Thanksgiving Dinner

DO NOT PANIC!

Thanksgiving is just like any other day, we eat, drink, spend time with friends & family and enjoy and be thankful for the life we have. There just happens to be some specific food items that are associated with this particular holiday - foods that tend to make people nervous! The key is to relax and go in with a plan.

Just accept that the meal will be larger than normal, but this happens once a year so get over it, but don't throw it out the window either.

1) Take more turkey than you are used to taking.

Aim for about 5-6 oz of turkey (about 2 decks of playing cards). Turkey is a great source of protein that will help keep you full and promote stable blood sugar levels throughout the day.

2) Make sure there is a Non-Starchy Veggie on the table and on YOUR plate.

Most Thanksgiving tables have no garden veggies to be found! (Unless its a green bean casserole full of cream-of-mushroom soup and fried onions). Bring a brussels sprouts dish or even a green salad this year, and fill about 1/2 your plate with it. Yep, half.

3) Choose your Carbohydrates Carefully.

The issue with Thanksgiving dinner is the amount of carbohydrates present. You have the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams, cranberry sauce, alcohol, pies, crackers, rolls, etc, etc, etc.

**Plan for 300-400 calories of your meal to come from your carbohydrate choices.**

Think about what you really want to spend those calories on, and avoid the things you can have anytime (like the rolls or regular corn).

1/2 cup of Traditional Stuffing: 120 calories

1/2 cup Mashed Potatoes: 150 calories

1/2 cup Sweet Potato (plain): 100 calories

1 Dinner Roll (tennis ball size): 130 calories

1/4 cup Cranberry Sauce: 110 calories

1 slice Pumpkin Pie (small slice): 230 calories

1 slice Pecan Pie (small slice): 450 calories

5 oz Red or White Wine: 100-130 calories

1 cup Egg Nog: 350 calories

1 cup Hot Buttered Rum: 300 calories

So choose wisely, enjoy your meal and time with friends and family and be thankful for the ups and downs that you are given in life. Its all for a purpose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Alcohol: Part One - Nutrition Basics

Alcohol: Part One - Nutritional Basics
This will be a 3-part blog series to be sure to look for part 2 and 3 as well!

Alcohol is potentially one of the greatest barriers to weight loss and overall health. It is a topic that no one likes to talk about because most of the time we don't want to face the music. Alcohol is involved in a lot of social settings and can give people a sense of "courage" they don't normally have to be funny or outgoing. Sometimes we associate alcohol with stress relief, thinking that a drink takes all of our problems away when in reality its just distracting you from them momentarily.

We are going to focus on the nutrition in alcohol and its effects on our metabolism and overall health. After working in an addiction treatment center I know that alcoholism as a disease is a very serious and worthwhile topic, but we'll leave that more specific topic to the CDP's (chemical dependency counselors) in their blogs.

Shocker #1: ALCOHOL HAS CALORIES.

Yes, yes it does. Its surprising to me how many people really don't know this. At a University that Ill withhold the name of, I held a booth in the cafeteria with fake drinks sitting next to their caloric equivalent in food. You would not believe how many students came up and were absolutely shocked - mostly to learn that hard alcohol has calories. For some reason we think that since Vodka looks like water it has the same nutrition...haha, umm no.

In fact, you might have heard that alcohol is "empty calories". A lot of magazine articles on health and nutrition use this terminology. What they mean by empty calories is that the food or drink item has calories (energy) in it, without any other nutritional benefit such as protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc. which means you're not getting any additional benefit for your body, hence, "empty".

Lets look at your typical drinks. Each of these has about 100-150 calories:

The most shocking one is usually the hard alcohol - it has a lot calories by itself in a shot glass (which goes down in about 5 seconds). If you throw a shot into a drink like most people do....gin & tonic, rum & coke...then you need to include the calories from the mixer! And what if you have a drink-drink like a Cosmopolitan, Tequila Sunrise, Mai Tai...well those have multiple mixers and multiple alcohols which just adds more calories to the mix.

Lets take a look at some comparisons...

12oz Beers
Budweiser - 145 kcals
Bud Light - 110 kcals
Bud Select - 100 kcals
Stella Artois - 155 kcals
Corona Light - 105 kcals

4oz Wines (1/2 a large wine glass)
Reds - 80 kcals
Whites - 75 kcals
Champagne - 85 kcals

1.5oz (1 shot) Pure Hard Liquors
80 Proof - 100 kcals
86 Proof - 105 kcals
100 Proof - 120 kcals

1.5oz "Fun" Shots
Alabama Slammer - 110 kcals
Jager Bomb - 205 kcals
Kamikaze - 75 kcals
Peppermint Patty - 200 kcals

Cocktails
Bacardi & Coke - 160 kcals
Bloody Mary - 125 kcals
Cosmopolitan - 215 kcals
Gin Martini - 140 kcals
Long Island Iced Tea - 270 kcals
Mai Tai - 290 kcals
Margarita - 160 kcals
Sex on the Beach - 235 kcals
Vodka Soda - 100 kcals
Vodka Tonic (Gin&Tonic) - 165 kcals

Other
Hard Cider (12oz) - 170 kcals
Mikes Hard Lemonade (12oz) - 240 kcals
Sparks (16oz) - 340 kcals
Bacardi Silver (12oz) - 240 kcals
Wine Coolers (12oz) - 200 kcals

100 extra calories per day (like a glass of wine per night) can lead to 10 lbs of weight gain per year. Ouch.

So, you can decide for yourself what you'd like to do with this information. If you are someone who drinks fluids fast, then consider switching your drink to something that has more volume for the calories it provides. Or you could just cut down your drinking! Order a water in between drinks or a soda water with lime in between - that helps you pace yourself as well as cut down the calories.

Shocker #2: Alcohol can and eventually will over time cause excess fatty acid build up in the liver and triglyceride storage.
This is more likely in those with overweight/obesity or metabolic syndrome. This is referred to as "Fatty Liver". Extra deposits of fat in the liver over time can cause enlargement of the liver and eventually lead to liver fibrosis (scar tissue) and cirrhosis (starting to lose liver function). The liver is the primary organ of fat metabolism, and also the organ that deals with toxins in the body. Unfortunately, the liver can only do one thing at a time - and toxins will always take priority. That priority is what causes the liver to stop metabolizing fats, therefore causing a buildup of excess fats over time.

Today we've learned that alcohol has calories and if abused can cause increased storage of fat in the liver.

Next:
Alcohol: Part Two - Antioxidants
Alcohol: Part Three - The Freshman Fifteen

Blessings,
Ashley

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