We want you to enjoy the day with family and friends but watch your food intake today and try and keep those holiday favorites morsels in “Moderation”!
Everyone looks forward to sitting down with family and friends for a Thanksgiving meal. But for those of us looking to maintain our past New Year’s Resolution of getting fit and eating healthier in 2017, you may have some second thoughts about really enjoying the meal. The key to still enjoying your favorite holiday favorites, while keeping true to your fitness goals is “MODERATION” and keeping to your exercise routines.
Now we know Thanksgiving comes only once a year, but it seems for a lot of people this one meal unlocks everyone’s desire to eat and eat and eat at this time of year. Take for instance a small slice (about 5 oz.,) is roughly 512 calories. And who do you know that cuts a slice of pie, any pie that is only 5 oz? So you can probably add at least another 225 calories on to that amount and then you’re looking at a slice of pie after you've eaten the meal, that comes in at 737 calories all by itself! Wow, and that was just the pie! Forget about the mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes in an orange sugar glaze sauce. The deviled eggs, and ham, along with sides like green bean casserole and don’t forget the star of the feast the Turkey. This is why it’s not uncommon for the average American to take in between 3,500 to 5,000 calories at just this one holiday meal. And you still have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and day. And then before you know it, here comes Valentine’s Day with all the chocolates, drinks and specialty sweets and meats that you buy in for, to treat your lady or man friend to a lovely night out.
So you see, this time of year, you really need to tighten your resolve belt and keep on saying that moderation will get you through the holiday eating frenzy without coming into the New Year with an additional 10lbs that you didn’t have by the end of Labor Day!
Along with moderation in your eating endeavors you need to keep to your exercise regimen, and if that has slipped off the rails the past few months, its time to seriously get back on track and commit to a schedule that fits the earlier sunsets and darkness that comes on at 4:30 pm. this time of year.
Now one thing about the holiday season, with everything going on. There is a ridiculous amount of shopping, browsing, parties and get together’s that you need to either get done or get to. This means MORE WALKING, and NOT Driving. That is of course unless you’re doing all of your shopping online, which as you know we are a big proponent of since we are an online pedometer store as well. But that being the case you’re still going to be doing a lot of walking, maybe comparing prices between online and brick and mortar with your smartphone in hand. My point in all of this is that the extra walking is good for you! So ditch that car, just leave it in the driveway or parked in the downtown lot and get out there and hoof it! But first, make sure you have a pair of comfortable shoes on, with all the steps you’re going to be taking over the next few weeks.
Walking is probably one of the best low-cost fitness exercises you can do. And you can take the opportunity to window-shop as you walk briskly in front of all those stores located within the mall, or where ever your favorite stores happen to be.
Along with walking through the mall for exercise, you can also get some fresh air in another way. For a lot of people after the Thanksgiving meal is over, instead of vegging out on the couch and watching a football game, why not get out, and take everyone with you for a group search for that perfect Christmas tree? And we don’t mean driving down to the local Christmas tree lot to do your searching. There is nothing better than to drive out to a local tree farm, getting everyone out of the car and tramping up and down the fields trying to locate that perfect tree. And doing this has its perks as well. Just getting out and walking around in the clean, crisp air while you’re looking for the right tree will help you in losing a few calories from that big meal you just packed on. This could really become a holiday tradition for you and your family, after all, being together at Thanksgiving is what family is all about and then going and searching for the family tree just about puts paid to a great day.
Getting back to making sure you stay on course with doing your regular exercises you know you need to keep track of your progress, or lack thereof if you’ve fallen off the exercise wagon. And the best way to hold yourself accountable is by using a good fitness tracker or activity watch like the Fitbit Charge 2 Activity Tracker. This one even has a heart rate monitor so you can see just how well you are doing and how well you’re taxing your heart as you do so. So you can see just how well you're doing as your family trip to the tree farm has you walking up and down those hills till they finally decide on that perfect tree. Know what comes next after you saw it down? Yep, you have to drag it out to the barn and pay for it!
And remember, even though we say you should increase your activity, even exercising more does not give you a free license to just eat and eat and eat. That’s why we said earlier that moderation is the key.
Yep, it’s Thanksgiving and it does only come around once a year so go ahead, take a helping of that stuffing that grandma made and finish off that dinner with a slice of pumpkin or my favorite pecan pie. But ask for a small slice (5oz.) and stop at just one slice, not two.
If you keep moderation and committing to regular exercise in mind this holiday season, you won’t need to make the same New Year’s resolution as you did last year, because you’re already on that right path to healthy!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from our family here at PedometersUSA.Com.