Top 8 Tips for a Low Calorie Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving always brings back memories from previous years and makes you think about what you are grateful for but usually don't think about. Unfortunately, the holidays also bring some extra baggage time around your waist line with nobody is thankful for. One serving from the oh so traditional menu of turkey, trimmings, potatoes and pie adds up to over 4000 calories-which is 2 times over the recommended daily amount of calories-according to chef and dietician Sarah Krieger. Her company, Dining Cents, helps people, families and companies in customizing their meals to meet their dietary needs.

Some amazing advice for preparing this American holiday feast less unhealthy includes adding some whole grains into the rolls and skipping on the fat-saturated skin on the turkey. Also, you can load up on antioxidants with some cranberries and bunch vitamins A and C, beta carotene and potassium by eating some of those yummy sweet potatoes.

Along with these very common suggestions, here is some more information to help you have a healthier Thanksgiving.

1. Do not fast before you feast
Most Americans don't eat lunch before they sit down with family for Thanksgiving. What most people don't seem to know is that this actually causes most people to eat too much. "The hormone that tells you you're full is a little bit slower at this point," says Krieger. Basically, do not begin your thanksgiving meal with an empty stomach. Instead, have a light meal about 4 hours prior to eating dinner so you don't over eat.

2. Eat with fewer people
Most people don't realize this but most people tend to eat more for dinner as the size of your company increases. Even eating with only one person can increases the amount of food you eat by 1/3. Many studies show, compared to eating by yourself, the intake rate can increase by 47, 58, 69, 70, 72 and 96 percent for meals shared with up to 7 people. This can certainly challenge many Americans on Thanksgiving.

3. Downsize the dining ware
When you eating from a smaller plate and you are taking food from smaller serving bowls can help limit the amount of food you eat at any given time. Many studies that have been done by Brian Wansink, the director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and the author of the book "Mindless Eating," found that people randomly given ice cream in 24-ounce bowls consumed 27 percent more than those served in 16-ounce bowls. And in a different study done by Wansink, members of a Super Bowl party took 53 percent more food that was served in large bowls and consumed 56 percent more calories than those who obtained their snacks from smaller bowls.

4. Eat slowly
Don't rely on your body to tell you when you're full. It can take up to 30 minutes for your body to really digest the very first bites of the food and all of the small intestine has to absorb the nutrients in your blood before you can really begin to really feel satisfied. Basically, if you keep eating while you are waiting for your body to hit the brakes, you will end up over eating. So you can easily enjoy your amazing Thanksgiving festivities but make sure you don't gobble the gobbler.

5. Eat your fruits and vegetables
As most people know, your fruits and vegetables have over half of the calories as the fatty foods that are served on Thanksgiving. The high fiber content and the high water content in most fruits and vegetables helps lower your cholesterol and most of the time can help fill you up faster without weighing you down with those nasty calories!

6. Don't eat the dark meat
The white meat has the same amount of protein but half the calories of dark meat.

7. Remove fat and calories-the cool way
Put the gravy and/or soups into the fridge before dinner and the fat in these things will harden and you will see that it will rise to the top of the gravy or soup. Then just remove this gross fat with just a typical spoon. If you are pressed for time you can drop a few ice cubes into the broth or turkey drippings. You will see that the fat will harden around the ice cubes, and then you can quickly remove the ice before they melt.

8. For dessert Pick pumpkin, not pecan
Serving pumpkin pie instead of pecan pie can dramatically lower dessert by 100 to 200 calories. You can even hold off on a dollop of whipped cream, and you have instantly saved another 25 calories.