Thanksgiving is coming!

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, we've been talking to our clients a lot about making healthy food choices. As my fellow instructor T says, "There will be lots more Thanksgivings to eat some of that "good" stuff". We don't want our clients to ruin everything they've worked so hard for.

I came across an article in the paper this weekend that says that the traditional plate at Thanksgiving, plus pumpkin pie for dessert, adds up to 1,211 calories -- and almost 52 grams of fat. It goes on to say, that with snacking and seconds, that total could be at least 3,000 calories!!!!!

So, let's say there is a 150 pound women. Her daily caloric need would be 1568 kcal per day. Here is the calculation: 150/2.2 = 68.18 kg (body weight) * 23 = 1568 kcal per day. If this women eats the typical 3,000 calories during Thanksgiving, that's almost double her daily caloric need! Do you know what happens to those extra calories we eat...FAT!!

Let's look at it another way...1 pound of body fat has 3,500 calories. That means that if this woman eats the typical 3,000 calories on Thanksgiving, then she could potentially gain about 1/2 a pound. That's only one meal! What about breakfast? What about if you are eating at two different locations...lunch and dinner? What about the beverages you consume that day?

When someone wants to lose weight, we tell them that they need to decrease their caloric intake and increase their energy expenditure, so that the total calorie reduction is around 500 calories a day. If you do this for 7 days, then you will lose 1 pound a week (3500 calories). This is a safe amount to lose.

Think of how much harder you just made it to lose weight, when you've just gained a 1/2 pound in one day!

Something to think about :)