Your Holiday Eating Plan

As Thanksgiving is only a week away, we’re entering one ofthe happiest times of the year.  Yet, ifyou’re someone looking to shed a few pounds, or maintain your progress from thepast few months, the thought of holiday eating may cause an immense amount ofstress.  If you’re a part of that crowd, youmay have already devised some sort of plan that will control your eating/drinkingduring this time. Not to say that your plan is bad, but when it comes toholiday eating, it’s time for the wise words of Mr. Mike Tyson:

“Everybodyhas a plan until they get punched in the face.”

Jokingaside, it’s time to be realistic.  Areyou really going to refuse dessert or take less of a certain dish that you onlyhave once per year?  Life is aboutenjoying yourself, and depriving yourself will most likely cause you to cheatlater on.  This doesn’t mean that therearen’t any rules, as moderation is still key.

But,it’s time to fast forward to when you’ve overindulged yourself on all the cake,soda, alcohol, and fatty foods you’ve consumed.  Ready? Accept it and move on.  As I wrotehere, exercising to justify what you ate is a losing proposition, and nothingcan be done to change the past. 

Furthermore,you really have to put in some serious work to gain weight from only a fewmeals or a weekend of binge eating.  WhileI’m not one for calorie counting, the fact is that it takes 3,500 calories tomake up one pound of bodyfat.  Thus, mostof the “weight” you’ll gain is actually water weight that you’ve retained fromthose saltier foods, and probably not a whole lot of body fat.

Ifyou’re thinking about having a second piece of cake or pie during the holidays,do it!  Try not to feel guilty,especially if you know you make healthy choices the rest of the year.  After all, it’s what you do everyday that makes you who youare. If you start to eat a ton of terrible foods  every single day, then - and only then - are you allowed to start feeling guilty.

Being healthy is not achoice, it’s a habit!