No.1 How Not To Gain Weight Over Thanksgiving - Women Compus - Women Campus

Happy Thanksgiving collegiettes™! Enjoy time at home with your family, friends, and the food. As Thanksgiving is a holiday almost completely centered around a meal, there are a few things to consider. When it’s all about the food, how do you walk the line between enjoyment and over-indulgence?
 
We fully support a serving of Grandma’s super rich gravy, or a slice of your Dad’s famous pumpkin pie. With that said, wolfing down an entire pie by yourself or eating so much turkey you can’t even walk to the couch… we wouldn’t stand by. There’s no need to go extreme (in either direction!) on this wonderful holiday, so we’ve talked to James Madison University professor and registered dietitian Dr. Melissa Rittenhouse RD, CSSD to learn what’s good, what’s fowl (gobble gobble!), and how you can improve each classic Turkey Day dish.
 
What you need to know:
“Many traditional Thanksgiving foods can be modified to have less calories, fat and sodium by substituting ingredients and/or cooking methods. However, the traditional foods can also be enjoyed the old fashioned way as long as portion sizes are controlled and you limit yourself to one plate of food rather than multiples.”- Dr. Rittenhouse, RD, CSSD
 
Here’s a quick rundown of our T-Day staples so we know where things stand to start with:
 

• Turkey:

Serving: 4 oz dark meat with skin
Calories: 206 cal, 8 g fat, 2.4 g saturated fat, 132 mg cholesterol
4 oz white meat, no skin: 153 kcal, .8 g fat, .3 g saturated fat, 94 mg chol
 

• Stuffing:

Serving: 1 oz or ½ C
Calories: StoveTop Mix: 160 kcal, 1 g fat
Homemade approximately 250 kcal
 

• Sweet potatoes:

Serving: 5 oz
Calories: 390 kcal, 12 g fat, 7 g saturated fat
 

• Mashed potatoes and gravy:

Serving: ½ C
Calories: 120 kcal, 4.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat

• Cranberry sauce:

Serving: ½ inch thick slice
Calories: 86 kcal, less than 1 g fat
 

• Green bean casserole:

Serving: ½ C
Calories: 130 kcal, 7 g fat, 3.5 g fat
 

• Pumpkin pie:

Serving: 1 piece of 9-inch pie (cut into 8ths)
Calories: 316 calories, 14.5 g fat, 5g saturated fat