How many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey?

One, but you really have to squeeze him in!

By the time you are sitting down to read this column, Thanksgiving 2018 week will already be in the books. How did you fair? Eat too much, sleep too much and work out too little? Don’t be too hard on yourself, though, so long as on Monday you get back into your routine. The holidays are not the time to derail your fitness program, in fact, it is the time we need to ramp it up.

It is estimated that during an average Thanksgiving dinner, Americans consume nearly 3,000 calories and as many as 4,500 calories when beverages and football, or parade-watching snacks added in. Holy cow! In fitness terms, it would take nearly seven hours of nonstop burpees, 45 miles of walking or 22.5 miles of running to burn those away. Are you tired yet?

During the holidays, it is OK to cheat a little on your healthy eating and enjoy yourself as long as you do so in moderation and keep up with your exercise routine. Here are some ideas to keep you going strong from turkey time all the way to 2019:

— Get torqued up: Believe that you can maintain a strong, healthy physique any time of the year. Don’t resign yourself to thinking holidays always mean weight gain.

— Set goals: Make sure your goals are measurable, realistic and achievable. Setting a goal to maintain your exercise program and current weight is lofty enough when faced with pumpkin pie and stuffing.

— Visualize your achievements: Visualize how awesome you will feel if, at the end of the holiday season, you have maintained or even lost weight! Promise yourself a trip to a spa or a shopping trip if you emerge from the holidays unscathed.

— Eat to live, don’t live to eat: Create an awareness of every food you eat. Imagine healthy fruits, vegetables and lean proteins as the fuel your body needs.

— Eat a healthy breakfast: The sooner you eat after waking up, the higher your metabolism will be during the day. Eat a good balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates.

— Eat small frequent meals during the day: Don’t go more than five hours without eating something and, again, make it a combination of nutrients.

— Lighten up your baked goods: If you like to bake during the holidays, then experiment with making the recipes lighter with substitute ingredients. Using things such as skim milk, egg whites or egg substitutes. Replacing oil with applesauce and using Splenda can cut the calories in holiday treats significantly.

— Keep moving: The more you exercise, the better you will feel. Don’t skip workouts and it is best to work out right before going to the big holiday party. Get at least three days a week of cardiovascular exercise and two days a week of strength training.

Instead of using Thanksgiving as an excuse to derail your exercise and healthy eating, use it as motivation to stay focused. I guarantee that if you do, you will feel a whole lot better come midnight on Dec.31 and have to do a lot less damage control in 2019.

Hansen
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Hansen-Kathy-1.jpgHansen

By Kathy Hansen

Kathy Hansen has more than 30 years of experience in the health and fitness field. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].