This week is Thanksgiving, and for those celebrate it means big social gatherings and food. Unfortunately this year has thrown us the curveball of COVID-19, so many people will not be seeing their loved ones and will be eating alone. No matter what your holiday plans are, most of us will struggle with overindulgence, especially on a holiday centered around a feast. If you are alone (like I have been on many many holidays), you may tend to be sad or lonely, and over eat (or like me, cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for your damn self, yolo right)? If you are gathering with others (hopefully being safe, let’s stop the spread) studies show that you may actually eat less due to being engaged with others all day (good news for that), but you may get in trouble with those take home leftovers and late-night snacks.

This year, I’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving with my friends Peggy, Nick, Stacey, and Holly, along with my dog Baron. We are going to a private club called the Sterling in Las Vegas, where I am a member. I’m super excited for our friendsgiving day out, and the fact that we will not have any leftovers, thank goodness. However, as I’ve been pretty dedicated to my fitness, I’ve been  wondering, “How the heck can we not overindulge, or indulge without feeling bad, on Thanksgiving and the days after (leftover city)?

Here are some tips I’ve come up with. If these tips work for you please tag me @AskHeatherMariannaBlog on Instagram and please always share my posts!

Thanksgiving Morning:
-Eat breakfast. You may want to wait for the big meal, but this will keep your metabolism going, which is good.
-Go for an early morning workout before heading over to your gathering (if you are alone this is a must, exercise boosts happiness). Go for a long walk, hit the gym (if your city’s gyms are open), run or jog to the park and do some Yoga or Pilates, turn on the tunes and dance for half an hour. Any type of extra calorie burn will help when you plan to eat those extra cookies or pie.

Thanksgiving Feast:
Go the “healthy plate” route. Choose half of your plate for veggies such as carrots, green beans (not the casserole ok, not the casserole), salad, or other veggie options that are not smothered in cheese or canned soup. One quarter of the plate can be protein: turkey, ham, meats. The other quarter can be your stuffing and carbs (fun fact I am obsessed with Stove Top stuffing).

(Also, I will never understand the green bean casserole, I just can’t with that. I literally CAN’T! Please tag me in your green bean casserole pics, I will choose some winners to win Beauty Kitchen by Heather Marianna products! lol!)
If you are eating Turkey, skip the thighs. They have more calories than a thick slice of prime rib. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and have about 125 calories per cup. Avoid any sweet potato dishes with marshmallows in them, again why why ruin such a good ,healthy snack with that?! Crudité and yogurt dip is always great too. Bring your own yogurt dip! Go easy on the alcohol. We all know that alcohol contains so many calories, so go easy and drink plenty of water. I usually do two waters to one wine, and limit the wine I am drinking that day to two glasses.

Post Thanksgiving:
This is where you really have to watch it. Leftovers can be the worst. I don’t know about you, but I walk to the fridge many times snacking all day and all night. So here are a few ideas to turn that leftover turkey into healthy meals. Who doesn’t love meal prep?! We know I do! One thing you can do is turn the Turkey into a delicious soup by using leftover veggies from veggie trays, salads etc. Just add fat free chicken broth or turkey broth and boil. You can also use leftover meats and make egg white omelettes, another great use for leftover veggie trays.

Lastly readers, whatever you choose to do on Thanksgiving is OK, remember that. You may finally be traveling to see friends and family and may choose to overindulge, and that is totally ok. It has been a rough year. Just make wise choices according to the goals you are currently trying to meet. 2021 is around the corner and let’s all hope it’s a much different year for all of us!