Thanksgiving things I've learned

Thanksgiving is a holiday based around family, food, and home.

Over the last 4 years, I've had some tense moments worrying about food
and how thanksgiving could be a destructive force in my changed life. I've
since gotten over most of those hangups, and in the process have learned
a few things about my nutrition, food, and rules to live by. Now I'd like
to share them with you, to help put things in perspective. As a side note, I have never
counted calories on thanksgiving, but last year I did acknowledge what I ate, and as
such felt better the next day than I have in a long time about it.

First thing to remember. IT'S ONLY ONE DAY. Remember that, nobody became
fat in one day, you can't put 10 lbs of fat on your body on thanksgiving,
no matter what you may think, it's not going to happen, so even if you do go
off your diet for the day, it's not the tragity you may think it is. What CAN
ruin your diet is the two weeks of stress leading up to it. Unreleased tension
in the body is a killer. Stress releases cortisol, fine in an energetic situation
where your body needs more energy (like a hard workout, or running from a big
scarey sabre toothed tiger), but when we stress without the accompanying work,
the energy released has to go somehwere, and in most cases it's stored as fat.

Second thing to remember. There's no reason to horribly deprive yourself on that
one day. Turkey (especially roasted) is healthy (as long as you skip the skin), and
a little bit of gravy won't kill you. Just make sure you eat slow, giving your body
time to register when you are satisfied. Tread lightly on the food that you aren't
sure about, but don't completely remove them as options. If the sweet potatoes have
marshmellow and butter, ok, just have a little less of them. If the rolls are white
flour, no problem, break one in half. Cranberry sauce should be eaten in small
amounts, it's extremely high in sugar and has essentially no fiber, so be wary.

Third thing to remember. Eat the healthy food first, try to become mostly full on the
things that are good for you. That way you don't overindulge on the really (calorically)
expensive foods. That doesn't mean don't eat the "good stuff", just hang back a few
extra minutes on those, give your body 10 minutes to react to the good food, then go
for the other stuff.

Fouth thing to remember. No matter how much you exercise the day before and the day
after, that doesn't absolve you from eating healthy. Remember, even on Thanksgiving,
food is fuel, not comfort. Make the day about family and love, not about food.

Fifth thing to remember. When you are done, clear your plate. Don't sit there talking with
food in front of you. Many people will subconciously pick at food, whether they want it
or not. These calories add up.

Sixth thing to remember. 1/2 your deserts. Don't deny yourself if you REAAAAAALLY want that
piece of pie, just take 1/2 a serving, it still tastes just as good, trust me. And eat slowly,
try to taste every bite, you'll be surprised how quickly your body becomes satisfied if you do
things slower.

Seventh thing to remember. No matter what someone else makes, it's your choice to eat it,
don't remove the responsibility. Also don't let others pressure you into eating things you don't want,
be polite, smile, and refuse. Sometimes you must absorb the innuendo, subtle jabs,
and inquisitive looks from others who are surprised at your new resolve. Take that as a positive.
Lets not kid ourselves. People wouldn't be surprised if we'd always eaten healthy. Acknowledge that
and understand it from their perspective. Choose to be happy about your better choices, don't be offended
by others surprise. Judge the situation, if you feel that those people can be adult about your choices,
by all means, talk with them about it. Otherwise, smile and say "no thank you". You are the only one
who needs to justify your choices, nobody else. If it offends someone that you don't want to eat something,
that's their hang up, not yours. Just be nice about it. Maybe compliment the smell or how it looks, but above all,
refuse it if you know you should!

Last thing to remember. DON'T LIE TO YOURSELF. If you ate badly, acknowledge it, learn from it,and move on. You aren't going to solve anything by being upset withourself. Control those emotions, channel them
into something positive, maybe tomorrow's workout (hint hint). No matter what you do, take knowledge
away from the day. Hindsite may not help you today, but it will help you tomorrow. If you let it. The most important thing we can be is aware, food should be about nutrition and health, not about crushing unwanted emotions, if you acknowledge and accept your eating habits, you remove the power they have over you, and allow you to do a better job in the future.

hopefully this helps someone out there.

-Banks