Turning the tables: Thanksgiving is not a filling station -- unless you want ER to be next stop

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - Ah, Thanksgiving. A holiday where we traditionally drown our best healthy intentions in stuffing and pumpkin pie; where our finger on the remote may be the only part of our body that gets any exercise.

It doesn't have to be that way. We polled health experts for quick, easy tips on how to minimize the damage that Thanksgiving (and the holidays that follow it) can do to our well-being.

These are definitely compromises _ you're not often going to find a nutritionist who recommends eating pumpkin pie _ but follow them, and you may find that Turkey Day doesn't leave its leftovers weighing so heavily on your waistline.

EAT BEFORE THE BIG MEAL

Several experts pointed out that if you're hungry when the big meal arrives, you're more likely to gorge. So don't skip other meals on turkey day. And drink your water, too.

"Eat breakfast. Make sure you still eat regularly during the day," said Bethany Thayer, registered dietician at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. If "you get to that meal and you're starving, you don't have the ability to restrain yourself."

She also suggested that the typical heaped Turkey Day plate doesn't help. "Approach the buffet as a child might," she said. "Don't let the foods touch on the plate. It helps with portion control."

Definitely serve your own plate, our experts agreed. Use smaller plates and smaller utensils if you want to psych yourself into eating less.

"I pretend like I'm at a wine tasting. I'll have two to three desserts and have a bite of each, and I'm fine," said Cliff Ewald, fitness specialist and personal trainer coordinator at the Botsford Center for Health Improvement in Novi, Mich.

Avoid alcohol if you don't want to overeat, Thayer said. "It's a little more available at these parties, and can be a high source of calories," she said. "It can also affect your ability to choose wisely."

Detroit Receiving Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Roy Elrod said: "You have to remake the rule of one. It's a scoop of ice cream, one piece of cake, a glass of wine. It doesn't have to be two or three."

Employ the "three Ds," suggests Jacqueline Odom, director of psychology at the Beaumont Weight Control Center in Royal Oak, Mich.: distance, delay and distract. "Go do something to take your mind off of the food. Take the dog for a walk. Talk to someone far away from the food," she said.

Even if you're stuck in the room with the munchies, there are things you can do to avoid having them be the center of your attention.

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"Sit with your back to the buffet, so you won't be staring at it all the time," said Mila Padgett, Oakland University's assistant director of programs in campus recreation.

BE A PICKY EATER

Don't walk in and start loading up your plate without thinking first, our experts said.

"Preplanning is the key to success: thinking a situation through and having a plan of action," said Odom.

"There is no mystery with these meals. We pretty much know what we'll be served. We have to know our problem areas. Everyone has their trigger foods."

Thayer said that doesn't mean that you can't have the special foods you like. Just don't have them on top of everything else.

"Choose foods that you want, the ones that are important to you," Thayer said. "If you have mashed potatoes every day, maybe you don't need to have them at the holiday meal. Walk the length of the buffet first and see, 'What foods do I really want?' Then you know what you need to make room for. "I always look at the desserts first," she said, chuckling.

Stacy Witthoff, registered dietician and wellness coordinator with MHealthy Nutrition and Weight Management at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, suggests that you "portion out the plate. Half would be vegetables, a quarter would be turkey without the skin and the other portion would be the starches or grains."

Be smart about what you choose to eat, she said. Low-fat whipped cream is better than ice cream; olive oil is better than butter on things like potatoes, whole grain is better than white for the bread.

If you're going for the pie, Padgett recommends the orange stuff: "Pumpkin usually has the least amount of calories, without whipped cream."

Once you've selected your food, eat it slowly.

"Make sure you have the time to slowly savor it, enjoy it," Thayer said.

"Don't shovel it in your mouth, trying to get to the next thing."

SNEAK IN SOME EXERCISE

Thanksgiving is traditionally a sedentary holiday, but there are ways to work off a few calories here and there, said Diana Rose, wellness specialist for MHealthy.

"Pick active games and play them together," she said, like Twister or Charades. "You're on your feet instead of sitting there with your 'food baby' in your stomach. Even playing cards is better than pushing the fork later."

Wash your dishes by hand, using that as part of your social time. Follow the kids around. Entice the family to go for a walk by going to see holiday decorations in the neighborhood, she suggests.

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"It's always fun to go tour," she said. "Even if you get in the car and ride somewhere, at least you're away from the food."

Padgett suggests raking up the leaves so the kids can jump in them, or playing a family game of soccer.

But outdoor exercise won't happen if you don't have the gear with you, so if you're traveling to someone else's home, don't forget to pack your hat, gloves and appropriate footwear, said Elrod.

If you're feeling more energetic, start a family tradition _ running the Turkey Trot downtown, for example, or playing a family game of touch football, said Ewald.

"After all, you're not going to watch the Lions this year," he said with a laugh.

STAY SAFE

It goes without saying that you shouldn't partake of holiday spirits and drive, said Elrod. But you should also be careful of driving while in a food-induced stupor, he said.

"I see the people that have overeaten and drank too much," Elrod said. "People stuff themselves. They are so relaxed they shouldn't be doing anything."

Those with illnesses need to be extra careful to take their medication and avoid foods that might make them worse (those with high blood pressure want to avoid anything canned, he said, because of the extra salt).

"If the patients aren't very conscientious, we see them. Typically, they'll have strokes that night, or heart attacks the next morning," he said.

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BATTLE LEFTOVERS

"We get into that mindset _ the holidays are here, what can I do about it?" said Thayer. "On the day of the holiday, I can enjoy these foods. But I don't have to have them every day of the next six weeks."

Odom agreed.

"The next day, you get up and start eating healthfully, as if nothing ever happened," she said. "That applies on the same day. Three hours later, you get right back on track."

Avoid splurging on leftovers by getting rid of them, said Rose. Separate them when you're cleaning up after the meal. Donate to people you know might not have a special meal on Thanksgiving.

If you do decide to munch on some leftovers, think small.

Several experts pointed out that small and steady is the way to eat, even if it is a holiday. If you're going back for more, Elrod said, pick at it _ don't load your plate again.

"The food's not running anywhere," he said. "It'll be there all day. Small meals would be sufficient to last all day long."

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The average turkey dinner is 2,900 calories, well over what a normal person needs for the entire day, Ewald said. It would take more than 29 miles of walking to burn that off.

But don't be too hard on yourself; just do the best you can, Ewald said. "Don't try and lose weight over the holidays. There's a balance."

Padgett points out the bright side: "If you have that piece of pie, don't beat yourself up about it. If you go shopping on Friday, you'll be walking all over the place."

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© 2008, Detroit Free Press.