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Celebrate! Jennifer Garner’s Nutritionist Gives Full Permission to Go to Town on Thanksgiving

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Jennifer Garner attends the 2018 LA Dance Project Gala on October 20, 2018.Vivien Killilea/Getty Images

Jennifer Garner’s nutritionist Kelly LeVeque has just given Us our favorite Thanksgiving diet advice of all time: When it comes to Turkey Day, don’t worry about holding back!

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To avoid gaining extra holiday pounds, “it’s just understanding that the holidays are not two months long. They’re really just a couple of days, and it really is not that big of a deal if you’re indulging on a little pie or holiday cookies or whatever it is,” the pro tells Us.

The one thing to watch out for: “It’s when the holidays start at Halloween and that lasts all the way ‘til New Years. That can cause a lot of anxiety and stress for people,” she says. “And so it’s really about deciding that the holidays are just a few days, and if I’m eating clean around those days, then I’m good.”

The wellness coach — who also works with Jessica Alba, Emmy Rossum, Busy Philipps and Chelsea Handler — promotes clean eating over intense diets. In her book Body Love: Live in Balance, Weigh What You Want, and Free Yourself from Food Drama Forever, she recommends a Fab Four eating strategy, which involves consuming four categories of food at each meal: protein, fat, fiber and greens. With this method, “you’re less hormonally hungry and more satisfied on a biological level,” she tells Us. (Translation: You avoid overeating.)

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Jessica Alba attends Refinery29’s 29Rooms San Francisco: Turn It Into Art Opening Party 2018 at Palace of Fine Arts on June 20, 2018 in San Francisco, California. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Refinery29

As for Thanksgiving Day, you can also help out your body by eating at least one clean meal. “I tell my clients that if you start your day balanced with balanced blood sugar and an anti-inflammatory state and you’re prioritizing maybe it’s breakfast that’s the really clean, healthy meal of the day and you know that Thanksgiving dinner is gonna be sort of a bit more gluttonous, it’s bookending that meal with clean meals,” she says. “So maybe they wake up and have a really green Fab Four Smoothie.” She also recommends squeezing in an activity like a Turkey Trot in the morning if you have time.

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When it comes to the main event itself, eat what you want. Just remind yourself that it’ll be easier to get back on track the less sugar and carbohydrates you consume. “The interesting thing is that blood sugar is compounding, so every choice you’re making to add more sugar and carbohydrates to your plate, you’re actually elevating your blood sugar higher and the crash is going to be harder, the cravings are gonna be harder and the inflammation is gonna be greater,” she says.

The trick is to add protein, healthy fat and veggies to your plate first, she notes. When you prioritize foods “that don’t release insulin, that turn off hunger hormones, that make us feel full, that stretch our stomachs,” she says, “that’s what my philosophy is about. That’s what the Fab Four is all about. I’m not the person who likes to white knuckle it and be like, ‘I’m not gonna get a piece of pie. I’m not gonna have mashed potatoes.’”

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On Black Friday, the best thing to do once again is to set yourself up for success by avoiding a blood sugar spike and ensuing crash. “If you’re planning to get up and go, it’s very tempting to open the fridge and have pumpkin pie for breakfast on Black Friday,” she admits. “But if you just say, ‘I’m gonna enjoy it in this period of time and I’m going to go into it and come out of it in a clean way,’ that can rebalance you a lot faster.” Allowing blood sugar to fluctuate extremely adds “hormonal hunger on top of just the regular cravings you would have knowing it’s in your fridge,” she says.

Above all, recommends LeVeque, to get yourself back on track for a healthy holiday period, avoid skipping meals. “I think that’s the worst thing anyone can do — deprive themselves and starve just because they feel bad about the choices they’re making,” she says. Instead, says the pro, whose second book, Body Love Every Day comes out in April 2019, to rebalance your system, you should fuel up: “Turn off those hunger hormones on a biological level with protein, fat and fiber and rebalance your way out of it.”

With reporting by Carly Sloane

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