HAYLEY LERCH
Staff Writer
Thanksgiving means time to reunite with family, time to break from academics and time to indulge in favorite holiday foods. While socializing with family and putting schoolwork aside are enjoyable for most, the opportunity to overindulge may make some nervous about regretting their turkey day choices. Holidays can lead to eating as an activity, rather than out of hunger.
Traditions and old family recipes can lead to enormous meals, all of which must be tasted and tried, a habit that can quickly escalate into over eating.
The average Thanksgiving meal has more than 2,000 calories, according to the health website medicinenet.com. Some students like junior Jamie Hauer are concerned about making smart decisions in the face of holiday cuisine.
“Thanksgiving dinner is always an extravagant meal,” Hauer said. “It’s definitely harder to stay healthy at this time of year.”
Culinary delights like freshly shaven turkey, thick gravy, moist stuffing, warm rolls and rich pumpkin pie are all typical of the turkey day feast. Because many of these foods are high in caloric content, the possibility of overeating is causing some students distress.
“I stress about splurging on Thanksgiving, where there’s more than anyone should possibly eat,” said senior Karina Ann White. “Everyone’s sitting at the table for hours.”
While White and Hauer nervously approach the Thanksgiving feast, other students welcome the chance to revel in delicious food.
“I don’t restrain myself on Thanksgiving day,” said senior Chad Iwertz. “It’s worked for me so far.”
Like Iwertz, senior Magdalena Apostolova is not worried about the upcoming holiday meal.
“For one day it’s okay to splurge,” Apostolova said. “It’s winter, so it doesn’t matter as much how your body looks.”
Some students reason that a day or two of indulgence has little effect on overall health and should be enjoyed rather than feared.
“I don’t really care because it’s holiday food so I only get it once a year,” said senior Benita Goosby. “Then I just go back to eating like I do at school.”
Faced with an array of holiday treats and a day that revolves around feasting, what should students do?
Adjunct Professor of nutritional science Sunnie De Lano offers suggestions to leery students.
“I treat Thanksgiving as I would any other day of eating, meaning I still listen to my body when it says it is full,” De Lano said. “Just because it is Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you should eat past a comfortable fullness and feel sick.”
The typical Thanksgiving meal actually offers selections from all the food groups, meaning that students can eat a balanced meal even on this special occasion, according to De Lano. Rather than abstaining from certain foods, De Lano suggests students pay attention to portion size.
“Moderation is absolutely the key to balanced eating,” De Lano said. “There are no forbidden foods, however there are certainly foods that offer little to no nutritional value, and these would be the ones that overall we want to limit.”
While some students associate their favorite holiday foods with feelings of anxiety and shame, De Lano discourages such thinking.
“I do not believe that food should be associated with emotions or feelings of guilt,” De Lano said. “Knowing and understanding how food can benefit your health and provide you with energy allows you to be purposeful in your choices.”
Smart choices involve considering balance and moderation, listening to the body and avoiding the association of food with negative emotions.
Not only does this time of year bring concern about food choices, it also means dealing with other health issues. Maintaining an exercise routine can be difficult as the weather gets cooler and academic obligations intensify.
De Lano points to exercise as a healthy way to reduce stress and counterbalance caloric intake. She also warns against too much of a good thing.
“Too much exercise however can backfire and cause injury and increase the risk of illness in some cases,” De Lano said.
Rather than try to exercise as compensation for poor eating, De Lano suggests making balanced, smart and enjoyable decisions even around the holidays. A healthy diet and a moderate exercise plan will increase immunity and keep students energized from Thanksgiving until the end of the semester.
This does not mean completely substituting your family favorites with lighter fare, but simply enjoying richer foods sparingly. “Eating a slice of cheesecake or apple pie just because it tastes good and is enjoyable is absolutely permissible and should not evoke feelings of guilt,” said De Lano.
11-15-2007