Thanksgiving means hanging out with your loved ones and having a great meal (or two) together. If you aren’t careful, though, that Thanksgiving meal can mean gaining weight. You can enjoy the Thanksgiving meal without overdoing it and packing on the pounds. The following are some suggestions to help you do this.

A lot of us eat when we are stressed. Getting ready for Thanksgiving can be stressful with all the travel plans you have to make, the food you have to cook, and the family gatherings you have to plan. This can make you want to pig out the whole month long. Take time to relax and rest so that you won’t be tempted to overeat before Thanksgiving even gets here. This advice can apply to the Christmas holiday as well.

You can make that Thanksgiving dinner your family loves a little healthier without losing any of its flavor by substituting some healthier ingredients for the unhealthy ones. One thing you can do is use more spices for flavoring instead of butter and gravy. Low fat evaporated milk can be used in desserts. You can use low fat chicken broth to flavor potatoes and gravy. Changing the way you cook the meal by using a steamer for vegetables or removing the fatty drippings from the turkey can help too. Your family won’t even notice the difference.

Don’t miss lunch Thanksgiving Day thinking you’ll make up for the calories you are going to eat at dinner. Having a small meal or snack before your big dinner will help you with portion control. You don’t want to be starving when dinner arrives and eat way more than you planned. Also, try to fill up on healthier foods like green salads before the main part of the big meal. A caution about the salads: veggies are low in calories, but that salad can contribute to your weight gain if you don’t lay off the dressing!

Portion control is the key at Thanksgiving dinner. Often, though, there are so many different foods to chose from that if you eat even a little of all of them you’ll be going over your calorie goals. Decide which foods you really want the most and eat a little of all of those instead of trying everything on the table. You’ll still be full and feel like you got to eat what you wanted.

A great way to work off some of those calories from the big dinner is to go outside and get some exercise. You could go for a walk, play a game like touch football or run around with the kids. You could also play a fun game of charades which is good for ages and gets everyone up and moving. You don’t have to gain weight this year at Thanksgiving if you make good food choices and plan ahead.