Thanksgiving is one day, not a week-long excuse. Here’s how to enjoy the food and keep your fitness momentum going strong.
Listen to the episode here…
Stop Using Thanksgiving as an Excuse
Today I want to talk about the holidays. Specifically, Thanksgiving. Because here’s the thing: a lot of people use Thanksgiving as an excuse to completely abandon their fitness goals.
And listen, I get it. Thanksgiving is a food-centric holiday. There’s turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy and pie and all the things. And you’re probably thinking “Ashley, are you seriously telling me I can’t enjoy Thanksgiving dinner?”
No. That’s not what I’m saying at all.
You Can Enjoy the Food AND Stay Committed
What I’m saying is that you can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner without using it as an excuse to skip your workouts for an entire week.
Let me break this down for you. Thanksgiving is one day. One. Single. Day.
But somehow, people turn it into a week-long event where they stop working out on Monday “because Thanksgiving is coming” and then they don’t start back up until the following Monday “because they’re still recovering from Thanksgiving.”
That’s ridiculous.
My Thanksgiving Plan
Let me tell you what I plan on doing. Tomorrow morning, before the chaos begins, I intend to get my workout in. I am so used to every single Thursday I do Tabata and I do stretch. And there’s amazing classes online that you can take. And so that’s what I intend to do.
My goal is even if I only work out 30 to 45 minutes, I plan on doing some Tabata rounds and I plan on doing some stretching.
And here’s why. Not only does it set the tone for the day, it reminds me that I’m someone who prioritizes movement and health even on the holidays.
Black Friday at the Gym
And on Black Friday, while everyone else is going to be trying to get to the stores at dawn or maybe going back to work or whatever, I’m going to the gym. I definitely will be going to the gym. I’ll have my Friday routine just like I do every single Friday of Zumba and low-impact cardio.
Because honestly, that’s going to feel more amazing to me than trying to get some amazing deal. And let’s face it, so many of the deals these days are on the computer anyway. You don’t have to go and be one of those doorbusters.
And do we really need $25 off a TV? Absolutely not. What I need is 25 pounds off my waistline.
Enjoy the Food Mindfully
Now, about the food. I’m not saying don’t eat Thanksgiving dinner. Eat the turkey. Eat the stuffing. Have some pie. Enjoy it.
But be mindful. Eat slowly. Pay attention to when you’re full. You don’t have to eat until you’re in a food coma just because it’s Thanksgiving.
And you definitely don’t have to eat every single thing on the table just because it’s there. If you don’t like sweet potato casserole, don’t eat it. If you’re not a big fan of green bean casserole, skip it.
Eat what you love. Enjoy it. And then move on.
The Real Secret
There’s something so satisfying about knowing that you had a good meal and you still kept your fitness goals and your commitment to yourself to get in shape as your top priority.
When you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal and you continue to keep working out, maybe the day of or at least at the very least the day after, you’re energized. You feel good. You don’t have that sluggish, guilty feeling.
Love your people, eat the good food, and then make sure that you are getting right back to the work.
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Full Transcript: Thanksgiving Without the Weight Gain: How to Stay Fit Through the Holidays
00:00:11
Hey guys, famous Ashley Grant here. Welcome to
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More Movement Please, the podcast about inspiring
00:00:15
you to move your body more. So tomorrow is Thanksgiving
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and I wanted to talk really quickly about something
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that’s been on my mind and probably yours too.
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With the holidays here, it doesn’t have to mean
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that you destroy your weight loss goals. And
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I know what you’re thinking, but it’s Thanksgiving
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or it’s Christmas. I’m surrounded by family and
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there’s pie everywhere and my gym routine is
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completely thrown off. I hear you. But here’s
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the thing. You can enjoy, absolutely, you can
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enjoy the holidays and stay committed to your
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fitness journey. They’re not. I repeat, they’re
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not mutually exclusive. So let’s talk about tomorrow,
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right? Thanksgiving dinner is going to be amazing.
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And you should enjoy it. But here’s what science
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actually tells us about not overindulging while
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still having a great time. First, I want you
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to eat breakfast. I know far too many people
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who will not eat breakfast the day of Thanksgiving.
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In fact, it used to be a thing that my husband
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was really adamant about. He’s like, well, I
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don’t want to do breakfast and I don’t want to
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do lunch because we’re going to have Thanksgiving
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dinner and I want to be really, really hungry
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for it. And it’s tempting. It really is tempting
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to save all those calories for the big meal.
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But research shows that arriving whenever you’re
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starving leads to overeating. What you should
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do instead is have a really good breakfast to
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keep your blood sugar stable and then stay hydrated.
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That’s number two, right? In fact, you should
00:01:49
be doing that all day. Stay hydrated. Because
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what’s funny is we often mistake thirst for hunger.
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So drink water all day, especially right before
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the big meal. And third, and this is a big one,
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I want you to use the plate method. Fill half
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of your plate with vegetables first, and then
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a quarter protein, hello turkey, and a quarter
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with those delicious carbs and sides. Notice
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I didn’t say don’t have the carbs and sides.
