My Tips For A Healthier Thanksgiving

If There Were Ever A Holiday Designed To Overindulge and Flat Out Get Your “Gluttonously Lazy Self” On, It's Thanksgiving. Yeah The Other Holidays Have Their Fair Share of Treats and Parties, and Yadayadayada…But Do They Have Stuffing and Lions Football??? Enough Said. Giving Thanks Is Great…Giving Additional Numbers To Your Jeans Size Is Greatly Saddening….Let’s Not Give Ourselves A Greatly Saddening Month of December. There Are Many Temptations To Lead You Down A Very Unhealthy Path, Not Just On Thanksgiving Day But The Entire Week…But We Can Overcome This!

This Is A Time To Show Our Appreciation To Others, To Display Gratitude To Loved Ones, and To Spread A Level of Thanks and Happiness To The World Around Us…Let Us Focus On That and That Alone. However That Is Easier Said Than Done When You Are Surrounded By Excess Amounts of Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, Gravy, Candied Yams, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Rolls, Fall Seasonal Brews, and All Sorts of ‘Grandmas Special _____’ and ‘Aunt Sally’s Famous ________.”

So Let's Actually Focus On REAL Things We Can Do To Fight The Necessity To Unbutton Our Jeans Just To Maintain Breath.

Here Are My Tips To Make A Healthier Thanksgiving:

Focus On The Meats and Go Hard On The Veggies: When Making Your Plate or Starting To Eat, Focus On Piling On The Meats First and Load Up With Veggies. Protein and Veggies Are Your Best Friend Today! They Can Both Be Very Filling and If You’re Going To Over-Consume Anything It Would Be Best To Have These Be The Items. Load Your Plate Up With A Lot of Meat First and Add A TON of Veggies, Then If There’s Any Room Left Maybe A Little of The Other Things. If Possible, Try To Have Just The Entire First Big Plate of Nothing But Those Two Things. You May Find Afterwards That You Are Already Full and Satisfied and Don't Need Anything Else..Win Win! But Even If So, You Will Not Be As Hungry and Feeling Rather Satiated Which Will Alleviate A Junk Binge! If You Start With The Junk, You Will Never Feel Full and You Will Simply Go Go Go At Food All Day and Never Get In Any Proper Nutrition.

Get All “Bro” On Em: Get Up In The Morning Before The Day Takes Over and GET A GREAT WORKOUT IN! If You Can Strength Train Even Better, Lift Heavy and Lift Hard and Allow That Food You Will Be Eating To Be Put To Use. Deplete Your Muscle’s Stores of Everything and Then Replenish Those Suckers! This Is A Perfect Day To Get All ‘Bro-Session Day’ On Em and After You Hit Your Squats, Deads, or Presses…Throw In Some Extra Sets of Curls, Pushdowns, Triceps Extensions, Curls, Shrugs, Lat Raises, Calf Raises, Curls, Skullcrushers, Curls, Etc. However, It Doesn't Have To Be Some High Volume and Intense Workout…Just Make It A Point To Get A Workout In. The Earlier The Better As Well…”I’ll Just Workout After Thanksgiving Dinner” Is Essentially Shouting “I'M NOT GOING TO WORKOUT TODAY!” I Don't Care How Ambitious and Convincing Your 7am Self Is.

Over-Focus On The Water: Pound That Water Today, Stay Full On No Calories! Keeping A Belly FULL of Water Will Help Prevent The Desire To Overindulge On The Cookies, Stuffing, Pie, and All The Other Calorie Packed Delicatessens That Will Be Abundantly Available. So Make It A Focus To Drink Drink Drink…And Not The Booze Booze Booze!

Keep Moving Throughout The Day: It's Easy To Just Completely Relax and Just Sit Around/Lounge The Entire Day, Don't Let This Happen. Make It A Point To Move Around, Talk While Standing, Frequently Get Up and Walk, Help Clean Up, Play With The Kids Outside, Etc. Sure Watch The Games and Don't Go Crazy With The Movement…But Sitting For 10 Straight Hours Just Because It's Thanksgiving? Come On Now!

Immediately Combat Pressure: You Know That You Will Receive Opposition Which Will Come In Many Forms (For Reasons That Are Plentiful That We Won't Get Into Now), So Don't Act Surprised or Allow It To Rattle You…Fight Back With A Defense Right Away. People Are Going To Pressure You To “Just Eat It”, “One’s Not Gonna Kill You”, “Come On It’s Thanksgiving”…and So On. But Your Goals Are Your Goals, So Instead of Allowing It To Fester, Build, and Frustrate You…Just Have A Response and Be Firm In It. “NO, I'm Not Going To Eat That But Thank You, I Appreciate Everything and I’m Not Trying To Be Rude But This Is What I’m Going To Do Today!”.. That's All You Need To Do.

