Simple 6-Step Thanksgiving Day Shuffle!

With the holiday seasons approaching, we need to get our mind right to maintain focus in achieving our fitness goals. There is no question that it is tough to keep up a strict exercise program and a healthy diet through all of the holiday cheer, but it is more important now than ever to stay on task! Don’t let a couple of days of buffet style meals be an excuse to tank the remaining six weeks of the year. In order to do so we will look at a few tips to keep the unwanted pounds from piling back on and preserve all of our hard work.

1.   Switch from Weight Loss to Weight Maintenance- During the actual weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas focus in on maintaining your weight versus losing any. It will help keep things more realistic and allow you to actually enjoy yourself. This is just to be during the weeks of travel and family visiting, not for the remainder of the year!

2.   Use Healthy Recipes and Low Fat/Sugar Substitutes- When preparing meals for the family or picking out how to fill your plate up in the food line at Grandma’s, look for healthier options. Load up on the green veggies (the ones not soaked in butter), lay off of the gravy, cook with fruits instead of sugars, use fat free and low calorie products  while preparing your dishes, and always try to stay as natural as possible.

3.   Eat Breakfast- The morning before your mammoth meals it is imperative that you eat breakfast! This will ensure that you have to willpower to turn down some of the gluttony you will be facing. Eating even a small meal high in protein and high in fiber will help curb some of your craving and cut down on your portion sizes. It’s best to not show up to the party starving. Saving all of your calories for one meal ain’t the way to go if you want to keep your waist line down.

4.  Plan your Exercise to Compensate- During the weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas work a little harder in the gym. Run a little further or add an extra day of cardio into your weekly routine. If at all possible exercise the day of your planned feast. Plenty of cities do 5k or half marathons on holiday morning so sign up for a race. Even the most basic fitness junkies can do a 5k! We still have to have calories burned higher than calories consumed on average during this time frame.

5.   Portion Control- This one is probably the most important! Stick to foods that are specific to the holiday. Don’t go after bad foods that you can have any time during the year and stay away from seconds! Survey the options first, and then load your plate up with enough food to fill you up the first go around. Knowing what you want on your plate will help keep the portions of the foods you can’t live without reasonable. Everyone loves leftovers so make sure to save it for later not try to squeeze it in all at once.

6.   Easy on the Alcohol- Alcohol can ramp up the extra calories quick! Whether it’s mimosas at breakfast or eggnog by the fire, use in moderation to keep calorie counts from getting out of hand. If you are going to indulge, make sure that you cut something else out to compensate. Limiting yourself here may make the in-laws a little harder to tolerate but it will certainly go a long way in keeping your fitness goals within grasps.

Use these tips to have a successful holiday season. Remember, this time is about family more than food, so spend as much time as possible (or as tolerable) with your loved ones. Impress them with your dedication and self control when it comes to your diet and exercise. Don’t use this as an excuse to take a month off and “start back fresh in the new year”. We are going to be ahead of the game come January so eat consciously, work out consistently, enjoy BRINGING IT with the fam over the holidays!