Whew, it has been a whirlwind of activity this past week. We had three different Thanksgiving dinners, and lots of lets-get-together-because-we’re-not-working dinners that weren’t the typical Thanksgiving fare, but were still out of the ordinary nonetheless.
I’ve been thinking about it, and I think a lot of people think it’s inevitable that they will gain weight over the holidays. “It’s going to happen anyway, so there’s really nothing I can do about it.” They just kind of fall into that mindset. I think 
that thinking is totally wrong. You have the choice to let outside forces act on you, you are in control. It’s your responsibility to control what goes into your body. Be proactive and if your goal is to maintain your weight (or even lose a little) over the holidays make it happen. You choose how you react to your surroundings.
With that being said, I’m not one of those trainers that tells people that they shouldn’t eat what they want at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. The holidays come around once a year and I think you should enjoy them. Maybe practice some moderation if you’re more prone to overeat, but eat what you want. There’s a lot of time leading up to Thanksgiving and a month between Thanksgiving and Christmas – use this time to your advantage. Exercise your butt off during these times and know that you can look forward to the reward of great food and time with friends and family. Eat clean any time you’re not at a party or gathering and enjoy yourself. You only live once.
The mindset you need to have is that you don’t have to wait until the New Year to make a change. Start now!
I’ll post some tips for keeping the holiday pounds off later this week.
