After Thanksgiving... Get Back On Track!

Happy post-Thanksgiving! I hope your celebrations were truly blessed — family, friends, laughter, and gratitude. And no doubt, breaking bread … or turkey … or perhaps tofurkey … were part of a rich and filling tradition. Yet for women, especially, food-oriented customs are often tinged with anxiety about overeating and weight gain.

We are a health conscious society — Amen! — and many have altered old recipes so that they are lower in calories and simmering with nutrition. But Great Aunt Lottie was beaming when she placed her homemade mashed potatoes on the table, and even though you were determined to take just one polite spoon, well…

Let it go!

Easy solution: get back on track. Eat healthy food, move your body, and don’t dwell on food choices you can’t reverse. Thanksgiving is only one day, and it takes about 3,500 calories to gain a single pound.

It’s empowering to realize that most people don’t gain from one indulgent feast — the weight, when it comes, is gained in the days that follow.

There is a mental shift that comes with the winter holidays, and it is fed by too many leftovers. (Are you eating oatmeal with fresh fruit, or corn bread stuffing and pecan pie for breakfast?) We often find ourselves eating differently — and less healthily — for a full week after Thanksgiving as we pull all those containers from the fridge. It’s the old “waste not, want not” mentality.

And ironically, feeling too full inspires many to get horizontal on the couch instead of working out. It helps to either freeze leftovers, so they are less readily available, or parcel them out to your guests. Then get back to your normal routine right away.

So you may have been visiting the Tupperware for a few days now, but this get-back-on-track mindset is healthy and inspiring throughout all our winter holidays. We really can have our cake and eat it too.

Small portions — remember to put the fork down when you feel full — plenty of movement, which not only lifts your metabolism but also your endorphins and your cravings for healthy food, and only wholesome leftovers in the days that follow. Simple? Yes. Effective? Double yes. And the best part: you’ll move through the holidays looking and feeling your best. Cheers!