Thanksgiving dinner can have up to 4,500 calories if you include appetizers, drinks, and desserts, which most people do. It’s a little lower for me since I’m not too fond of most Thanksgiving side dishes. However, I do overindulge with appetizers and dessert (more Cool Whip, please), so it might be a wash.
Perhaps we can take a lesson from our grandparents and learn how to eat a leaner Thanksgiving meal. Nope. They couldn’t help you. While it’s true that people in the 1960s ate up to 44% fewer calories in an average meal, they went all out when it came to Thanksgiving.
This isn’t much of a surprise since many of the side dishes found on the table at Thanksgiving are handed down through the generations, so your grandparents were passing the yams and mash potatoes as eagerly as we do. The only difference was that once the leftovers were gone, they went back to their skinner lifestyle.
And I think that’s the important lesson. If you want to overindulge on Thanksgiving, go for it. Pour gravy over the entire plate. But once Thanksgiving is over, have a salad occasionally or get your fancy coffee grande, not venti. The calories we eat on one day don’t matter; it’s the monthly or yearly total that tips the scales, so save the stuffing for the holiday.