Surviving Thanksgiving!

Eat the turkey, enjoy the potatoes, indulge in the pie!

Opinions no doubt differ between the various health and fitness professionals out there.  My take on the holidays?  If your goal is to lose weight and keep it off FOREVER, you have to do it in the real world. 

I let my clients decide for themselves what they want to do.  Some want to stick to their plans and count their calories and get another on track day under their belts.  Others decide to throw caution to the wind and if it stands still long enough, they’re going to eat it (you know who you are.) 

In my mind, the ideal is somewhere between these two places.  How do I think you should plan for the holiday?

Try and be active at some point during the day – go for a walk/run, do a mini at home workout, play a game of football or soccer with your family, head out on bikes with your family.  The list is endless, but do something.

Eat a little of everything.  The stuff you really like, you can always eat a lot of.  Don’t waste your calories on foods that are just ‘okay’ though.  If you aren’t loving the mashed potatoes, push them away and save space for the pie.  Don’t eat for the sake of it, but don’t deprive yourself either.

Stay hydrated.  Still get ½ your body weight in ounces of water in.  It will seriously help the food hangover the following day!

Finally, contain it to a single day!  As soon as the clock rolls over on Friday you are BACK ON TRACK!  Get your workout in, get your water in, hit your calorie goal.  No excuses.

Full blown deprivation is likely to lead to misery and downward spiral of bad choices.  So eat your Thanksgiving dinner, but make sure that it is without guilt. 

THAT is how you lose weight in the real world. THAT is how you can still move closer to your goals through the Holiday Season, and THAT is how you will keep the weight off forever.