Making or breaking your Thanksgiving diet in 2018

‘Tis the season for feasting! Along with skipping trips to the gym and ditching the dreaded scale, because, ‘Hey! It’s the holidays!’

“I think people tend to give themselves permission to overdo it because it's a holiday it only happens once a year,” Susan Kasik-Miller a Clinical Dietitian at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. “I think in general we tend to eat foods we don't eat the other times of the year.”

For many, Thanksgiving is the holiday to relax with family and indulge.

"All out the window, diets all out the window, I like to take the week off!" says Cade Lambrecht a student at UW-Eau Claire.

“They tend to be higher in fat, higher in calories, they tend to make us feel really good when we eat them,” says Kasik-Miller, talking about common Thanksgiving foods to appear at the table.

On average, Americans consume 3,000 to 4,500 calories at their thanksgiving celebrations compared to a typical 2,000 calorie diet, according to Consumer Report.

So how much of a difference does a little pre-planning and exercise make heading into your thanksgiving feast?

“Unless we do things to consciously think about how we're going to maintain a neutral calorie intake, we'll fall into trouble and find ourselves making a New Year’s resolution to lose 5-10 pounds,” says Kasik-Miller.

She recommends trading out fatty foods like artichoke dip for healthier, low-fat option like hummus and to get moving on Thanksgiving Day by taking a walk with the family or participating in a turkey trot.

“I think exercise not only helps you burn calories but it also makes you think about not overdoing with the calories, it gives you a much healthier mindset,” says Kasik-Miller.

Alyssa Kollross is a group exercise instructor and student at UW-Eau Claire.

“If you are eating a lot more calories and a lot more sweets things, you need to have that balance with exercise to kind of equal it,” she says.

Experts say going into the holiday with a plan can help you feel better and stay on track heading into the New Year.