BN Fitness

Lost Some Weight? Nervous about Thanksgiving? Enjoy Yourself!

Was talking to a client who has done veeeery well with our Personal Training services. She’s dropped 42 pounds since June and she wants to stay on track. At first, she was going to lock herself in her house away from her family and friends. Without me saying a word — just the look on my face — she switched to maybe she’ll go over to her mother’s house, but she’s not eating anything but her salmon and broccoli. She was tormenting herself. And I “got it” because I’ve done it too. She was asking for my help and this is what we came up with. No denial. Just control.

Here are the basic guidelines she and I will follow for Thanksgiving:

Rule #1:  This is Thanksgiving dinner, not Thanksgiving Week, Month, and Year

Make sure and stick to your meal plans for the rest of the day, and for the rest of the week.  Thanksgiving dinner is 1 meal out of 3 or 5 small meals this Thursday.  And it’s only 1 of 25 for the entire week.  Stick to your other meals throughout the day. Why?  You won’t over-stuff yourself on one unhealthy meal (and you’ll keep your metabolism up!).

Rule #2: You don’t get bonus points for only having one meal

Don’t starve yourself and skip other meals just so that you’ll “have more room” to eat more Turkey.  Obviously if you follow Rule #1 you’ll have no problem with this one, but being overweight, I am starting to see how various “bend the rules” ideas pop up.  They do for me too.  Resist the urge.

Rule #3:  Stick to a realistic definition of a “portion”

When you are at the dinner table, eat smaller portions of the good stuff.  If you know you’ll be eating some of your favorite Thanksgiving foods, limit yourself to fist-size portions.  If you follow this rule, you’ll be able to comfortably enjoy all of your favorites, and avoid heading back for seconds, thirds, or twelfths.

Rule #4: One dessert.  Wait let me be more specific.  One portion of one dessert!

Yes, I said one.  No need to have a slice of every pie that’s there.  If you don’t cut the pie, it doesn’t mean the entire pie is now a slice! 🙂  Every holiday and most birthday parties I attend, I have a small piece of dessert (especially if it’s homemade).  I just do it in moderation.  Eat it slower too – you’ll enjoy it more!

Rule #5: Enjoy yourself! This is NOT a fad diet. This is a lifestyle

We live disciplined lives. Splurge a bit on the weekends and holidays while sticking to the rules above.  This way you always still enjoy your family and yourself at parties or on holidays and yet you don’t throw away all your results from the week by consuming 10,000 calories in just one sitting.

Hindsight is always 20/20.  And yes, I know that I could lay waste to the entire turkey if I was still on an unrestricted diet.  But circumstances have changed, and the test is before you.  Commit to a better you, regardless of circumstance.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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PS: If you are in the DC Metro area and want to workout on Thanksgiving morning,  join me at 7AM at Suitland HS Track  – 5200 Silver Hill RD, Forestville, MD.  Bring family and friends, mat, water, weights, and $10 per person!  Let’s get Thanksgiving Day off to a great start!