It’s possible to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner without passing on the side dishes and desserts. Throughout the year, Core Performance advocates taking one day a week—or at least one meal—and splurging on something you really enjoy. This applies to any week, so Thanksgiving should not be any different. The key is not to turn Turkey Day into a week-long orgy of food. Here are a few tips to stay on track on the biggest eating day of the year.
1. Eat Breakfast and Maybe Lunch
Many people skip breakfast and lunch on Thanksgiving so they’ll be sufficiently hungry when the turkey is ready. As a result, they overeat and end up in a food coma by the kickoff of the second NFL game.
Instead, enjoy your traditional healthy breakfast, especially if you’re the one who has to rise early to cook. If you’re the type who normally trains in the morning, there’s no reason to set aside your workout on Thanksgiving. Just be sure to include your usual pre- and post-workout nutrition.
If your turkey meal isn’t ready by mid-afternoon or later, have a light lunch to keep from being famished by the time the bird comes out of the oven. The idea isn’t to skip the smorgasbord, just to avoid the heaping helping of seconds…and thirds…and fourths.
2. Do the Turkey Trot
Many communities offer a “Turkey Trot” 5K or 10K race on Thanksgiving morning. This is a great way to start the day, provided you’re sufficiently trained and perform some Movement Prep exercises beforehand. It’s also a good idea to do some active isolated stretching afterward.
Of course, some people use a Turkey Trot or other training session as rationalization for overeating. Instead, view it as part of your commitment to the Core Performance lifestyle and be sure to get proper pre- and post-workout nutrition to fuel your run.
3. Give Doggie Bags
When people gain weight from Thanksgiving, it’s not just from overeating on Thursday but by continuing to eat sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie for another three days.
If you’re a guest for Thursday dinner only, this shouldn’t be a problem—there aren’t any leftovers back at your house. But if you’re hosting the event, there probably will have enough food left over for a week.
Turkey breast, of course, is a lean protein source that can be enjoyed for days. Everything else should be packed into plastic containers and sent home with your guests. Give them some turkey, too, of course.
Even if they’re following these same strategies to avoid overeating, they’ll appreciate the gesture. And the relatively small portion you’ve provided won’t be sufficient to do much damage, just enough to provide nourishment for the mental and physical challenges of the biggest shopping day of the year.