WASHINGTON 鈥� Put away the skinny jeans: It鈥檚 time to break out the . Thanksgiving is here, and it鈥檚 the only time of the year when it鈥檚 perfectly acceptable to stuff your face with as much food as possible.
Want to take聽your eating game to the next聽level this Thanksgiving? You better come to the table with a strategy. After all, there鈥檚 nothing more frustrating than feeling full before you even consider seconds on grandma鈥檚 mashed potatoes.
When it comes to eating large quantities of food, no one is more qualified to dole out advice than world-ranked competitive eater Joey 鈥淛aws鈥� Chestnut.
鈥淚 have the best job in the world, and on Thanksgiving, everybody tries to do my job,鈥� he says.
To train for a big eating competition, Chestnut staggers practice eating runs with periods of fasting, and he drinks a lot聽of liquids to keep his stomach stretched. However, he doesn鈥檛 recommend that approach for Thanksgiving dinner. He says all you need to do is put your mind to it.
鈥淓very time you pick up a new plate, try to treat it like it was your first. It鈥檚 a mental game: Just keep on eating like it was your first plate,鈥� he says.
[Dietitians and health professionals may want to stop reading now.]
And when your body signals that it鈥檚 full, pay no attention.
鈥淵ou find your rhythm, and when your body鈥檚 telling you something, you can usually ignore that feeling and just keep pushing,鈥� Chestnut says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mind over matter.鈥�
Another piece of advice he has for the big meal is to stick to the foods you鈥檙e used to eating. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 eat cranberry sauce on a regular basis, you shouldn鈥檛 try to eat a lot of it on Thanksgiving,鈥� he says.
Prefer dark meat over light? Stock up on your favorite. Mashed potatoes will likely be easier on your stomach than the stuffing, which is served only a few times a year.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to push limits you haven鈥檛 developed yet,鈥� Chestnut says.
And no matter how full you may be at the end of it all, dessert is a must.
鈥淧umpkin pie with whipped cream 鈥� this is something you have to do. It鈥檚 a crime if you don鈥檛.鈥�
Chestnut admits he鈥檚 a big fan of Thanksgiving dinner 鈥� especially the mashed potatoes with gravy 鈥� but even he has to exercise some restraint when his aunts, uncles and cousins gather around the table.
鈥淚f I ate as much as I could, my mom would really get pissed.鈥�
