Thanksgiving Dinner : Calorie Overload

Thanksgiving is all about family eating. More so than any other Holiday in the United States, most of us associate Thanksgiving with a huge dinner… and leftovers, lots and lots of leftovers. Many people enjoy the gluttony of it all, and don’t really think about how many calories they’re consuming. According to the folks at Basis, most people completely underestimate the calorie hit :

The Average American Will Likely Consume Two and a Half Times the Amount of Calories They Expect: On average, Americans expect to consume about 1,700 calories at this year’s Thanksgiving meal.  The true average Thanksgiving meal calorie count is around 4,500.

We’re the last ones to tell you to forgo your favorites on Thanksgiving. Take a second helping of Pumpkin Pie, you earned it! However you’re going to have to work extra hard to burn those calories off, and it isn’t going to happen while you sit on the couch watching football.

Apparently most people surveyed about how they would burn those calories mentioned shopping, or sex. Neither is realistic for how much work you really need to do though. You would need to walk 45 miles to burn off 4,500 calories, or please your lady for an amazing 15 hours. Good luck doing that on a full stomach.

So what should you do instead? Check out 7 helpful tips to keep you on track physically over the coming long holiday weekend from our friends at Basis.

Basis is a wrist-based health tracker that leverages four types of advanced sensors in its lightweight, customizable design to calculate steps taken, calories burned and sleep quality, as well as physiological metrics like heart rate. The Basis B1 band is available for $30-off the regular price now through 12/2.