Are you worried about how much you ate on Thanksgiving? Don’t stress, it’s the one day of the year that everyone in the country eats more than they should. Forget about your diet for a day and don’t feel guilty about it later. Besides, after spending all those days running on the treadmill at the gym, feeling dissatisfied with just an Eick salad, and the simple stress of maintaining a healthy diet, you deserve it! Let this holiday be your reward. Or rather, let the pumpkin pie after the whole meal be your reward.
So you decide to just dig in and enjoy the meal. Out comes the spread of all the delicious food that’s taken all day to prepare. Stuffing, corn, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, ham, string beans, carrots, cranberry sauce, apple sauce, and of course turkey are all on your plate. It was worth all those salads you ate at school. Then comes the pumpkin pie, which you have to eat because you’ve been limiting your junk food so much with your diet. It’s definitely worth it too, because the homemade (or store bought) pie is much better than any Eick might serve, let’s face it.
Okay, so you ate everything and decided to forgive yourself for the overindulgence. But you still feel guilty for giving in on that diet you promised yourself. Here are some ideas for easy things you can do to get back on track for your health kick. After all, you want to look good when you go back home for winter break.
Go shopping on Black Friday. Even though it’s passed now, shopping is still one of the easiest ways to burn those Thanksgiving calories. Walking around the mall for hours to pick up presents for the holidays for all of your family and friends is an easy way to work out, without even thinking about it.
Now that you’re back at school, there are still options to work off the Thanksgiving meal. The Fitness Center provides classes everyday which are usually only an hour of your time. The gym is also open and you can spend however much time you like in there. Even though your workload is probably picking up and will definitely increase around finals, working out even for a little bit everyday will help you focus more effectively on your schoolwork. It will also make you not feel as guilty for just sitting in the library all day and not doing anything active. A run around the loop won’t take too long either. Even if you’re more of a slow jogger or not really the running type at all, jogging and walking alternatively is very healthy for your muscles and allows you to take a breath and a break.
If you can’t find time to work out, don’t worry too much either. Instead of taking the short walk back to your dorm room after class, take the longer one. Walking counts as great exercise too. If your building has stairs, you could run up and down them; a full workout that does not require you even leaving your building which definitely saves time as well.