Johnson Dental Healthy Thanksgiving Tips
At Johnson Dental, your health and happiness is our goal. When it comes to your health, we like to look at our patients as more than just dentistry cases. We realize the health of your whole body is dependent on all aspects of your body working in harmony. One of the greatest challenges we face in these busy times is eating correctly. The holiday season seems to be the time when we make the most bad choices and tend to overindulge.
Did you know that the average person gains seven pounds from Halloween to New Years? As we age, taking off those extra pounds can be more and more challenging. Additionally, extra weight, even a small amount is very hard on your heart. So what are some ways to combat holiday weight gain? Here are some suggestions:
- Double your workouts so you can enjoy the festivities without the added guilt, but do so in moderation.
- Cut the sugar in half in your recipes. Many recipes will not suffer at all if you cut way back on the amount of sugar you use. Some recipes work quite well with apple sauce or a low glycemic sweetener instead.
- Greek yogurt often works as a great substitute for sour cream in dips and dressings.
- Almonds garnished with slivered almonds and a little olive oil or butter are much healthier than the green bean casserole with the French fried onions on top. They taste great, too!
- Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet and do not need any sugar added to them. You can add spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg and achieve all of the flavor without all of the extra calories. No one will notice the difference!
- Serve a delicious green salad with a festive dressing like a cranberry vinaigrette to balance out the richness of all of the other dishes.
- You don’t have to take EVERYTHING. Take servings of only your favorite dishes. Leave the ones that don’t “wow” you behind.
- Taste everything—eat nothing. In other words, if you must have all of the foods available, take only a small amount of each.
- Serve festive roasted root vegetables. Yum!
- Use veggies for dips instead of crackers. A slice of cucumber makes a perfect cracker.
- Eat slowly. Enjoy the conversation around you and finish eating before you’re full.
- Remember that alcohol has calories, too.
- After the meal is complete, put the extra food away so that you are not tempted to graze even after you are full.
- Instead of falling asleep after thanksgiving dinner, go for a walk. You will feel better, it will help with digestion and it will help burn some of your calories.
- If you are still full, take your dessert home and eat it later! You’ll enjoy it more if you are not already bursting at the seams.