Thanksgiving Week Survival: Game Day Training Plan

Huzzah! It's part 2 of your Thanksgiving training plan!

Since self-care is the route of sanity, here are 8 tips to prepare yourself for Thanksgiving with your loved ones. If you missed yesterday’s post on shifting your attitude to gratitude, it isn’t too late! Check it out so you can walk into family time without a loaded gun.

1. Start off on the right foot.

Meditate in the morning and go through yesterday’s gratitude list.

2. Get at least 20 min of cardio in.

I’m not telling you to do this to create a calorie deficiency so you can justify more pie (though it will do that too!), but it’e essential for elevating your mood.

3. Don’t show up on an empty stomach.

Have something beforehand that you can feel good about like green juice or a smoothie. Once your nutrients are in, it’ll be easier to avoid the carb & sugar guilt you may feel at the end of the day. Plus, one good thing leads to another. Starting off healthy sets you up for success.

4. Go Green.

Load up on all the green things you want, even if it’s loaded in butter and flavored with bacon. Yummers!

5. Drink more water.

This isn’t just a diet tip to get full so you eat less (though it will do that), but your brain needs to be hydrated or you will be anxious, depressed, and moody. Does that sound like a recipe for success? Not so much. As you may know you need half your weight in ounces of water per day.  So if you weigh 140 pounds, you need 70 ounces (or roughly 8 3/4) glasses) Sure, that sounds like a lot, but it’s better than feeling moody all day. Don’t just wait for tomorrow to start doing this, start now!

6. Own your shit.

When you feel yourself going from 0-60, remember what’s your shit and what’s their shit. Read here to learn more.

7. Stay present.

This applies to everything. We tend to look for patterns to make sense of the world. It’s how we keep ourselves safe. For one day, I invite you to let go of that. Sure, your sister never helps with the cooking, but don’t bring up the past to her or to yourself.  Look at things as an isolated incident. Staying present also means not rehashing old arguments. Let it go for today, even if you haven't truly let it go.

And, when it comes to food, staying present means thinking about your current bite and not the next stuffing-turkey-cranberry pile up bite you are excited to create. Asian cultures say you should chew your food 20 times, that’s nice, but unlikely.  I’m shooting for 10 chews per bite. Not only will you get full faster, but it will aid digestion and ease the inevitable food coma to come.

 

8. Time Out.

On the big day, don’t be afraid to take a time out. Go for a walk, hold a cute baby, play with a puppy, or go to the kids table and make one of those awesome hand-traced turkeys like you did as a kid.

Happy Thanksgiving! Let me know how it goes in the Comments section!