The hardest week of the year

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For one week, everything is thrown out. We’re absolved from the things we believe in, stand by and preach about. For someone all about nutrition, weight loss and being healthy, Thanksgiving is kind of like going to Las Vegas to gamble. You know you’re going to lose, but losing is oh so much fun. How exactly are we supposed to function for the next few days? Should we just accept this week as a failure/loss and vow to do better next week? Should we try and completely not partake in anything, sacrificing good food and good eats as casualties in the battle of the bulge?

As always the answer lies somewhere in the middle. For me, it’s going to be acceptable to have some macaroni and cheese. It’s okay to have a serving of cranberry sauce or turkey stuffing on the side. It’s the overeating and the second and third plates that are the main issue, not the first.

That said, here are a couple of ways I plan – and you can plan - to not let Thanksgiving interfere with lifestyle goals:

1) Ring in Thanksgiving Day by taking a brisk walk after you wake up. Go to a track or local park for 30 to 45 minutes and get some exercise in. It’ll start your day off right, burn some calories and remind you that you can’t let one day completely side track your focus.

2) Eat what you want, but eat it once and eat it early. I don’t know what time y’all start Thanksgiving Dinner, but my mom has everything on the table no later than 2 p.m. That’s really like a late lunch. Eat what you want that meal, portion control is always important, but make that all you do. For dinner, or if you get hungry later, have a healthy option readily available.

3) Overload on vegetables. There are still a lot of good, healthy options available on Thanksgiving. Cooked correctly, foods like turkey, baked chicken and greens are actually good for you. So, if you find yourself hungry or wanting to be more involved in the festivities load up on the veggies.

4) Finally, remember that it is one day for a special occasion that we are allowing this flexibility. We tend to let the food celebration surrounding Thanksgiving linger over into Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Consider Thanksgiving a slight, one-day reprieve. Once Friday hits, it is back to your regular scheduled program.

I hope this helps to give you some ideas to make your Thanksgiving less destructive. Tweet me (@IamAmandaNicole) and let me know what you do to keep Thanksgiving from totally messing up your healthy eating.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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