It's the most wonderful time of the year  

I cannot believe that we are a week and a half away from Thanksgiving.  Where does the time go? I don't know about ya'all, but these days I love and fear the holiday seasons.....why fear them you might ask?  Well, good food choices and nutritional choices are a daily challenge for me already - throw in the temptation of all the holiday goodies, and the thought of over-indulgence worries me.  Ok, it down-right scares me.  Everyone in my family are such amazing cooks....and with the holidays comes baked treats, and candied this, and ho-made mashed potatoes and gravy with peas, grammas chip dip....and punkin' pie, and....well, I could keep going on but I will refrain. 

I think the stretch from Thanksgiving through New Years is the toughest time of year for me.  Sure summer has me facing different temptations - State Fair creme puffs; anything at Summerfest; festival and fair foods.....Yikes, they're everywhere you turn.  But, I did fair-ly (pun intended) well this past summer sticking to lighter fare such as grilled chicken, corn on the cob (sans butter), pretzels, yadda yadda yadda.....I made a conscious effort to pre-plan and have choices made before I went for a day out at the fair, and I found that helped tremendously.

That brings me to my thoughts on Holday eating.  There is an old quote "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail" and at this time of year it is most certainly true.  I'm already planning ahead to next weeks T-giving feast, and how to get around the traps of over-eating and over-indulgence.  I have some ideas I thought I'd throw out there and share with the class.  

1. Go for a walk - while the Turkey is cooking and others are watching some football game on the tube, get outside and walk. Or play some frisbee - or throw around the 'ol pigskin...you get the idea....be active....get the family and friends involved too.

2. Drink Plenty of Water - Before you get to to where you're going, drink a 16oz bottle of water. Then, when you get to your destination, drink another bottle of water. I guar-on-tee you'll have more of a sensation of fullness and will eat less snicky-snacks. (snicky-snacks?  Ok, I'm losing it....)

3. Plan ahead for smarter snack ideas - Bring one of those 100 calorie bags of 94% microwave popcorn, or some portioned-out nuts....don't feel obliged to graze just because the food is there.  It's ok to say no.   I know this year, I am bringing a container of Hummus to my Aunt's house to eat with Veggies....it's a better choice than high-fat, high-calorie regular chip dips.  And to be honest, personally I prefer hummus...there's so many differnt varieties - you owe it to yourself to at least try it out.

Maybe have some fresh fruit on hand to satisfy that sweet tooth.  Fresh pineapple is so sweet it makes candy taste blah.  Have a banana or a handful of grapes. 

4. Plan you portions - It is the holidays, and without using that as an excuse to over-eat, enjoy yourself - If you want some homemade mashed potatoes. take a spoonful of them, don't fill half of your plate and then slather them with butter and salt and peas (like I used to do).  I know I am so looking forward to my aunt's pinah's crackers (rye chips, shredded cheese, mayo & horseradish) - the holidays have always included these little snacks. And this year, I will have 2 or 3 instead of 20 or 30 like in the olden days.  Indulge a little, but be sensible.  Have a small slice of punkin' pie - not the whole pie. 

5. Be mindful - I know this is a huge one for me....I can walk past a bowl of pretzels (or m&m's) and grab a few each time without even thinking about it....do that enough times, and before you know it the bowl will be empty and your pants will be begging you to undo the top button, unzip a little and go into a coma on the sofa for a few hours.  I am going to try and think about all my actions this holiday season and be deliberate in my choices and what I do.  I am going to do my best not to let auto-pilot take over. 

6.  Contribute to the feast with a healthy alternative - Don't show up empty-handed - find a delicious, healthy recipe to make and bring....They are a TON of great recipes in the "Food for Life" cookbook, and a plethora of great recipes on-line.  I haven't decided what to make yet, but I will be bringing something next week.

So, I guess what I've learned is, from time to time, be a little indulgent - but the secret is don't give into the temptation to over-indulge; then we have to pay the price later in the form of more double-dip lunges, squats, push-ups, crunches, etc.  I might bring a picture of the FT staff with me to my holiday get-togethers as a reminder to not fall prey to the pitfalls of holiday excess.  I think that's all the motivation I might need.

Love and Restraint,

Tommy