The 2013 holiday season is finally upon us beginning with Thanksgiving tomorrow! For many of us, this is the time of year when we eagerly gather together with our loved ones and enjoy each other’s company. For some of us, especially those of us who struggle with managing our weight, this time of year can also be one of stress and anxiety. With the constant temptation of calorie-dense food and drink during Thanksgiving, it’s hard to escape the day without having overindulged our cravings. But here are 5 tips on surviving Thanksgiving:
- Start your day with a workout. What better way to begin your day, especially Thanksgiving Day, than working out first thing in the morning. Not only does exercising create a calorie deficit on a day when you would generally eat more than you usually do, but a morning workout may put you in a healthier frame of mind throughout the day and possibly prevent you from wasting all of the hard work you accomplished during your workout by not overeating.
- Don’t skip your meals throughout the day. In anticipation of inevitably overeating at Thanksgiving dinner, many people simply don’t eat throughout much of the day. By the time you sit down at the table with a plate full of food, you gorge yourself on anything that doesn’t crawl away from you because you’re starving. Obviously, this isn’t a great strategy. If you don’t want to spoil your Thanksgiving dinner just have small snacks throughout the day like cut-up fruit and vegetables or nuts like almonds and walnuts. The important thing is that you keep your blood sugar as level as possible by eating regularly, not letting it fluctuate wildly by starving yourself and eating sporadically.
- Stay hydrated. Along with not starving yourself, keep your self hydrated throughout the day. It many cases, if you begin to feel hungry, it may just mean you’re dehydrated which most of us are at any given point of the day. Before you start eating more food, try drinking 8 oz. of water and wait a couple of minutes. More times than not, you’re feelings of hunger will go away.
- Socialize in between helpings. Ok, so you’ve just finished your first helping of a great Thanksgiving dinner. Before you pick up your plate and go back for a 2nd round, take some time and socialize with the friends and family around you. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this is the only time of year when you see some of your family members. Find out what’s been going in each other’s lives. Discuss the football game with each other. The main thing is for you to pause for a bit before you mindlessly get more food. If, after catching up with family and friends, you still feel hungry then grab a little more food. If not, enjoy each other’s company.
- Go for a walk. After you’ve finished eating (for now), grab as many of your family members and friends and go take a walk to the end of the block or even walk around the neighborhood. After sitting around for hours and just eating, it would be a good idea to get everybody in the house up off of their feet and start moving. Get the blood pumping. Not only will going for a walk burn some of the extra calories you’ve just consumed, but it will also help keep the sleep-inducing effects of the tryptophan in the turkey from kicking in.
Well, I hope these tips will help minimize the “damage” you would normally do on Thanksgiving. Remember, you can certainly have fun on Thanksgiving and enjoy some great food and drink, but get back in the gym as soon as possible! Don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s a holiday weekend and, therefore, you are free to eat everything in sight for several days without getting back into your workout routine. Don’t throw away your hard work! Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving and may God bless you and your families!