Welcome to our Wild Workout Wednesday link up! Each week I link up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Angelena Marie from Angelena Marie: Happy, Healthy & Balanced, and Nicole at Fitful Focus to bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us for a wild workout each week by reading along or grab the button and link up if you have a fitness or healthy living post to share!
Thanksgiving might as well be synonymous with overeating, overindulgence, and leftovers that extend for a week. With a plan, Thanksgiving can be a festive day of good food and some treats that leave you feeling happy, healthy, and ready to move forward with your fitness goals.
But before the tips, make sure you definitely avoid these 3 HUGE don’ts!
1. Don’t starve yourself all morning in preparation for the Thanksgiving feast. Some people enlist this strategy in the hopes of ‘saving’ calories for dinner, but really it will just leave you starved and more apt to overeat.
2. Don’t decide that Thanksgiving is your one day to binge. Binging on Thanksgiving Day can leave you with a ‘hangover’ that derails your recovery efforts the next day.
3. Don’t drink your calories. In addition to quickly racking up the calories, drinking alcohol all day can lead to dehydration and an actual hangover the next day.
Take a healthy approach to Thanksgiving this year and let yourself feel satisfied and in control with these 10 Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving Celebration.
1. Start the day with exercise
Many people like to start off with an organized Turkey Trot race, but any run, HIIT workout, or activity will get your body on the right track. Not only will you be burning calories all day, but you’ll be more likely to want to be good to your body when the table is set.
2. Hydrate all day
Hydrating all day has {at least} two healthy benefits: 1- staying hydrated will fill you up without any calories, and 2- staying hydrated will combat any salty sides that sneak onto your plate later on.
3. Eat healthy leading up to dinner time
Remember that big don’t from above? Treat the morning as a regular healthy day. Eat clean, nutritious foods to keep your body fueled and happy leading up to dinner.
4. Bring the ‘healthy’ side
If you’re in charge of a side dish, make it something you will want to eat! Try a vegetable salad, or quinoa dish. this way, you’ll be sure to have a healthy option to fill up your plate.
5. Stick to one appropriate portion of your favorites
Deprivation is never the way to go. Let yourself enjoy your favorite Thanksgiving foods in appropriate portion sizes–and do not go back for seconds!
6. Limit alcohol and alternate with water
In some houses {so, I’ve heard}, wine flows like water. Don’t fall into that empty calorie, dehydrating trap. By alternating alcohol and water, you’ll naturally be limiting your consumption and hydrating along the way.
7. Treat yourself to one slice of your favorite pie
So you made it through dinner, but the dessert spread is to die for. Pick one. Pick your favorite, most coveted treat and savour every bite. Done.
8. Avoid leftovers
We’ve worked on scaling down the leftovers over the years. Really. Enough is enough. Some white meat turkey is great, but anything else really just prolongs the challenge another day.
9. Accept that holidays happen
It’s okay! Holidays happen, and it’s all about how you approach and deal with them. Instead of looking at holiday eating as stressful, learn to enjoy holidays in a healthy way. Adopt the 80/20 rule. Look forward to treating yourself, and enjoying the day!
10. Start fresh the next day with exercise, clean eating, and hydrating
Forgive and forget. One day of slightly off-track eating will not derail your goals. And anyway, health and fitness is a lifestyle–not a timed event or something that can be accomplished or failed in one day.
The moral of the story is, the only thing that should be stuffed on Thanksgiving is the turkey! Take these 10 Healthy Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving Celebration, and enjoy a satisfyingly healthy and happy day!
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving treat?
Share your healthy Thanksgiving tips!
Linkup below if you have a workout, fitness find or healthy recipe to share! Just make sure to link back or grab the badge and we will make sure to spread the inspiration around 🙂
Also linking up with Jill Conyers for Fitness Friday!
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Yay, great tips! Eating in the morning is key and staying hydrated is so important! Those cocktails can really sneak up on ya if you don’t drink water too!
Annmarie recently posted…DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Turkey Burner HIIT Workout
Thanks! Yeah, we always have a case of water out so it’s visible and easy to grab!
All great tips! Drinking calories is one of my biggest no-nos. I want to chew my food!
Nicole @ Fitful Focus recently posted…Philadelphia Marathon Race Recap, Part 2
Planning the calorie distribution is a must!
Great tips! I’ve got to say, Thanksgiving is the one day this house eats like champs! 🙂 But we go back to normal the next day. Works for us.
Julie @ Running in a Skirt recently posted…Sauteed Kale and Butternut Squash
Awesome Julie! I will definitely indulge as well–just trying not to over-indulge! 🙂
These are awesome tips and great don’ts! I’m actually getting ready to make my healthy side here in just a bit – roasted sweet potato and butternut squash!
Jen recently posted…25 DAYS OF FITMAS CHALLENGE: SNEAK PEAK
Awesome! I love healthy sides…they’re actually becoming the best part of the meal!
I’m being really careful with what I eat these days. Trying to fit in my swimsuit that I was spilling over from marathon training, so I was worried about Thanksgiving. I drank a ton of water and then filled half my plate with veggies with only room for a small spoonful of each side that I wanted plus turkey. It worked out well because I didn’t feel like I overindulged at all and was able to get back on track easily the next day!