Yes You Can

Do you know what I hate about this time of year? All of the fitness magazines posting how many minutes you need to exercise to burn off thanksgiving fare.

Dudes. Your body does actually need calories to function. For most of us, we need at least 2,000 calories a day to stay alive. OMG your slice of pie has 250 calories, perspective please! Once again here we are making people feel guilty for EATING. Thanksgiving dinners do not have to be outrageous, and if you do splurge, it's one day. I think I have a better message for you to follow.

1. Keep your exercise schedule. I know this is a tough one with family and friends to visit but you will thank yourself if you can keep your schedule going. Try to find ways to make fitness family time too. Take a walk, take extra laps around the store while shopping, have a Wii Fitness Challenge, or my new favorite have a Planksgiving Contest! Who can hold a plank the longest?

2. Stay Hydrated. Be sure to keep drinking lots of water! Especially when it gets cold we tend to ignore our thirst and then our thirst often gets mistaken for hunger. Take a bottle of water with you everywhere and try to fill it up 8 times each day.

3. Snack Smart. Decide what you are looking most forward to indulging in on Thanksgiving Day. Then make a plan to snack smart the rest of the time. Stick to veggies and low-fat snacks so that you can enjoy Thanksgiving day without giving extra calories a second thought.

4. Find time to be Grateful. It’s what the season is all about! Just think…how awesome is it that you are able to have Thanksgiving dinner? That you have family and friends! What else can you write down? Make a list and find time to reflect each day.

5. Nice Matters. Here comes crazy traffic and crazy lines everywhere you go. It’s easy to get irritated at the wrong people. Try to do as many good deeds as you can when you are out and about. Let someone in that is trying to turn left, let someone with only a few items go ahead of you in line, say thank you to the cashier, give a stranger a compliment, and share lots of smiles.

It's time for fitness professionals to speak the language of what you CAN do, not what you CAN'T do. And yes my friends, you CAN enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.
 

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