EAT SECONDS, BURN FAT - LET'S TALK TURKEY!

With Thanksgiving only a week away, it's time to talk turkey.I found myself over the past week organizing the most important event of the weekend, family dinner. With my son, eldest daughter and in-laws living in town and my youngest daughter, parents and sister a few hours' drive from Kelowna, gathering everyone together is no small feat. Thankfully, everyone has confirmed and I can now relax and focus on my favourite part, the food.

Whether you love to do the cooking, or secretly let out that sigh of relief when an invitation comes your way, without a doubt wherever you go next weekend, it will be all about food. Lots and lots of food. How many of you are yawning right now just thinking about it? And herein lies the problem.

Thanksgiving aside, North American is one of the few places on the planet where an abundance of food has actually become an obstacle to better health rather than a solution. Too many items to choose from often leads to too many items being chosen at one time. This in turn has led us to our current health crisis of having the highest percentage of our population being overweight or obese in history. Let's face it, we've all been to Costco and come away with a few more items than we intended. Compared to even as recently as 20 – 30 years ago, foods are now packaged in much larger quantities, portions served in many restaurants are often enough for two people, even popcorn and drinks at the movies is about triple the size I remember as a child. It was when this super-sized movement collided with the “clean your plate” generation most of us grew up in, that the problems really became evident. And since it's pretty safe to say that big box stores aren't going anywhere and most people enjoy taking home doggie bags and the free refill of popcorn, what can we do to turn things around?

Start by being thankful. Thankful that because we have such an abundance of food, we also have choices to go with that. Like choosing to have seconds. Now if right about now you're thinking “Didn't she just say we are eating too much?”, you're right, I did. Just go with me for a minute and allow me to expand on that. Typically, Thanksgiving dinner has always been the perfect storm to overeat. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, veggies, cranberry sauce with pumpkin, apple and berry pies for dessert – who wouldn't want to try everything? In some families stuffed people is more of a tradition than a stuffed bird. Regardless of what time turkey is served, an hour later everyone moves from the table to the couch and begins dozing off in front of the TV. Sound familiar? This bloated, sloth-like lethargy comes from the blood sugar spike and subsequent crash that comes as a result of eating too much at one time. But split that meal up, eating half at dinner and then the other half three hours later and not only will you not feel as tired and bloated, you'll prevent weight gain and fat storage as well. And you were able to enjoy not one, but two turkey dinners.

As you well know if you've read any of my columns, it's all always about the balance. And the good news is that creating balance within our meals and by eating every three hours, literally provides us with more opportunities to enjoy our favourite foods. Eating a balance of a protein, fat and carbohydrate within one hour of waking and every three hours throughout the day while you are awake (PFC every 3!) allows blood sugar to stabilize which in turn lowers blood glucose, balances hormones, releases fat, builds lean muscle, increases energy, improves focus and attention, reduces cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, improves immune function – need I say more?

So when you sit down to dinner this Thanksgiving, choose your portions knowing you'll be having seconds, enjoying the same amazing meal again in a few hours. Of course the only drawback to this plan is while everyone else is having a nap, you may be the only one with enough energy left to clean up the kitchen. A small price to pay for health.