How Many Calories in a Thanksgiving Dinner?

Ways to Cut the Calories and Fat This Holiday Season

© Jan Peterson


No one wants to worry about the calories for that turkey feast on Thanksgiving or Christmas day, but they should!

Oh, those dinner feasts eaten every holiday season! Everyone anticipates it for weeks, the cook spends hours preparing it, and it fills bellies beyond their normal capacity. In planning the feast this year, the family cook should consider all options for lowering fat and making healthier choices. Keeping portion control in mind as eaters heap the goodies on their plates is important, and It wouldn’t hurt to work a little exercise into the day to help burn some of those holiday calories off either!

Read more: http://seasonalcooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_many_calories_are_in_a_turkey_dinner#ixzz0WHoIgCUD

Calorie Burning Games for the Holidays

During the holidays, in addition to enjoying each other’s company,  families spend an enormous amount of time eating meals, throwing parties and exchanging goodie baskets. According to ABC News Health in its November, 2004 article “Making Thanksgiving Dinner Healthier” by Ali Mohamadi, Americans gain, on an average, seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day! They also provide statistics from a report by Health Management Resources, that a typical Thanksgiving meal contains 7,100 calories!

Finding active games that the whole family can enjoy during family gatherings will burn some of those staggering calories, and fight packing on those pounds. Every family should become more aware of the importance of exercise and physical activities all year round, and be sure to incorporate fun ways to exercise during their holiday events.

Read entire article HERE.

Hindu Squats - Fast Calorie Burning

Here's an article with a great exercise idea!

Serious Calorie Burning with No Equipment Investment

What are Hindu squats?

Squats are a staple of weight lifting strength building routines for the lower body. Hindu squats are a similar exercise movement done without barbells and using your body weight along with synchronized breathing at a fast tempo. This enhances endurance and strengthens the lungs, chest and lower back as well as toning and working the lower body. Doing a set of 25 (or what is comfortable) to start will give you an idea about their superb calorie burning effectiveness.

Keep Reading Hindu Squats - Fast Calorie Burning

Be Comfortable in Your Skin

Image courtesy of anairam_zervala/morguefile.com

Once you've stuck with a weightloss program, whether it be Medi-weightloss or Nutri-system or whatever, you'll find yourself looking better in your clothes, but not always in your skin. If you've had the weight on for a while, you might find yourself untoned and with some loose skin. If you've been exercising, you might be able to avoid some of this, but not always.

It's important to still give yourself the praise you deserve and be proud of the new person you've become. Work on your issues and if need be speak to specialists about skin rejuvenation or even cosmetic surgery. Regardless, be proud of what you've done and realize you are not the only person in this situation!

Glamour recently ran an article that showed an average woman, complete with her stomach pooch. This article has gotten so much positive attention that the magazine editors are determined to use models for all future editions that reflect more "real bodies".

While that's great, that doesn't mean you should stop your pursuit of a healthy, toned body. It just emphasizes that you need to accept who you are today. Tomorrow may never come!

Here are two articles that talk about the picture of this "Average" Glamour Girl and the feedback its has earned.

From Glamour's Health and Fitness Website:

On the C.L.: The Picture You Can't Stop Talking About: Meet "the Woman on p. 194"
by Cindi Leive

It's a photo that measures all of three by three inches in our September issue, but the letters about it started to flood my inbox literally the day Glamour hit newsstands. (As editor-in-chief, I pay attention to this stuff!) "I am gasping with delight...I love the woman on p 194!" said one...then another, and another, (Read the entire article HERE)

and

"On the C.L.: Are You Ready to Start a Body Image Revolution? Oh, Wait—You Already Did!"

By Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour

As the editor of this magazine, I've been proud of plenty of portraits we've published -- from fashion designers to First Ladies and beyond. But I'm especially proud of a shoot you'll see in our November issue -- not because of the work that went into it, but because of the important work it kicks off. Oh, and did I mention the whole fun, fabulous thing was your idea?

(Read the entire article here)

How to Stay Slim After Losing Weight

At Your "Power Point" - Ask the Hard Questions!


After weeks of sacrifice and commitment, reaching your weight goal is a heady experience and you'll feel powerful, unstoppable and in charge of your life. That is a well-deserved feeling at this "power point" in your diet, but also a time to take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself why you hid yourself under that layer of fat in the first place!


It was after I had reached week nine on my Medi-weight loss Program that I reached my power point. It was when I felt the safety cocoon, which I had been living in during my overeating, cracked open, and I was ready to emerge as that butterfly I had become.

My work was not done, but I had been diligent and committed for over two months and was still feeling strong. I was making changes and living life in ways that would improve my health, appearance and mental well-being. And it was WORKING! I believe it is at this "power point" stage in a weight-loss program, that every dieter must stop and ask themselves the following hard questions:
(Read the entire article HERE.)

Tips for Dining Out on a Diet

Having Willpower in a Restaurant
by Jan Peterson

Dining out can be the downfall to many diets. It is almost impossible to completely avoid going "out" for lunch with friends, or having a birthday dinner with family. Here are some methods to keep you on your diet and not give into temptation. (Read the entire article HERE)

A Review of the Medi-Weight Loss Program

Losing Weight the Healthy Way on the Medi-Weight Loss Plan

by Jan Peterson

Before I retired from my banking career, I watched the women around me shrinking in size as I was struggling to lose weight. I asked what they were doing to lose their weight and got either HGC shots or Medi-Weight Loss as their answers. I decided that once I retired I would try one of these programs and get back on track with my weight and become healthier. (Read the entire article HERE.)

Note: Since I wrote the above article I have lost even more weight. At twelve weeks I have now lost 38 pounds!