Plan A Movement Session: Whether It Be Thanksgiving Evening After Dinner or The Next Day PEN IN (Yes, Don't Pencil This) Some Type of Movement Session…And If Possible Plan It With OTHER PEOPLE. Whether It Be A Walk, Bike Ride (If It's Warm Enough), Workout, Bootcamp, Hike, Bikram Yoga, Zumba Class, Spin, Whatever…Just Plan A Movement Session. If You Have A Few People of Different Abilities You Could Always Do This!

Relax and Don't Overthink It: If You Put All This Added Stress of “What Am I Gonna Do?”, or “Ahhhh I Am Just So Worried That I Can't Eat Healthy Here”, and It's Only Monday…By The Time You Go Into Thursday The Stress of What You “Have To Do” Will Paralyze You, and Also Set You Up For Failure. Thinking About The Sweets, Stuffing, and Gravy Now Is Only Going To Falsely Make You Feel Like You HAVE To Have Them. Take A Deep Breath, Take The Day As It Comes and Remind Yourself That It’s Just Food, It’s Really Not That Big of A Deal.

Have Substitutes: Whether You Have To Bring Your Own or You Ask Those Making Dinner To Have Some Additional Substitutes For YOU…Do It! But Don't Just Try To Avoid, Instead Replace! The Feeling of Deprivation Will Lead To Indulging, But When You REPLACE With Better Options That Are Still Awesome You Will Feel Satisfied. Maybe That Means Your Own Sweet Potatoes (Without The Mallows and Syrup), Green Beans Without The Casserole, Jello Without The Jello and Actually Just Have Fresh Fruit.

Chill With All That Booze Son: Those Alcoholic Beverages (Especially Eggnog) Can Pack On Calories In Epic Proportions, and Believe It Or Not, Are Not Even Necessary To Have A Great Time. On A Day When Calories From Eating Are Tough To Keep In Check, We Don't Need To Add An Additional G of Them For No Reason. Try To Stick To Water/Coffee/Tea If Possible But If You Do Decide To Indulge A Bit, Just Be Mindful…Know What/How Much You Are Consuming, It Adds Up Quick. A Glass of Wine and Pleasant Conversation With A Loved One Can Make A Great Memory. A 30 Pack of Beer and Behaving Like John Belushi In Animal House Even Though You're A Fully Grown Adult At A Family Party Can Make A Completely Different Type of Memory.

Enjoy With Mindfulness: Don't Stuff Yourself, But Rather Feel The Satisfaction. You Don't Have To Avoid Everything,So Instead Just Enjoy The Things You Look Forward To But Be Mindful and Responsible With It. Many People Use This As A Day To ‘Completely Stuff Themselves Silly’..Because “Hey It's Thanksgiving”… Well Don't Be An Idiot. If You Love Pumpkin Pie, or Stuffing, or Your Grandmas Pumpkin Roll, A Chocolate Cheesecake, Etc…Whatever Your Thing Is, By All Means Eat It…But Do You Really Need To Eat ALL of It? NO, You Don't! Using This Day As An Excuse To Be Gluttonous (And Eating Things You Don't Even Really Like, But Just Do It To Do It) Is Silly. Find Your Thing and Enjoy It, To Satisfaction!

Focus On Fellowship Not Foodship: Reflect Deeply On The Purpose of Thanksgiving, Think About What Is Really Important About This Day and The Time Spent…It's NOT About Food, It's About Fellowship With Family and Friends. Don't Consume Your Mind With What You Are Going To Eat or How Good The Mashed Potatoes Look, Etc…Instead Make It A Point To Focus Relentlessly On Simply The Precious Moments That You Are In With Those Around You. Use This Day To Build Memories With Loved Ones, Center Your Attention On The Conversation, The Togetherness With Those Around You…and Invest Your Soul Into The Occasion…Not The Food.

And There You Have My Foolproof Plan To Ensure A Healthy, Fit, and Slim-Waisted Thanksgiving. Well, Even If It's Not ‘Ensured’ At The Very Least They Can't Hurt. Try A Few of These Tips and Keep Your Goals In The Front of Your Mind. Dial In On What’s Important and Enjoy The Holiday! Time and Life Are Precious…Don’t Waste Them! Be Responsible But Don't Waste Them!

Stay Healthy and Show Thanks This Week…I Can Never Express Enough How Thankful I Am To Every Single One of You! And I Truly Mean Every Single One! Happy Thanksgiving!!