Thanksgiving is coming up. Aren’t you excited? After a long year of working hard, you get to be with loved ones, eat delicious food, and forget about your macros for a day. Oftentimes, however, the joy is short-lived. Guilt creeps in as a hangover-tinted Black Friday rolls around and you feel like rolling might just be how you too will need to navigate the mall that day.
How do we avoid feeling like sh*t after Thanksgiving?
Start the day with some movement and a big glass of water
Exercising is a great way to start your day ANY day, but especially before Thanksgiving. A morning workout leaves you with a sense of accomplishment at having done something good for your health before doing something detrimental. Not to mention the endorphins and dopamine it kicks your day off with!
But did you know it also gets your digestive system going? Cardio, yoga, pilates, and some functional weight-lifting are great ways to get things moving through your digestive system. No one wants to already have things “hanging around” their midsection before filling it. This will lessen your chances of bloating later on.
Eat smaller, easy-to-digest, nutritionally dense meals beforehand
Including fiber in your diet is an excellent way to support your digestive system throughout the year. There are two different types of fiber, one of them is called “soluble fiber”. Soluble Fiber is the fiber that can be digested by bacteria in the large intestine. It attracts water, adds bulk to stool, and slows your digestion. If you want to feel light before your big meal, I’d avoid it the morning of Thanksgiving. This means avoiding foods like:
- Oats
- Beans
- Seeds
- Certain fruits (pears, figs, nectarines, apricots, apples)
- Certain veggies (artichokes, leeks, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots)
A lot of these can be found in Thanksgiving Day foods anyway, so you might as well get your fiber then and start your meal feeling light.
In the morning/afternoon before your big meal, stick to things like watermelon, meats and poultry, yogurt, cheese, tofu, smooth nut butter, plant milk, oils, and broths. Berries and raw veggies have high concentrations of insoluble fiber and will keep things moving quickly through your system.
Meals that will keep you feeling ready for Thanksgiving:
- A soy milk, blueberry, and kale smoothie.
- Greek yogurt bowl with raspberries and smooth peanut butter.
- Chicken or veggie soup
- A big salad with leafy greens, tofu or chicken or fish, and a light vinaigrette
- Lettuce wrap tacos with small amounts of guac
Make sure you’ve been drinking water all day (it will help you digest better)
You should always do this, but today it is MUCH more important. I like to start my Thanksgiving Day by filling up my 40 oz hydro flask with some lemon water. The evidence is arguable, but personally, I feel like it gets my system moving faster than plain water.
Take a digestive enzyme with your meal
I started using digestive enzymes while working to clear up my hormonal acne and I noticed a difference in the way I felt after eating big meals right away. Since then, I don’t have a meal without them.
Our bodies contain millions of enzymes that have jobs unlocking different reactions in the body. Digestive enzymes help your body digest certain elements of your food. Some people, due to diet, lifestyle, or hormonal issues, are lacking in enzymes that help to digest certain things (e.g. lactose intolerance has to do with not having the enzyme that digests lactose).
It isn’t just common food intolerances that enzymes help alleviate, many people could use them to be able to absorb more protein, vitamins, or other nutrients from a meal that doesn’t necessarily cause them to have digestive issues.
Getting yourself a complete digestive enzyme is a great way to ensure your body can best digest everything you eat without discomfort or bloating AND it helps you to absorb even more nutrients (helloooo hitting your protein goals).
Eat your protein and veggies first before having the carby part of your meal
When you eat your fibrous and protein-filled foods first, you’re slowing down your digestion and this will prevent an insulin spike when you hit that sweet potato casserole. Spiking your insulin can feel different for different people, but in general, it leads to inflammation, lethargy, MORE sugar cravings, and abdominal fat storage.
Great things to start with include Brussels sprouts, string beans, harvest salad, ham, turkey, chicken, or other veggie or meat dishes.
Avoid eating things you know you have intolerances to
This might be a given, but I’m just putting it out there for all of you “I know I’m lactose intolerant, but just this one time can’t hurt…” people.
With the amount of food you’ll be eating today, it probably WILL hurt. You’re free to make the decision to trade joy from the present for pain in the near future, but PLEASE don’t lie to yourself and try to sugar-coat the consequences. Remember how you felt last time you had said food item and make your decision based on reality.
If you know you will be too uncomfortable later to enjoy the rest of your night, bring an alternative to your predicted craving. It might feel uncomfortable placing your Amy’s Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese next to Aunt Karen’s on the table, but it’s not more uncomfortable than being stuck in the bathroom while everyone else is watching football.
Limit the alcohol (I know, I know)
Again, this goes back to the “joy from the present for pain in the future” concept; no one feels good with a hangover. If you want to wake up Friday morning feeling good, limit yourself to 2-3 drinks. With all of the food you’ll be consuming, you probably won’t even feel a buzz, anyway, and all you’ll be is dehydrated and bloated.
If you do choose to drink, make sure you have a B-Complex vitamin with your first drink, and chug some water with a Liquid IV before you go to sleep. Cheers.
Go on an after-dinner walk
This will help you with that insulin spike we discussed earlier, as well as simply getting your body and by proxy, your digestive system moving. It can also be a fun way to bond with loved ones. I love my after-dinner walks, especially in places where I can see the stars and ask my husband if he also sees Scooby-Doo, or if I just had too much sugar.
Reframe your mind about eating on that day
Your body is very good at processing a one-time excess of calories. If you overeat on Thanksgiving (as most people do), chances are, you won’t gain weight. Not if you eat 500 extra calories, not if you eat 1,500 extra calories. You may see the scale go up due to bloating and food left over in your stomach, but if you eat mostly healthy throughout the year and you’re fairly consistent with your exercise, you have nothing to worry about.
Enjoy your holiday, and leave the guilt at home with your skinny jeans.
