PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Every day, the Combat Fitness Center is filled with hundreds of Marines and sailors, each with an individual fitness goal.
Some may be attempting to lose excess body fat, while some are looking to build a little muscle mass. Others might be trying to improve their physical fitness and combat fitness test scores.
No matter what the personal goal may be, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to trim down, build up or improve at all without a proper diet plan.
Especially during the holidays.
“The average person gains between 10 and 15 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years,” said Linda Lane, a weight loss counselor in Aiken, S.C. “Marines, or anybody really, get it in their mind that the holidays are the time to party, and they let themselves go.”
While Lane pointed out that a Marine is not the average person, she stressed that even they can fall into the trap of overeating during
the holidays.
According to the American Council on Exercise, the average Thanksgiving meal consists of 3,000 calories and 229 grams of fat.
To put that in perspective, 3,000 calories is what the average person should be eating in an entire day, while 50-60 grams of fat is the upper limit of what the average person should consume daily. That means the average Thanksgiving meal contains more than three times the amount of fat than needed in one day.
That, according to Deborah Zippel, a registered dietician from the University of South Carolina, is not a good idea for Marines, sailors or anyone who is trying to remain healthy during
the holidays.
“The problem with the empty calories – those calories from sugars and fats – is that they contain no nutritional value,” Zippel said. “You’re not getting any real benefit from eating those types of food.”
She added 3,500 calories equals one pound of body fat. So, if a Thanksgiving meal is 3,000 calories, that’s close to gaining a pound of fat, just from one meal.
Even armed with all of that knowledge, it’s hard to not overeat during the holidays. Not eating mass amounts of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie seems some-
what un-American.
Luckily, Staff Sgt. Edward Fairley, currently serving as the enlisted aide to the commanding general, has a few pointers on how to feed an individual and a family without getting fat.
“You can still cook all that stuff – turkey, stuffing, pie – and do it in a way that’s a little healthier,” Fairley said. “It takes a little planning, but it can be done.”
A general’s enlisted aide is tasked with, among other things, preparing meals for special occasions. They attend professional culinary schools, to perfect their craft.
The biggest cooking tip Fairley offered up involved the centerpiece of any traditional Thanksgiving meal – the turkey.
“A lot of people, especially here down South, love to fry their turkey,” he said. “It’s just not necessary. You can bake a turkey and have it just as juicy, just as flavorful, as if you deep fried it. It’d be a lot healthier too.”
The trick, he said, is using a chicken base. Chicken base is just condensed flavoring, which can be bought at any supermarket for under five dollars. A couple of tablespoons added to a few cups of water makes the liquid base that can keep a turkey from drying out.
“You have to add a healthy amount of base to the roasting pan, then you cover it with foil,” Fairley said. “Cover it tight, so that when the base turns to steam, it won’t escape. That combination of wet and dry cooking is what’s going to make the
turkey juicy.”
He recommends keeping the turkey covered until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. A meat thermometer, punched into the thickest part of the turkey, will give the most accurate reading, and ensure it is safe to eat.
“Once it’s done, pull off the foil, and throw it back in,” Fairley added. “That will give the top that nice brown color. I don’t recommend using the broiler, because if you get busy and forget about it, suddenly everybody is wondering why they’re trying to eat burnt turkey.”
Fairley said the next biggest tip for making a memorable, healthier Thanksgiving meal, is to use fresh vegetables, instead
of canned.
“There is just no comparison between fresh vegetables, like the green beans most families eat during Thanksgiving, and canned,” he said. “In fact, do
everything fresh.”
The concept of using fresh ingredients may seem costly, but the truth is, pre-packaged foods are often more expensive, and almost always less healthy.
For instance, a box of dried stuffing costs around three dollars and can contain up to 500mg of sodium, whereas homemade stuffing uses about 15 cents of vegetables and a loaf
of bread.
Sgt. Stephanie Greenleaf, a Depot food service Marine, said there is another reason to stay away from prepackaged foods during
the holidays.
“It’s bland,” she said. “You got to make it colorful, and you got to put something of yourself into the food, or else it’s not
really yours.”
Greenleaf, from Columbus, Ohio, said that by following the rules, anybody can put together a healthier Thanksgiving meal.
“If you can follow instructions, you can cook,” she said. “It just takes patience and little care.”
And if there is one thing Marines are good at, she said, it is following instructions.