1. Go for a fasted early-morning run Thanksgiving day. Wake up and get in a nice 20-30 minutes at a comfortable pace. Fasted cardio forces your body to use stored energy sources for fuel (aka fat), but also that morning run will set your mind right for the temptations to come.
2. Eat a balanced breakfast. Two eggs fried in a tsp of coconut oil, half an English muffin with a tsp of almond butter on it for me. (That's my breakfast almost every day, and I won't change it for Thanksgiving.) Avoid starting the day with a great big breakfast casserole. Plenty of casseroles to come later in the day.
3. When feast time begins, beware of the dips, Chex mixes, sausages, and other high-calorie appetizers sitting around, trying to destroy all of your nutritional goals. Have a taste! But not too much more than that. Remember, this isn't even the main event.
4. Turkey time!! Eat that turkey! That's why we're here. And fill the rest of your plate with the cleanest vegetables available. Take very small servings of the rich casseroles that really are delicious, but packed with carbs and fat. Oh and also, don't eat the bread; those are empty calories. There is plenty of delicious food around; don't waste calories you could have used to eat something awesome on boring old bread.
5. Dessert: EAT IT! and enjoy it! But don't eat it twice. But what if there's two desserts there? Yep, there probably will be. Eat half a serving of each. Eat ONE serving of dessert and be satisfied.
HAPPY GOBBLE GOBBLE!