol and protein, but tons of sodium as with most boxed or canned foods. It has a little bit of carbs from the white bread mix, but it’s not from sugar and actually has less carbs than a can of soda, so it seems like stuffing is innocent.
The results speak for themselves, turkey isn’t bad, but actually healthy. Sweet potatoes aren’t bad, but healthy, cranberries are healthy if you prepare them yourself, and stuffing isn’t healthy, and isn’t bad.
Is Thanksgiving guilty? No, it’s innocent. Turkey, sweet potatoes, and stuffing might actually be our healthiest meal of the year with small healthy portions.
I think we know who is really guilty.
Well, that’s obvious. The truth is, if you eat anything in excess, even the most healthy foods, you will gain weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.
So what’s the problem with Thanksgiving? We overeat. Not only do we overeat on healthy real food, but we gorge ourselves on desserts. I’m not even going to go there, we all know what we should and shouldn’t be eating when it comes to dessert.
So get off of Thanksgiving’s case, its not guilty, we are. This year, instead of getting so stuffed we have to be rolled away from the table, how about we take responsibility for ourselves and know when to call it quits, and actually do it. This year, instead of complaining how miserable we are from overeating, let’s give thanks to the lord that we actually have more than enough to eat and have our needs provided for.
Have A Happy Thanksgiving.
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categories: Weight Loss,Thanksgiving,Holidays,Food,Eating,Fat Loss,fitness,health
