The holidays are meant for family and friends to be together. For people trying to lose weight, a worry of the holidays is the Thanksgiving meal. I’ve outlined the calories of a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Keep in mind, this breakdown does not include going up for second servings.
Thanksgiving Meal:
Food Amt Cal Fat Carb Sugar Protein
Turkey breast 6 oz 282 14 0 14 39
Stuffing 1/2 cup 181 9 22 2 3
Green Bean Casserole 1 cup 193 6 31 8 4
Butternut Squash 1 cup 84 0 22 4 2
Wheat Dinner Roll 1 roll 78 2 13 0 2
Yams 1 cup 156 0 37 1 2
Cranberry Relish 1/3 cup 123 1 33 26 0
Mashed Potatoes 1 cup 237 9 35 3 4
Gravy ½ cup 75 3 8 1 4
Pumpkin Pie 1/8 pie 323 13 46 25 5
Total 1732 57 247 84 65
As you can see, the total calories in this one meal may be near what someone may consume in a day to maintain their weight. This meal has a higher amount of carbohydrates than protein, so if you must go up for seconds, reach for the turkey rather than the pumpkin pie to satisfy the hunger for later.
1 lb of weight loss or gain is a change of 3,500 calories. 1 large meal isn’t going to cause you to gain 5 lbs, or even 1 lb for that matter, but eating several of these sized meals can cause the weight gain. Don’t forget that alcohol also adds up the calories very quickly too! Most importantly, try to remember the reason for the holidays isn’t the food, but to be with family and friends.
