With Thanksgiving just about a week away, I've been trying to prepare my clients as best I can to enjoy Thanksgiving without the guilt of having to loosen their pants after dinner. THIS IS CRUNCH TIME to help yourself continue healthy eating habits throughout the holiday season!
Yes, it's the infamous "pumpkin" time of year-pumpkin lattes, pumpkin bread...PIE, lots and lots of pie! American's will eat an estimate of 21,846,525,434 pumpkin pies on Thanksgiving, with the average person eating 2-3 slices, with roughly 325 calories in each slice...not including everything else we indulge in on Thanksgiving, we consume just about 650 calories in dessert alone!
We don't think about everything we eat on Thanksgiving because we're enjoying the meal with family and friends, but this is something we need to think about! Be conscious about what you're putting into your body! Now, I'm not saying don't enjoy the meal at all, but be aware of how much food is on your plate! Be aware of your portion sizes! Ideally, a popular brand of stuffing mix, contains 107 calories per serving...and a serving of stuffing is 1/2 cup. You can avoid loosening that belt buckle after dinner by having smaller portion sizes on your plate. THIS IS KEY.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner, but don't go overboard, it really is common sense. Anything with a cream sauce, try not to eat a lot of it (small, SMALL portions), don't overload the gravy, stay away from anything fried, watch the mashed potatoes and stuffing, either pick one or the other, or have smaller portions of each.
Now I understand that we want to enjoy this meal and indulge a little bit. But think about this, you know that you're more than likely going to be eating leftovers for quite a few days after Thanksgiving, so you don't need to eat like it's your last meal! Take your time between bites, take small bites and eat slowly, and WATCH YOUR PORTIONS.
Thanksgiving is NO EXCUSE to throw nutrition out the window, and even though a lot of people will skip their workout on Thanksgiving as well as the day after Thanksgiving, keep active! Play with the grandkids, or go out for a walk after dinner instead of falling asleep watching the game on the couch.
And keep this in mind, what is Thanksgiving all about?
We have so much to be thankful for. We have our family and friends, a roof over our head, a car to get us around from place to place, and we have our health. This is one of the most important things we have to be thankful for. You're alive, you should be thankful, not everyone can celebrate Thanksgiving with their families.
Don't take your health for granted anymore. If you're really thankful for your health-PROVE IT. Stop doing things you know you shouldn't be doing, because in reality, your body is the most valuable things you own, and you should be taking better care of it. Thanksgiving shouldn't be a cop-out for your training, it shouldn't be an excuse. Be smart about what you're doing-and be thankful for your health.
"To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear" -Buddha
