(I first posted this article last year at this time, but it so perfectly sums up my feelings about the upcoming couple of months that I'm repeating myself. And it's not even age-related!)
Welcome
to HalloweenThanksgivingChristmasNewYear's, that eight-week,
what-just-happened holiday that comes out of nowhere, spins us around
until we don't know WHAT color we're supposed to be decorating with, and
then leaves us breathless and five pounds heavier in January. Did
anybody get the number of that sleigh? Ah, the holidays.
It's true
that most of us put on a few pounds between Thanksgiving and
Christmas. Why is it always a surprise? We've finally purged the house
of the remaining Halloween candy that we HAD to stock up on just in
case there was an unexpected invasion of record numbers of costumed
toddlers in our neighborhood, or, let's be honest, maybe we just threw
in the towel and ate the leftovers ourselves. Then we kick off
the season with the granddaddy of all meals -- Thanksgiving dinner --
soon after which we launch ourselves into a full festive frenzy by
baking absurd numbers of sweets in the name of tradition. You know as
well as I do that once the dust settles and we stow our holiday habits
for another year, those extra pounds will come off again. But if you're
starting to stress out about it, read on.
With all the hustle and bustle and dashing around, don't let your
fitness program fall completely by the wayside, but be reasonable. If
you're accustomed to working out five days a week, accept that that may
be unrealistic during the holidays. Allow yourself an abbreviated
version of your normal routine, or if you usually work out an hour a
day, aim for 30 minutes a day or an hour every other day. Use that time
wisely (and vigorously), and then get on with other things.
Now, about that monster meal: If you're like me, when Great Aunt
Gertie's cornbread sausage stuffing is on the table, I am there. Why
on earth would you deprive yourself of something so heavenly that you
only get to eat once a year? Shame on you. But that doesn't mean you should take leave of your remaining senses. If your family customarily eats
Thanksgiving dinner in the middle of the afternoon, have a very light
breakfast so you're not gnawing on the tablecloth by the time the big
bird makes its appearance. Then treat yourself to normal size portions
-- let me repeat that -- NORMAL SIZE PORTIONS of all your favorite
things. If you don't absolutely adore sweet potatoes with marshmallows
and red cinnamon candies, skip them. Eat what you love. Put your fork
down frequently, and take a deep breath or two between bites. If you
avoid the typical frenzied speed at which we often indulge, you might
even notice when your body begins to signal that it's feeling full.
When it does, have one more bite of your most favorite thing and then
stop. A piece of Granny Franny's famous pumpkin pie? A small one,
perhaps. A piece of every kind of pie on the buffet table? Oh, let's
not.
And here's the kicker: The day after Thanksgiving, get right back to
business as usual. Eat normally, exercise, and start looking forward to
the next holiday. As far as your body is concerned, it's not what you
do between Thanksgiving and Christmas that's so important. It's what
you do between Christmas and the following Thanksgiving that makes the
real difference. During the holidays, pay a little more attention to
your spirit and enjoy!
Do
you have a trick for surviving Thanksgiving dinner? Leave a comment!
(See the instructions in red after all the articles.)
2 comments:
Your comment about eating slower is SO important. I think I eat half as much when I am not shoveling it in at record speed.....Thanks for the reminder!
If this reminder was helpful before, why wouldn't we want to be reminded of valid suggestions? Beth, thnakfully, I have a partner that does eat slowly and that has helped ME slow down----HURRAH!!!!!
Thanks to you BOTH.
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