Give Thanks

To... Exorbitant amounts of food for making you feel guilty about your fitness progression or goals.

Ok, thanksgiving is about more than food, right? 
But isn't it?
Let's face it… You can't deny that being around family and friends, enjoying their presence and the food they have prepared for you to scarf at your leisure is very much apart of the Thanksgiving equation…

For your convenience:
I've put together a method of how to enjoy yourself on this day with all the pleasure and less of the guilt.

I just can't take the day off...

Set aside a time in the morning for you to sneak away. Maybe normally on Thursdays you do a 2 hour gym session or a 3 hour bike ride or a kickboxing routine that was meant to shame the likes of Jackie Chan. But this year, you've been asked to contribute a dish or you are somewhere you can't continue your normal routine. My advice is to… shall I say it… relax. 

There are several ways to go about this depending on your demands.
1. You are a fitness lover or just started your path to reach your fitness goals and you don't want to lose your streak- Join in on your local Turkey Trot.

2. You are a Professional athlete or someone who has been training for an upcoming event- Plan to wake up earlier to get your workout done. (in the future see if it is possible to regiment your workout week to have an easier day on Thursday.)
3. You are not competing in an event any time soon- Maybe you can plan to have only a 1hour gym session or run an easy 30 minutes instead of an hour and add core and strength to the last half hour, or perhaps going on an hour ride. Try your best to limit that endorphin flow to 1hour to allow time to be giving on this day.

I know it sounds easier than it really is, but try to remember BALANCE.
It's really simple, and I wouldn't freak out about not getting in the whole kit and caboodle of your normal routine. But if you are one of those lucky few that can wake up to their alarm set earlier than usual, then... resume as usual, the holidays shouldn't handicap you, but enhance you.

But I want to enjoy ALL the food!

Do IT! 

Be more of a taste tester than a gorger. For instance, you see.... Potato salad, Macaroni and cheese, tuna salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing (my mouth is watering), then you see.... ham, and of course that beautiful stuffed turkey. To top it off on the dessert table it seems like 'Mr. Spoil Your Hard Work' himself has come to bury you in a world of mouth watering insanity. 

Just remember your plate clock.  

Plate clock n.: A method used to remember how to properly portion your food groups for more healthful eating at meal times.

How to structure a plate clock:

Using a side plate load half your plate with veggies, and eat that first... This will help satiate your hunger and add some substance to your tummy so that the juicy stuff doesn't even have room to infiltrate your system and your only choice really will be to enjoy it in moderation. 1/4 of the clock should be your protein and if that means instead of eating a whole 1/4 side of turkey because you want some ham then have an 1/8 of ham and 1/8 of Turkey (you get it?) For the carbs do the same thing… 1/4 total of Mash potatoes and Macoroni and cheese or its relatives.
Make it a rule that just a little of each and your 1/4 should serve you just fine.

Look at it this way:

Taste it all, but keep the size of your food groups in the clock the same.  

Ah now for dessert… 

If you are one of those people that must try all, Imagine one slice of pie and treat your dessert portions as such.  If you're not …Find your "to die for" dessert and stick to it.

Most of all don't let the food part stress you out, socialize and focus in on the people you are with, that'll be sure to burn some time and should distract your brain from gorging and exploding your tummy. 

...You never know it could happen.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!