Cleveland.com recently published a Thanksgiving guide to healthy eating and sought out the expertise of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center for tips on how to be mindful of calories throughout holiday season. St. Vincent Charity’s lead dietician, Beverly Keeler, spoke with reporter Julie Washington about ways to cut unnecessary calories and strategies for navigating family dynamics that occasionally add pressure to overindulge.

Many people think of the holiday season as one, long excuse to forget their healthy eating routine, but according to Keeler, that’s an easy mistake to avoid.

“Thanksgiving is one meal, not a day and certainly not a week,” said Keeler.

For those wishing to be mindful of their Thanksgiving calorie intake, her advice is to plan ahead by eating healthy every other day of the week and especially during breakfast and lunch on Thanksgiving Day.

“Just because it’s on the table doesn’t mean you have to eat it,” she said. “Save your calories for the food you really, really want and the things you don’t typically eat any other time during the year.”

Cleveland.com asked Keeler to analyze the nutrition values of a typical Thanksgiving dinner. The registered dietician found that the meal added up to a whopping 1,865 calories, which is equal to an entire day's caloric intake. It also was high in carbs, fat and sodium.

The sample dinner included four ounces of dark turkey meat with skin, 1 cup bread stuffing, 3/4 cup mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup gravy, 3/4 cup green bean casserole, 1/4 cup cranberry relish, two dinner rolls with 1/2 tablespoon butter each, two 6-ounce glasses of red wine and 1/8 pumpkin pie with Cool Whip.

But according to Keeler, with a few substitutions and eliminations, it's possible to trim the calories in the traditional Thanksgiving meal by more than half, or 575 calories by making the following choices:

• Choose white turkey meat.
• Stuffing or mashed potatoes (not both).
• Swap plain green beans for the green bean casserole.
• Drink water instead of alcohol.
• Enjoy fruit salad with fat-free Cool Whip for dessert.
• Cut out the dinner rolls and gravy.

Keeler offered these tips for sensible holiday eating:

• Have a small, high-fiber breakfast and soup with salad for lunch. Don't starve the entire day, or "you're going to stuff your face and go back for more."
• Avoid snacking on high-calorie foods, and limit alcohol.
• Encourage family members to go for a brisk walk before or after dinner.
• Keep an eye on portion sizes. Practice measuring cereal or uncooked rice before Thanksgiving, so you know what a cup or half-cup looks like.
• Focus on foods you love and don't eat often.
• Have a plan for dealing with leftovers. If you're the host, have to-go containers available so that guests can take goodies home. "You don't have all those triggers in the house," she said. But if you're a guest, only take home white-meat turkey and veggies.
• Be prepared for guests who will scrutinize what you're eating or how you look. If someone insists that you eat a high-calorie dish, don't get defensive; change the subject, or say "no thanks" firmly but politely. "You don't owe anyone an explanation," Keeler said.

“Even if you do go overboard, have seconds or thirds, and completely indulge on Thanksgiving, keep in mind it is just one day and don’t beat yourself up about it,” Keeler said. “Just get back on track the next day and don’t stretch the Thanksgiving meal out across multiple days.”