What is your favorite holiday dish? Mine has to be the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie! Whatever food you enjoy most, I think it is safe to say that you stuff yourself until you cannot eat another bite. I read in an article that studies show that the average American consumes up to 3,000 calories during their thanksgiving meal and once all those leftovers are eaten one may consume a total of 10,000 calories.
The good news is that your Thanksgiving week binge is not detrimental to your health, but these next couple weeks after Thanksgiving week are important. It’s time to get your body moving and create good habits to bring into the new year, so you don’t create a habit of overindulging.
Get moving!
After eating a big Thanksgiving meal our bodies seem to go into a food coma, and we catch ourselves laying down and maybe even taking a nap. Once you are all done eating your belly might be too full to bend over and tie your tennis shoes so you may need to ask for some help getting them on. Any effort in moving your body after you eat is a great way to start up your metabolism and begin to digest your food.
Exercise is so important not only for burning some Thanksgiving calories, but also for producing endorphins. These are the chemicals in your body that make you feel good. After you eat a big meal you may feel a little heavy and gross, but a little physical activity can help boost your mood and have your body feeling better!
I challenge you to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day this week following Thanksgiving and notice how great your body feels.
Get Stretching!
Going into these cooler months your bones may start to feel achy. Stretching is so important to relieve tension or pain throughout your body. A nice little stretch in the morning and evening is a great way to get your blood flowing throughout your body and some light stretching before bed relaxes your muscles and prevents you from waking up with more pain!