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By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might be surprised to hear that the day after Thanksgiving can be a big barrier for many people when it comes to sticking with a healthy lifestyle over the holidays. This is the day most people make the decision to indulge smartly and adjust their eating and activity patterns to adapt to the culinary treats of the season, or disconnect from mindful eating until January and “worry about it later.” The first step in this decision starts with what I call “eater’s remorse” – feeling bad about your overindulgences of the previous day. It’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that you’ve gotten off track, and there’s no hope for your diet, so why not just keep eating until New Year’s Day.  Today is the day to adjust your thinking for weight control success. No more guilt!  Thanksgiving is just one day of eating, even if you’ve eaten way more than you intended. Don’t feel guilty about your past eating. Learn from your eating behavior, to see how you c...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Today I’d like to share some interesting facts about turkey in honor of the day most often associated with eating this bird – Thanksgiving! Here’s a list of my favorites: Nearly 95% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. That translates to 45 million birds! Turkey has more protein, ounce per ounce, than chicken or beef. White meat and dark meat turkey have almost the same number of calories per serving. Dark meat has four calories more per ounce, or 24 calories in a six-ounce serving A 15-pound turkey has 70% white meat and 30% dark meat. Eating turkey does not put you to sleep. While the old wives’ tale about the sleep-promoting effects of tryptophan-containing turkey remains active, it’s not true. The metabolic explanation is that the large caloric load consumed with the Thanksgiving meal drives more energy to the digestive tract, often causing drowsiness. Benjamin Franklin originally proposed the turkey as the official bird of the United States, instead ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom With Thanksgiving just two days away, I’d like to talk about all of the positive associations of food and family that we don’t often hear about. Food has now become “the enemy” – it’s loaded with calories fat, sugar, and salt – and in such large portions! When it comes to the holidays, it’s important to be a mindful eater, but also allow yourself to be a “smart splurger” with some of your family’s favorite indulgences. Many families have traditional favorites for Thanksgiving, and this can be wonderfully comforting, bringing back years of happy memories. It’s such a warm feeling to know that generations of your family have enjoyed these same dishes; it’s a nice way to include food as part of your family traditions. For some people, the beloved dishes are modified for healthier eating, and the essence remains the same. But many people resist changing, or updating, holiday recipes. The positive food memories are so strong that it’s a treat to eat, not just for th...