Well isn’t gluttony the most obvious choice for week 4 as Thanksgiving day feasts hit us right smack at the end of the week?
You are crazy if you think I am going to restrict you from any of your Thanksgiving day favorites to help you achieve a fitness goal. In fact, I am a big believer that THESE are the no brainer worth it cheat meals! To spend a holiday counting your calories or macros instead of your blessings sounds miserable and it’s not necessary to get or stay lean.
So what is required of a lean eater? Here are my top five non-negotiables for Thanksgiving.
How many of these do you already put into practice?
1. Don’t eat like it’s an eating competition!
Enjoying food isn’t gluttonous but eating as if the abundance available to you will immediately disappear, truly is. While you may be excited that so many of your favorites are on the table, approach the feast with the gratefulness that there is more where that came from. The material parts of Thanksgiving, for a large portion of us, could be duplicated any day of the week. If you acknowledge that before you dig in, you will put less on your plate and also eat more slowly.
2. Don’t give up eating your favorites!!
Take a holiday meal off!! PLEASE eat the pie…and the scoop of ice cream! One cheat meal is considered a 2 hour deal. That gives you time to enjoy a few drinks, eat, and have dessert. Cheat meals are a mental and physical part of fat loss. Google the hormones leptin and ghrelin if you want the science behind the strategy.
3. LISTEN to your body.
If you have several homes to visit on Thanksgiving day your body will naturally ask that you taper each meal down. Are you eating out of hunger or obligation? Each Thanksgiving meal that you get to be a part of, does not have to look the same.
4. Workout for fat loss, not endurance
If you can work it in, get a metabolic workout in the morning or about two hours prior to your cheat meal. Set your body to burning mode. Sweat has a Mystery Class on Thanksgiving Day for that reason! Exercise isn’t punishment but it is part of the strategy! If you cannot make it, you can always have fun with the burpee tabatas we did last week, do the benchmark workout three times through, or lace up those shoes and do sprint intervals (no steady pace running for fat loss!!)
5. It’s a holi-DAY, not a holi-WEEK!
Try your best to treat the week as if it’s any other week. I know it’s NOT any other week and between family, football, and the kids at home, normal is out the window. However, this is where you must be happy with good vs. being perfect. I know we often strive for perfection, but many times we let ourselves fail at good simply because we know that great is impossible.
By the way, I totally agree…GREAT is damn near impossible this week. Set your expectations so they are realistic and achievable. Don’t decide to binge the whole week simply because you know you won’t be perfect. Decide TODAY, RIGHT NOW, that you aren’t going to do your worst simply because you can’t be your best. There is a middle ground!!!! BE HAPPY WITH GOOD!!!
#7Deadly Sins Fitness Challenge
1. Benchmark-
See you Monday!!! Time to beat your best!!
2. Nutrition- Maintenance!
On Thanksgiving holiday week you have YOUR TOUGHEST nutritional challenge yet…MAINTAIN! FORGET adding anything new, can you continue your three food challenges on a week commercially built around gluttony? Can you continue your workouts, drink water, get your protein snack at 3, and continue w/ adding fiber at lunch or breakfast on a week where routine has gone out the window? THIS is a true test to see if you are making this a lifestyle!
3. Activity- Metabolic Workouts!
This week is no joke in terms of food and football. I challenge you to insert a METABOLIC workout each morning you plan on veering from plan. Set your body to burn vs. store!
