Mentally prepared?

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Good evening, 66.1ers.

Coming to you late after some family time this weekend.
Thanks for your patience.

Food for thought:

Talked to a client earlier this week who asked for help getting mentally prepared for Thanksgiving. Not something you hear too often. You can probably tell that this client is serious about hitting their weight loss goal.

American adults think they gain an average of 5 pounds during the holidays. Some will lose it come the New Year. Others won’t. I’ve talked with clients who are worried about the weight they’re going to gain on Thursday this week. Because “don’t worry about it” isn’t helpful advice, I’ve pulled together this list:

1. Enjoy it
   You might be thinking, “What’s wrong with Marcus???” But you’re hearing me correctly. At the end of the day, the work we do here at 66.1 is meant to improve your life. And if you never have a celebratory meal with friends and family again, have we not lost the plot? So, yes, it’s ok to let your guard down a bit. Enjoy the meal. The rest of this list will help you keep from going overboard…
   

2. Leftovers
   This is where most people get messed up. In some places, Thanksgiving seems to last for a week! Leftover stuffing, turkey, pie, cranberry sauce. Eat like that for 2 meals/day for the next week and you’ll probably gain a couple pounds. No sweat. Leave the Thanksgiving food for Thanksgiving.

BTW—tired of waiting until New Year’s to fix your health?
Have you read this?
Want to ask me your #1 burning question about health?
A few slots left here for this week.

3. Homemade
   What if you made a rule that you’d only eat things that were homemade on Thanksgiving? Only cook things that are homemade? Would there be anything at all to eat? Would this change anything at all?
   

4. Make it fun!
   Being the person who brings a salad when everyone else is bringing creamed corn, stuffing, pie, green bean casserole, etc.? Not that fun. Can you create a fun contest? Something like the “tastiest healthy dish”?
   

5. Move!
   Did you know that walking for just five minutes after eating dramatically reduces blood sugar? Growing up, all the adults would go on a walk around our neighborhood after the Thanksgiving meal. Kids would play football. Coincidence that conversation seemed more lively, laughter was louder after everyone had spent 20-30 minutes outside?

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