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I want you to have it. I want you to have that
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stuffing and the mashed potatoes and all the
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delicious things, but you just have to be mindful
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about your portions. And the biggest thing while
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you’re eating is eat slowly. If you’re mindless
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about your eating, before you know it, you’re
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shoveling in a crap ton of food and you may already
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have been full, but you kept going. If you keep
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going, even after you’re full, you’re just going
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to overstuff yourself and make yourself sick,
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right? So I know it’s going to be hard, but I
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want you to like put down your fork between bites.
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It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register
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that you’re full. Savor the flavors. Give your
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body time to tell you when it’s satisfied. And
00:03:01
not stuffed. So, it’s going to be difficult,
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right? It’s going to be hard. I get it. I totally
00:03:08
get it. Because you start talking to Aunt Sharon
00:03:10
and before you know it, you have just shoveled
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in a whole bunch of mashed potatoes and stuffing
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and all the good things. And your brain hasn’t
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quite caught up to the fact that, hey, you might
00:03:21
already be full. Now, let me tell you what I
00:03:24
plan on doing. Tomorrow morning, before the chaos
00:03:26
begins, I intend to get my workout in. I am so
00:03:31
used to every single Thursday, I do Tabata and
00:03:34
I do stretch. And there’s amazing classes online
00:03:37
that you can take. And so that’s what I intend
00:03:39
to do. My goal is even if I only work out 30
00:03:42
to 45 minutes, I plan on doing some Tabata rounds
00:03:45
and I plan on doing some stretching. And here’s
00:03:47
why. Not only does it set the tone for the day,
00:03:50
it reminds me that I’m someone who prioritizes
00:03:53
movement and health even on the holidays. And
00:03:57
on Black Friday, while everyone else is going
00:03:59
to be trying to get to the stores at dawn or
00:04:01
maybe going back to work or whatever, I’m going
00:04:04
to the gym. I definitely will be going to the
00:04:06
gym. I’ll have my Friday routine just like I
00:04:09
do every single Friday of Zumba and low -impact
00:04:11
cardio because, honestly, that’s going to feel
00:04:15
more amazing to me than trying to get some amazing
00:04:17
deal. And let’s face it, so many of the deals
00:04:20
these days are on the computer anyway. You don’t
00:04:23
have to go and be one of those doorbusters. And
00:04:26
do we really need $25 off a TV? Absolutely not.
00:04:29
What I need is 25 pounds off my waistline. So
00:04:32
that’s what I intend to do. And I encourage you
00:04:35
to consider doing that for yourself as well,
00:04:37
because there’s something so satisfying about
00:04:40
knowing that you had a good meal and you still
00:04:44
kept your fitness goals and your commitment to
00:04:48
yourself to get in shape as your top priority.
00:04:51
So when you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, And
00:04:54
you continue to keep working out maybe the day
00:04:57
of, or at least at the very least, the day after.
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You’re energized. You’ve got extra fuel in your
00:05:03
system. And you’re proving to yourself that one
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day of celebration doesn’t have to derail everything
00:05:07
you’re working for. And listen, Thanksgiving
00:05:10
is just the beginning. I know. We’re heading
00:05:13
into the full holiday season. You know, Christmas
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parties and cookie exchanges and New Year’s celebrations.
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There’s sweets. There’s treats. And they’re everywhere.
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And here’s my plan. And maybe it’ll work for
00:05:25
you too. So I’m just sharing it with you in case
00:05:26
you possibly want to use it. I fully intend to
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enjoy my mom’s peanut butter chocolate candy.
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I fully intend to have some cookies at the cookie
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party, the cookie swap that I’m having with some
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gym buddies. I even plan on having some pie.
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But I’m also going to make sure that I am moving
00:05:44
my body consistently every single day, staying
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active and not use the holiday as an excuse to
00:05:51
completely abandon everything that I’ve worked
00:05:53
so hard in the last few months for. Here’s the
00:05:56
thing. This episode is intended to remind you
00:06:00
that the holidays are about joy. They’re about
00:06:04
gratitude and they’re about connection. I don’t
00:06:07
want you to feel guilty. about the holidays.
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But I also don’t want you to overindulge. At
00:06:14
the same time, if you over -restrict yourself,
00:06:17
that’s what’s going to lead to the binging. So
00:06:20
don’t feel guilt if you want to try your cousin’s
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banana pudding pie. Don’t feel guilt if you’re
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really wanting a couple bites of that sweet potato
00:06:28
casserole. Have it. By all means, have it. But
00:06:33
just make sure that you are not overindulging,
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you’re being mindful about what you’re consuming,
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and Work out even on the days that you have family
00:06:42
things going on. Wake up earlier if you need
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to. I mean, I know that sounds like the same
00:06:47
old things that gym bros say all the time, right?
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But at the same time, if you just give yourself
00:06:52
an extra 15 minutes, it could be what you need
00:06:56
to stay on track. So wake up earlier. Do a quick
00:07:01
body weight circuit in the guest room. Take a
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family walk after dinner. Movement, it doesn’t
00:07:07
have to be perfect, but it does have to happen.
00:07:09
if you want to stay committed to your fitness
00:07:12
goals. You’ve got this. I hope you enjoy your
00:07:14
Thanksgiving. I want you to know that I am so
00:07:17
thankful that you’re listening to this, and I
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hope that you are moving your body more. Love
00:07:22
your people, eat the good food, and then make
00:07:24
sure that you are getting right back to the work.
00:07:27
Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked
00:07:29
out today?
