I used to feel bad for Thanksgiving.  It was that holiday that got no respect.  It was the forgotten celebration, barely glanced over as November 1st suddenly became the new official start of the Christmas season.  I could never even find Thanksgiving decorations.  I have some poor sad Pilgrim statues that grace our dining room as proof.  But, over the past decade or so, not only has Thanksgiving blossomed into its own, it has become an extended celebration.  There’s Friends-giving with your friends, Friends-giving at the office, Family-giving with the family you won’t see on actual Thanksgiving Day and Leftovers Party with well, anyone leftover.

LeAnna has always said, “Thanksgiving is a meal.  It is not a four-day eating bender.”  However, I think we may need to alter that statement because there is Thanksgiving creep, for sure.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m thrilled that Thanksgiving is finally getting its due.  Practicing gratitude is life-changing.  But for those of us who maintain a certain eating and exercise lifestyle, non-stop dinners and parties from November 10th until January 1st can be a total nightmare.

Some tips this Thanksgiving:

1.       Bring something healthy.  Or if you are hosting, put a call out to a few of your guests to bring a healthier side-dish.  Last week, for the Office Friends-giving, I made the Butternut Squash Carrot Soup and a Salad with lots of different choices of toppings.  A few of my co-workers asked me to bring the salad, because they knew the menu was going to be one big calorie-laden feast (and it was).

2.       If you’re traveling and it’s going to be a long weekend, bring something for the long haul.  If there will be a household full of family and kids, why not bring something to make life a little easier for the host.  Muffins transport easily and you can make them so many different ways.  Plus, now your host has something that she can put out for breakfast.  I’m making these Cranberry Orange Paleo Muffins from the CookEatPaleo blog.  I baked them recently for LeAnna and they are delicious. 

3.       Rethink the menu entirely.  In my previous Thanksgiving posts, I’ve talked about how to switch out a side-dish or two, or how to “retire” a calorie-laden dish and replace it with something better.  But why not change an entire menu?  Maybe not for Thanksgiving.  For most of us, that menu is sacred.  I get it.  But if you are also having a Friends-giving, does everyone really want to eat turkey again?  For our “Sisters-Giving”, when I hosted my sisters and their families, since we won’t see each other Thanksgiving Day, we made an Italian meal.  It was easy and familiar.  And there was a very big salad.

4.       Schedule in your classes now.  Did you know that the average Thanksgiving meal is 4500 calories?  Now is not the time to skip your workouts.  Even though you might feel tired from hosting or cooking, you will be able to find a class time that works for you.  And ask yourself?  Was there ever a time that you finished a class and you thought, “I wish I hadn’t taken that class today.”  I think not.

I have more Thanksgiving tips, but I would probably be repeating some of the things I said in these two posts. 

Thanksgiving:  A Meal, Not A Long Weekend (from 2017)

Rethinking Eating (from November 2018)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!