Belts will still fit properly after gorging on turkey, cranberry and pumpkin pie Thanksgiving Day.One day is not going to drastically change a person’s weight, said Julie Hupperich, associate director of the Student Health Center.”If it is only going to be that one day, it is OK,” Hupperich said. “The trick is going back to your regular diet the next day.”The biggest concern of overeating on Thanksgiving is that the trend may continue until New Year’s Day, nutrition instructor Judy Myhand said.”You continue eating from Thanksgiving to Christmas and then we have Mardi Gras,” Myhand said. “It starts a pattern of overeating.”To avoid beginning bad eating habits after Thanksgiving, Hupperich suggests getting back to a normal eating routine the day after Thanksgiving. Beth Reames, human ecology professor, said one day of overeating is OK. “One meal will not signal complete disaster for the rest of your life,” Reames said.Lacey Licciardi, dietetics junior, said people should be able to splurge at least one day. “You should not worry about it at all,” Licciardi said. “It’s Thanksgiving.”More than any other holiday, Thanksgiving is synonymous with food, Hupperich said.”It is tradition — the whole holiday revolves around food,” Hupperich said. “Of all of the holidays, Thanksgiving means family and food.”For Joy Cashio, political science freshman, there is always an overabundance of food at her family’s Thanksgiving meal.”Everyone brings too much food,” Cashio said. “We end up having a ridiculous amount of food left over.”Before eating a Thanksgiving meal, Myhand suggests eating breakfast and limiting food selections.”Eat only those things that you love,” Myhand said. To avoid the extra calories, Hupperich said plates should not contain merely carbs, such as bread and potatoes, and protein, such as turkey or ham. “Your plate should be filled half with fruits and vegetables and a limited portion of carbs and protein,” Hupperich said. After eating Thanksgiving dinner, people often fall asleep because of carbs, wine and tryptophan in turkey, Hupperich said. Reames advised students to exercise after eating. Instead of watching the traditional Thanksgiving football game, Reames suggests actually playing a game of football. “You can burn as much as 140 calories for every 15 minutes of playing football,” Reames said.—-Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]