Today, I’m linking up with my friends April, Patty and Erica, to talk about how I stayed healthy over Thanksgiving!
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| Our Thanksgiving Selfie! So glad my sweet mom-in-law, Shirley, could be with us! |
This was an easy one for me because I’m actually pretty proud of the choices I made! I used the same general guidelines I use for all major feast days (including my birthday!) and they continue to work well.
So here you go!
- I didn’t enter into it with an attitude of depravation. In other words, don’t start the self talk of no apple pie (if that’s your favorite) or no sugar or some other ridiculous NEVER statement. I believe feast days should be entered into with generosity. You are with people you love and you should eat the food you love. Which leads me to #2.
- Everything in moderation. I love almost everything I made for Thanksgiving (except the turkey since I’m a vegetarian;) so I eat all of it. But I watch my portions and I stop when I’m full. This year that meant one decent plate of food and a couple slivers of pie for dessert. I was satisfied so didn’t feel the need to binge later after everyone has gone to bed (don’t tell me that’s just me!).
- I stayed active! Holidays can be stressful so several times on Thursday I snuck out to walk the dogs. 3 dogs X a 1/2 mile route meant 1.5 miles of walking for me. Not huge but better than nothing! I also stuck with my regular training schedule (marathon training helps for sure:).
- Don’t sample!! Little bites are a big temptation for me. Since I’m in the kitchen, it’s easy to grab that last bit of mashed potatoes or put down that last roll so you don’t have to find a baggie for it. Don’t do it!! I actually had Scott handle all the leftovers for this very reason. I didn’t need anymore and it was just too tempting to sample.
- NO SELF LOATHING. Getting down on myself if I ate a bit too much or exercised a bit too little is just a waste of energy. Move on. Because self loathing just leads to more overeating and under exercising and does no one any good.
I am a FIRM BELIEVER in feast days. I’m actually very happy with my body and don’t obsess. I stay active, I eat healthy most of the time, and I stop when I’m full. And yes, I am also blessed with fast metabolism but I just don’t think constant self deprivation is sustainable. Make good, healthy choices MOST of the time and the occasional feast day will be fun and indulgent. Just like it’s supposed to be.
Happy running!
Jen
This sounds great! Its all about finding balance and enjoying yourself! The holidays are a great time to indulge, but keeping things in moderation makes it easier to get back on track.
Exactly. “Normal life” can’t be all sugar cookies and mashed potatoes but gosh darn it, the holidays CAN!
This is such great advice, especially #1 and 4 for me! Glad you had a nice holiday!
thanks, Janelle! I really did. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I definitely enjoyed the holiday and didn’t worry about what I ate. I did make sure I got my runs in so I didn’t feel guilty indulging a bit. -L
I think guilt slows down our metabolism! Thanks for reading!
Sounds like you made great choices and stuck with the principle of moderation! Thanks for linking up with us today!
Because of this attitude, i will never be a size 2. But I WILL be pretty darn happy;).
The sampling and nibbles are what kill me every year. I bet more than half my calories come that way. Ugh. But it sounds like you made great choices and still enjoyed yourself. Win!
Yeah, now that I’m starting my holiday baking I gotta be careful with that, too. Cookie dough is, um, AMAZING.