OK!  I could give you all kinds of advice on how to eat a green salad instead of mashed potatoes.  And to only eat the sweet potatoes IF they are not swimming in butter and covered in marshmallows!  Well, some of you may say, “Then why the heck have Thanksgiving at all!”  Healthy people DO EAT the occassional “not-so-healthy” meal.  Just mind your portions, make healthier substitutions for things that don’t make much of a difference(i.e. 0% fat Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream in your potatoes and reduced fat cream soups in your green bean cassarole), and try not to TOTALLY over do it.  Have a piece of pumpkin pie if you want it!  Depriving yourself for a DIET is not living a healthy lifestyle.  In the grand scheme of things, how do you lose weight?  You burn more calories than you consume.  Right?

OK.  So for one day, you may eat eat WAY OVER your alloted calorie allowance…SO WHAT?  How many holidays do we REALLY have that are centered around one big meal?  Not that many!  Thanksgiving, and I will throw in Christmas and Easter, and let’s say a few Birthdays and such to round out a week!  So, let’s do the math.  365 – 7 =358  If you are creating a calorie dificit of 500 calories a day(the amount it takes to lose a pound a week), for even 80% of the remaining 358 days, so lets say 286 days, you have a calorie deficit for the year of 143,200, which equals just shy of 41#.   That means you could lose about 40# a year just by staying in your alloted calorie allowance 80% of the time!(If you dont know what your calorie allowance should be, this is the BMR calculator that I use: http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php, and to get your weightloss calories, subtract 500 from your BMR + your activity level allowance.  A quick way to find your approximate calorie allowance for weightloss: your weight x 10).

So PLEASE don’t feel like you have to be 100% “ON” 100% of the time.  This is your LIFE!  You didn’t get overweight and out of shape overnight, and you are NOT going to get Fit and Healthy overnight!  Consistency is KEY!  Being consistent 80% is WAY easier that trying to be a perfect 100% all the time, then becoming frustrated and feeling deprived and then doing a swan dive into the deep end.  Which is then followed by guilt, depression, and self-loathing!  Believe me, I am VERY familiar with these  feelings:(

So, I hope you are feeling a little better about enjoying your day!  And remember, it really is all about spending some time with family and loved ones and being thankful that you are all together!

Have a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!

And for your daily motivation:)