Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and with it comes football, family and food. Lots of food. Like we mentioned in an earlier LetsLose post, ’tis the season in which most weight loss warriors lose the ground they’ve gained over the past year. And with all the delectable dishes that it brings, it’s no wonder Thanksgiving becomes many a dieter’s weight loss Waterloo.
Planning out a healthy Thanksgiving dinner can be an intimidating task for you as a chef, but what if you’re not even the one preparing the food? Luckily, a guide from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is now available online to help you measure out the calories of any given Thanksgiving entrée.
The really neat thing about this graph is that it not only gives you calorie count by volume, but it also gives you a real-life idea of how big each portion is. For example, a half cup is equivalent to a “rounded handful,” a “tennis ball but in half,” and an “ice cream scoop.” These volumetric helps will allow you to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner anywhere and take charge of the amount of calories you take in.
Are you travelling for Thanksgiving this year? We at LetsLose have included a few tips for those of you who are “eating blind” this November.
- Offer to help. Your relatives might appreciate an extra hand in the kitchen, and you might be able to make a few low-calorie contributions to the spread.
- Bring your own. If you’re not travelling very far away for the holiday, you might just bring a salad or diet-friendly side dish along with you!
- Beware the pie! You’ll notice that a light bulb-sized slice of pumpkin pie is about 323 calories—that’s a majority of your meal! Limiting yourself to half of a slice (or less) of dessert will free you up to try more of the low-calorie options.
Where are you going for Thanksgiving this year? Are you the holiday chef? What’s on the menu?