What you’ll learn:
- Thanksgiving can be healthy when you enjoy dishes mindfully and balance your plate with proteins, carbs, and fats.
- Planning ahead helps you focus on the foods you’ll most enjoy and make healthier choices in the moment.
- Thanksgiving is about more than food—engaging in activities with loved ones can add meaning and help balance the day.
Thanksgiving has a reputation for being a day of excess, filled with high-calorie foods. For those managing their weight, this can sometimes lead to feelings of stress and guilt. Should you throw in the towel and jump back on the diet bandwagon the day after? Or is it possible to make Thanksgiving healthier, if not fully “healthy”?
“Thanksgiving can absolutely be healthy!” says Kayla Reynolds, Noom’s Director of Knowledge, Learning & Behavior Change Curricula. “At Noom, we don’t believe in ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods, but we do believe in making choices that support your goals but are sustainable.”
The good news is that Thanksgiving foods are not inherently unhealthy, says Reynolds. It’s the mindset—that a holiday should automatically be associated with indulgence and overeating that leads to guilt—that can create problems. “One day—or even a few days—won’t undo your progress or derail you,” she adds. The choice of how to approach the holiday is ultimately yours. Here are some tips for making this Thanksgiving a healthier one with Noom.
How to have a healthy Thanksgiving
“Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to apply all the habits you’ve been working on with Noom,” says Reynolds. The key is to be mindful of your portions and focus on more than just the food. Here are some tips for approaching the holiday with both balance and enjoyment in mind:
- Don’t skip breakfast: Skipping meals could lead to overeating later. “We don’t recommend skipping breakfast, nor do we recommend undereating the following day,” says Reynolds. Start your day with a high-protein, nutrient-dense breakfast to cover your nutritional bases, keep your energy steady, and help you go into your Thanksgiving meal feeling satisfied and able to make healthier choices.
- Balance your plate: Fill your plate with a satisfying mix of protein, carbs, and healthy fats to support satiety and keep your body fueled. What would that look like on the big day? Enjoy a few slices of white meat turkey with a small scoop of your favorite potato dish and a little stuffing. Fill the rest of your plate with some veggies, like Brussels sprouts or green beans. If everything is relatively rich, you might not need to add any fat, but a few walnuts or a drizzle of olive oil might bring it all together.
- Enjoy all foods mindfully: “When no food is off-limits, you’re less likely to feel deprived and overeat when you finally ‘allow’ yourself to eat those foods,” says Reynolds. Embrace a mindset where all foods are welcome in moderation. “Thanksgiving is an especially great opportunity to practice moderation,” Reynolds notes.
- Plan ahead: Think about which foods or treats you’re most excited to enjoy, and stick with those. But if something new catches your eye, enjoy it without guilt.
- Bring a dish: You can also bring a healthier dish to share. Here are some great ideas you can include. Search for these recipes in Noom’s Success Kit if you’re already a subscriber, or save the similar linked recipes.
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup: Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of butternut squash, so you don’t need milk or cream to make this taste great.
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes: The roasted garlic in this recipe adds flavor without extra butter or milk.
- Mock Mashed Potatoes: This Noom recipe replaces potato with cauliflower. You can also do half cauliflower/half potato!
- Roasted Pumpkin and Arugula Salad: Chunks of pumpkin or a squash of your choosing add texture and fiber to this fresh winter salad. You can also substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin, as in this salad.
- Ginger Pumpkin Pie: This lightened-up pumpkin pie uses whole-grain pastry flour for the crust and fat-free evaporated milk to add a silky texture to the gingery filly. If you want something simple that’s still packed with flavor, try this crustless pumpkin pie recipe.
- Apple Crisp: A sweet cinnamon-oat topping perfectly complements baked apples’ tart flavor in Noom’s lightened-up recipe. Not a Noom member? Give this lightened-up apple crisp a try.
- Consider a “treat day”: Noom treat days aren’t like cheat days in other programs, where healthy eating is completely thrown out the window. Instead, take a break from tracking your food while using what you’ve learned to build a healthy plate. For dessert, have one small slice of pie rather than a large portion with a scoop of ice cream. “Holidays are meant to be enjoyed, and if tracking your meals or planning ahead takes away from your experience, don’t do it,” says Reynolds.
- Avoid overcompensating: There’s no need to “undo” the holiday. “One day—or even a few days—won’t undo your progress,” says Reynolds. Just return to your usual healthy habits without guilt or extra restrictions.
- Focus on more than the food: Engage in activities that involve movement or shared experiences. “You could play a game of flag football, go for a walk after dinner, or even volunteer together as a family,” says Reynolds. These activities are fun, help balance out extra calories, and encourage a more holistic view of health.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s just one day,” Reynolds says. How you choose to approach it matters more than anything. Embrace the holiday with joy, enjoy your favorite dishes, and know you’re making sustainable changes.
For more guidance in building lasting healthy habits, Noom can help you through the holidays and beyond. Here’s to a Thanksgiving that’s nutritious, fun, and delicious!
