How to Watch the Waistline at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and for most this means a vast spread of greasy turkey, mashed potatoes and chocolate pies. Often coinciding with this smorgasbord of holiday treats is an ever-expanding waist line, the end result of ignoring that signal from the stomach to the brain that says “put down the fork!” But don’t think you have to forgo these tasty holiday treats in an effort to preserve your washboard abs or hourglass figure, as there are a variety of ways to help prevent those extra pounds from accumulating during the holiday season and even keep them off for years to come.

If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner for your family and are worried about excessive snacking of all the wonderful foods you’re preparing, a simple fix is chewing a piece of gum while cooking. This can help stave off cravings and keep your mind occupied at the same time. In addition, when preparing recipes, substitute items such as real butter for low-fat margarine and sugar substitutes instead of real sugar. The taste difference is negligible if there at all, and the end result is a much healthier, significantly less-fattening meal.

When the time comes to indulge, the best way to cut out unneeded calories is portion control. According to Connie Diekman, MEd, RD, it is best to focus on holiday-specific foods that you would not normally consume throughout the year. Try and avoid the temptation of a second helping, and remember that Thanksgiving is the time for leftovers, so all of the wonderful food you just can’t get enough of will be available for days to come (unless your entire extended family has come to visit!) If you feel you must have a second plate of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie, go for a stroll around the block or, conversely, exercise the morning of and work up a caloric deficit. Eating a hearty breakfast in the morning can help, as it will not only give you energy throughout the day but it will keep you full long enough to prevent a second helping from working its way onto your plate.

Keeping the weight off during the holidays is no easy task, but with a little hard work, determination and ingenuity, you can keep that waistline slim and that heart healthy during the holiday season. More information concerning staying slim during Thanksgiving can be found on WebMD, while many great holiday health tips can be found here!

How Often Should Your Whiten Your Teeth

There is nothing that causes one to be more self conscious about their appearance than having teeth that are discolored. It can cause you to want to smile much less, which in turns makes you seem like a far less happy person than you probably really are. Obviously, this not only affects yourself but also all of the people that are around you. If you have teeth that aren’t quite as white as you would like them to be, then you have probably looked into ways to correct the problem and brighten your smile. There are a few different ways you can go about it, all with various degrees of success. Which are the best ways to whiten, and how often should you do so? Let’s take a look at the choices available.

You can choose to whiten them at home or have them whitened professionally at your dentist’s office. Should you choose to whiten them yourself with a home teeth whitening product, you are probably looking at using the product on a daily basis until you have achieved the results that you desire. These products usually involve a tray or strip that holds the peroxide whitening solution against your teeth. You will probably have to use the product for 30 minutes at a time each day until you get the results. This doesn’t seem like a long time, but due to the fact that the product isn’t made specifically for the user like it would be if done professionally it probably makes for an uncomfortable 30 minutes.

Going to the dentist to correct the discoloring is bound to cost you quite a bit more than trying for yourself at home, but odds are you are going to get much better results and in a much more comfortable fashion. Also, considering as how you can gain up to 10 shades brighter during one visit, it’s much less frustrating and time consuming. So choosing between doctor’s visits that can bring great results per each visit, or using a home whitening product for 30 minutes a day for an unspecified amount of time can seem like an easy decision. This is where the cost becomes the real issue for some, and also there are just a large number of people who would rather avoid the dentist’s office at all costs.

However you decide to go about it, there is no question that whitening your teeth and brightening your smile will help you feel much better and more confident in yourself. Perhaps the greatest benefit of all is that everyone around you will certainly take notice, and there’s a good likelihood that your smile will become infectious.

For more information on cosmetic procedures to become a better you, click here!

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