With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up in a few days, it's a time to give thanks for everything in your life, spend time with family, watch football and eat some good food. 

Yet in most people's minds, this good food leads to guilt and the fear of gaining weight.  Though, if you really think about it, this so-called guilt that people make up in their minds is a complete falsehood. 

Why should you feel guilty for enjoying ONE MEAL of good food?

I know, I know... Jim, its NOT just one meal - it's a huge feast. 

Well, here's the deal. 

Just because you're exposed to this 'feast' and it's tradition to gorge yourself year after year, doesn't mean you have to.  And this doesn't mean you're being rude either.

You can STILL be on target with your weight loss goals regardless of it being Thanksgiving.

The key is stabilizing your blood sugar throughout the day. 

Before I got involved in fitness, this is something I NEVER did.  Like most people, I would visit family and practically starve myself for the entire day.  Once the Thanksgiving bell rang, it was...eat EVERYTHING in sight! 

I may have enjoyed the meal for the time being, but I was doing my body a huge disservice in the process.

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Even if you're setting aside Thanksgiving to be your cheat meal, you should still be eating small portioned meals every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable.  This will ensure you don't gain weight and have energy throughout the day.

The last thing you want to do is starve yourself and eat a giant meal. 

Doing so will destroy your muscle and make your body store fat.  Not only that, but you're going to feel like crap the whole day and most likely, the next day as well.

Now again, I know its tradition to have a huge Thanksgiving meal every year...but dammit...it's time to break tradition.

Does your family walk in your shoes everyday?

Do they share the same fitness goals as YOU do?

No.

So they should not get their feelings hurt if you decide NOT to smother yourself in food.  If THEY want to, more power to them, but don't feel like you're obligated to. 

Now having said all that, if you go a couple hundred calories OVER your normal meal limit, don't beat yourself up.  As long as you are eating every 2-3 hours and drinking plenty of water up to your Thanksgiving meal, you'll be fine.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,

Jim Coughlin