Take control of the day and jump-start your motivation
for a healthy and active holiday season—one where you lose, not gain!
Avoid holiday weight gain
If you're trying to reach your feel great weight, Thanksgiving can be a
very stressful holiday. With so much delicious food tempting you, it's
difficult to keep your healthy habits in check. Who doesn't pile their plate
high at Thanksgiving dinner!
If you're anything like me, however, too much splurging on Thanksgiving
often sets off a domino effect for the rest of the holiday season.
Instead of
embarking on a six-week food fest, take control of the day and jump-start your
motivation for a healthy and active holiday season—one where you lose weight,
not gain!
Plan a post-meal walk
As soon as you arrive at your Thanksgiving celebration, announce that
you plan to take a walk after the meal. Most likely, some of your family and
friends will want to join you. Once you get a few people on board, it'll be
tough to bail out.
A brisk walk will help you burn some calories and is likely
put you in the right mindset to turn down a second piece of pumpkin pie!
Walk around and talk to people
Rather than obsess over the food at Thanksgiving, I focus my attention
on the entire celebration, including the once-a-year sights, sounds, and people
at the event.
Instead of sampling each and every appetizer before dinner, I
walk around and catch up with family and friends.
Plan a workout date the next morning
Instead of feeling bloated and lethargic the day after
Thanksgiving, schedule a fitness date with a friend for that morning—then you
have to show up!
Knowing you've committed to burning off those extra calories from
Thanksgiving allows you to splurge without feeling guilty. Plus, the thought of
an early-morning workout might keep you from having too many glasses of wine
during dinner!
Volunteer to help clean up
Instead of picking at the leftovers or helping yourself to a second (or
third) dessert, offer to help the host clean up.
They will appreciate the
gesture, and physically removing yourself from the table will help take your
attention away from the food.
Cleaning up will also help you burn some calories!
Stop eating when you're full
OK, this tip probably seems pretty obvious, but Thanksgiving is one of
those holidays when people plan to eat until they are
stuffed to the brim.
Instead of seeing how much you can eat, serve yourself a small,
golf-ball-size serving of everything you want—no restrictions—but have only
enough to satisfy your stomach without overdoing it.
Remember, Thanksgiving is one day. Done right, you won’t set
yourself back too far!
by Tina Haupert
No comments:
Post a Comment