Thanksgiving is a holiday that revolves around eating, like so many other holidays coming up! We shouldn’t feel like we can’t partake in this family-oriented, fun event; or that we can’t try out all the delicious foods displayed before us. You can, and should, eat a bit of everything. You just have to do so with some intent. Healthy habits often fall to the wayside between Halloween and the New Year, which then sets people back in their goals and requires them to reestablish their habits in the New Year. The unfortunate part is too many people fail at reestablishing their healthy habits and continue in a spiral of bad habits. DON’T GO DOWN THAT SPIRAL! Enjoy your slice of pie, then divvy out the leftovers.
Here are a few tips and ideas of how to keep your healthy habits in check during the holidays:
1. Portion control – take a little bit of everything on your first plate with the intention of skipping seconds. This way you don’t fill up on half of the foods there and feel as though you just HAVE to get more because you are yet to try grandma’s famous sweet potatoes.
2. Take a walk – while the turkey is cooking take time with the family to stroll around the neighborhood and work up those appetites. Have a walk planned for after the meal too, this might help you avoid overstuffing yourself, since you know you’ll have to get moving soon.
3. Play – whether it’s football, catch, a game of tag, use these fun games to interact with the family regularly and have fun while getting fit.
4. Kitchen workouts – instead of standing around taste testing all the food as it cooks, try some of these simple exercises between basting bouts: lunges, squats, bicep curls with canned goods, jumping jacks, pushups.
5. Plan ahead – make plans with people to do workouts between Thanksgiving and New Years to help push each other to actually go. Whether it’s the gym, an activity outside, an in-home workout, ice skating, or signing up for a new activity; if you have someone doing it with you it makes it a lot more fun and a lot more likely you will actually do it.
6. Don’t wait until New Years – there is no time like the present to get started on a healthy habit adventure. Today you can begin the journey of making simple changes in your daily life to become a happier, healthier, and more energetic you.
7. Give away leftovers – keep a minimal amount for yourself, then give the rest to guests as they leave. This will help prevent you from digging into the sugary goodness every day for the next two weeks. If you don’t have the temptation in front of you it’s much easier to resist.
8. Watch the Facebook Page & Instagram for a special Turkey Day workout
These are just a few ways to keep on top your healthy habits without missing out on all your favorite dishes. Enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!