Thanksgiving is notorious for great food, spectacular desserts, and a record setting food-baby or after-meal nap. While all of these things get every American excited AF about this holiday, there is always the opinion that it is not very good for your body.
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In scientific terms, Thanksgiving dinner is considered a binge meal, where we consume excess sugars, alcohol, proteins, fats, and lots more. These excessive meals can make us feel tired and overloaded, but they are not a bad thing in moderation. This means that Thanksgiving, that bag of chips you destroyed while binge-watching Friends, or the occaisional family chicken bucket from KFC certainly will not ruin a perfectly healthy body or lifestyle. You can always fix it.
So this all had me asking, what about people like me? What about the ladies that are working on controlling their crazy eating habits and losing weight? As someone who was notorious for binge-eating, especially after soccer practices, it’s taken lots of hard work to keep myself from absorbing family sized bags of candy or excess fast food — especially after workouts. My body was trained to think that it was hungry whenever I exerted energy or felt stressed. This led to a 35 pound weight gain during my first few years of college.
After playing 12 years of competitive soccer, practically living in the gym, and being able to see the start of six pack abs… this came as a huge, extremely depressing and demoralizing shock.
(Image courtesy of AwakeningsFitness.com)
Personally, I’ve come a long way since then. I have gotten myself back on track and officially love the gym again. I swear by my twice-weekly workouts with a great trainer in my area and love my new healthy meals. Who would have thought that I loved things like avacados, pineapple, and would crave salads? All of that said though, I’m still not back to the superior fitness status I was in my soccer-playing days.
But back to Thanksgiving: how am I going to keep myself under control on the most famous binge meal of the year? I’m gonna handle it just like I do any other meal.
One of my most important strategies is to not skip a meal. As a senior in college with a part-time job and several important obligations, it’s super easy to skip breakfast or even lunch to get somewhere on time or even just to make more time to study. I’ve had to actually set alarms and reminders on my phone in order to push myself to get something to eat. This helps keep your body functioning and running your metabolism all day long rather than just some of the time. Overloading your metabolism with food can actually slow it down and make it not want to work as well when you actually eat on schedule, so it’s important to maintain a routine. So even while the turkey is cooking and everyone else is waiting to eat when everything is done, I will still be having a egg with some whole wheat toast while catching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Not to break tradition, but a girl has got to do what keeps her on track.
Another thing I’ve learned is to never skip a workout, especially if you are paying for that time with a trainer. That’s why even on Turkey Day, I am going to workout in the morning, right after breakfast, with my trainer and a few ladies from my class. My gym is doing a charity workout where we can bring friends and family to join us, so I’m sure I won’t go it alone! When you finally get yourself in a routine of exercising, even a slight change or interuption can throw off your progress. I make sure to keep all my workouts around 45 minutes in length, at the same time each and every week. It’s now turned into something I look forward to, plus working out on Thanksgiving will help me feel a little better about the extra scoop of mashed potatoes I’m sure I’ll be having.
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I also no longer guilt myself after a slip-up or a minor binge. So when I have my extra scoop of mashed potatoes or even a few extra cuts of turkey, I am not going to beat myself up or think I’m ruining my progress. It’s so important to stay positive and be confident in the changes that you have begun to make with your body. It takes a lot to change a lifestyle, especially if you got comfortable in the old one. Keep smiling and just remind yourself that it truly is okay, we all have to indulge sometimes. It’s only fair! Plus, my grandmother makes the best pumpkin pie on the planet.
All of these tips are tried and true. I am so thankful that someone shared them with me, which is why I wanted to share them with you! Remember to have an awesome holiday and share this special time with your family and friends, as they too are thankful for the time you’ll get to share, even if it is just for a little while.
Happy Thanksgiving, collegiettes!