Thanksgiving and NO WEIGHT GAIN!
If you are like me and you want to enjoy the holidays with your family and enjoy some food but you do not want to put on any pounds here are some great tips by Corinne at Phit-N-Phat. She posted this in her blog today and I thought they were great things to do that you might not think of or if you have thought of them they are great reminders.
I have finally learned over the past few years that Thanksgiving to me is about spending time with my family. I enjoy the food that I really like such as dressing, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn but I just get small portions of them and really savor the bites then I pick out my MOST favorite dessert of the ones to choose from and enjoy that too but I only choose one that is REALLY WORTH IT or I might choose 2-3 bites of a few of them if I just can't choose. So I do get to enjoy the food that comes along with the family but I don't eat myself sick like I have done MANY MANY times in the past. It's all about moderation folks and it is possible AND you still have fun. Probably more fun b/c you aren't moaning and groaning and just sitting b/c you ate too much that you can't move (oh, I have so been there).
Ok here are the tips:
I've been scouring newsletters, people, and my own history to give you ideas on what you can do to keep from gaining any TRUE fat the week of Thanksgiving. Remember, you are likely to bloat a little but come Monday you should have the same weight as last week.
Add 10 minutes a day to your exercise plan. By adding 10 min. of INTERVAL training to the end of every workout that week you will burn up 400-500 additional calories to help off set a small piece of pie and serving of dressing.
When you eat pie, take a true 1/8 of a slice and cut off the end piece where the crust is. There is a mother load of calories in that piece.
Skip the rolls. Most are store bought.
In fact, anything that isn't homemade and special skip it. Do you really want to gain weight off of Kroger brand white rolls?
NO GRAVY. Come on! Are you telling me the mashed potatoes and such aren't rich enough without the gravy on top?
Be the fun grown up. Rather than hanging in the kitchen to nibble or watching the TV, play with the kids. Even playing a game of checkers will avoid BLT'ing through the day. If you are really spunky go outside and play a game. You can throw the football and let them run around if you need to. You don't have to be in the best shape. Just get away from sitting and eating.
DO NOT take home leftovers. A lot of people will want to send home leftovers with you. They are smart. They don't want the temptation sitting around THEIR house.
The opposite holds true, too. Get the leftovers out. For those that want to take some home, let them. Otherwise, I wouldn't keep anything past Friday. Remember, food poisoning can make you just break out in a horrible case of fat.
Get up CRAZY early on Thanksgiving and Strength Train - not just cardio. You can also do some cardio afterward, but if you lift you are less likely to crave carbs all day. You can do it at home with DB's and if you don't have equipment, you can do squats, push ups, step ups on a chair, lunges, and other body weight exercises to failure.
Make it one meal. The rest of the day eat your regular diet. If you go in hungry trying to save calories you will eat double the calories you normally do. Plus, you will likely store it as fat if your body is in a desperate hunger state.
Take vegetables and fruit to the dinner. Have a lot of those and enjoy a little of the special stuff.
If you don't love it, just don't eat it.
Seconds ONLY after you have drank 16 oz of water when you finish the meal and you have waited 15 min. from finishing. You may still want more but you are likely to only dish out half of what you would have right after eating.
Bring your toothbrush and brush your teeth when you are done. Get the savory flavors out of your mouth.
Help clean the kitchen. You'll be moving or you can go back outside and play more with the kids.
If you do shopping on Friday, every hour, leave the mall, put your bags in the trunk, and then walk one lap around the outside of the mall. It will stretch your muscles, clear your mind, and burn off some calories.
I have finally learned over the past few years that Thanksgiving to me is about spending time with my family. I enjoy the food that I really like such as dressing, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn but I just get small portions of them and really savor the bites then I pick out my MOST favorite dessert of the ones to choose from and enjoy that too but I only choose one that is REALLY WORTH IT or I might choose 2-3 bites of a few of them if I just can't choose. So I do get to enjoy the food that comes along with the family but I don't eat myself sick like I have done MANY MANY times in the past. It's all about moderation folks and it is possible AND you still have fun. Probably more fun b/c you aren't moaning and groaning and just sitting b/c you ate too much that you can't move (oh, I have so been there).
Ok here are the tips:
I've been scouring newsletters, people, and my own history to give you ideas on what you can do to keep from gaining any TRUE fat the week of Thanksgiving. Remember, you are likely to bloat a little but come Monday you should have the same weight as last week.
Add 10 minutes a day to your exercise plan. By adding 10 min. of INTERVAL training to the end of every workout that week you will burn up 400-500 additional calories to help off set a small piece of pie and serving of dressing.
When you eat pie, take a true 1/8 of a slice and cut off the end piece where the crust is. There is a mother load of calories in that piece.
Skip the rolls. Most are store bought.
In fact, anything that isn't homemade and special skip it. Do you really want to gain weight off of Kroger brand white rolls?
NO GRAVY. Come on! Are you telling me the mashed potatoes and such aren't rich enough without the gravy on top?
Be the fun grown up. Rather than hanging in the kitchen to nibble or watching the TV, play with the kids. Even playing a game of checkers will avoid BLT'ing through the day. If you are really spunky go outside and play a game. You can throw the football and let them run around if you need to. You don't have to be in the best shape. Just get away from sitting and eating.
DO NOT take home leftovers. A lot of people will want to send home leftovers with you. They are smart. They don't want the temptation sitting around THEIR house.
The opposite holds true, too. Get the leftovers out. For those that want to take some home, let them. Otherwise, I wouldn't keep anything past Friday. Remember, food poisoning can make you just break out in a horrible case of fat.
Get up CRAZY early on Thanksgiving and Strength Train - not just cardio. You can also do some cardio afterward, but if you lift you are less likely to crave carbs all day. You can do it at home with DB's and if you don't have equipment, you can do squats, push ups, step ups on a chair, lunges, and other body weight exercises to failure.
Make it one meal. The rest of the day eat your regular diet. If you go in hungry trying to save calories you will eat double the calories you normally do. Plus, you will likely store it as fat if your body is in a desperate hunger state.
Take vegetables and fruit to the dinner. Have a lot of those and enjoy a little of the special stuff.
If you don't love it, just don't eat it.
Seconds ONLY after you have drank 16 oz of water when you finish the meal and you have waited 15 min. from finishing. You may still want more but you are likely to only dish out half of what you would have right after eating.
Bring your toothbrush and brush your teeth when you are done. Get the savory flavors out of your mouth.
Help clean the kitchen. You'll be moving or you can go back outside and play more with the kids.
If you do shopping on Friday, every hour, leave the mall, put your bags in the trunk, and then walk one lap around the outside of the mall. It will stretch your muscles, clear your mind, and burn off some calories.
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