Thanks!

It is, of course, time to give thanks!  Here are ten things I am thankful for in a fitness context:

1.     My clients.  They honor me by letting me work with their bodies and brains.  They push me and teach me and inspire me.

2.     My colleagues.  I work alone in my studio, but I’m part of a community of fitness professionals who generously share their friendship, expertise, and humor with me.

3.     My body.  It is easy to complain about my body, which, not surprisingly, is not perfect.  I have injuries and limitations.  I am not getting younger.  And yet, my body persists and learns and grows.  It does what I ask it to do and responds when I treat it with love.

4.     My bikes.  (Yes, I have two outside bikes and a spin bike because I am lucky like that.)  Nothing makes me feel better than pedaling.  I particularly love riding outside, but when that is not possible, I am grateful for my trusty spin bike’s ability to lift my mood and help my body.

5.     Joe Pilates, wherever he is.  Weird old Uncle Joe has taught me so much about how to make bodies work more effectively and hurt less.

6.     Foam rollers, yoga tune-up balls, lacrosse balls, and massage.  When I overdo or I get stuck in a car for a long time or just wake up stiff, there is nothing like the tools and techniques of myofascial release to make me feel better.

7.     Swimming.  I love it like I love my bikes, but wetter.  Also:  hot tubs.

8.     The prettiest weights ever.  I like the feeling of power I get from lifting weights and when I use my colorful plates on my Olympic bar, it’s even better.

9.     The internet.  I love that I have access to so many experts and so much good information.  (I don’t love the bogus stuff, of course.)  At a click, I can get high-quality information on all kinds of conditions, fresh ideas for workouts, details on form, and so much more!

10.  Food.  Bodies run on fuel.  I am thankful that our fuel is so often tasty and wonderful!

Wishing everyone the best of everything on this very thankful Thanksgiving!

Tactics

Tomorrow is the day.  At my house, we’re starting with cheeses and crackers and accompaniments.  Dinner will include:  turkey, giblet gravy, sausage stuffing with fennel and golden raisins, (vegetarian) cheddar squash bread pudding, (vegetarian) mushroom gravy made with homemade mushroom stock, mashed potato casserole, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows (traditional!), corn, Hawaiian rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie (with either Grand Marnier whipped cream or Cool Whip, depending on personal preference), and lemon meringue pie (because my younger son generally dislikes pie but tolerates this kind).  Clearly, we are all going to starve.

So really, what we need is a strategy to avoid the food coma.  Here is a news flash:  not everyone likes all the foods we’re having.  This is true for most big occasion dinners.  The first easy thing to do is:  skip the stuff we don’t like.

Easy is a relative term.  Sometimes relatives make it hard (heh!).  Maybe your grandmother makes turnips—mine didn’t, but my great-grandmother apparently did for every Thanksgiving.  Maybe you hate turnips, but she will be crushed if you don’t have some.  Do you disappoint her?  Not knowing your grandmother, I can’t say.  If she’s a lovely person and you want to make her happy, you might eat a bite.  If she’s evil and you’d like to hasten her into her grave, you can tell her exactly what to do with her root vegetables—stomping off mad does burn calories and does keep you from eating All The Pie.  My point is that I can’t say what the right choice is, but thinking about what the choices might be in advance can help.

The second tactic that is useful is taking just a taste of everything.  Often that’s enough.  Once that plate is empty, we have more choices.  We can embrace the laziness and refuse to get up to get seconds (doesn’t work if your family puts everything on the table) or we can win points with whoever is cooking by leaping at the chance to clear plates and begin on the dishes.  Again, the idea is to plan.

No matter what happens, Thanksgiving is just one day, one big feast.  No one day is going to make or break us.  Sure, we will probably feel better if we avoid the worst excesses of the day in food, drink, and arguments, but we have all the other days following to do better if we blow it.  We do all the work of fitness to enjoy our lives and if that means two slices of pie on Thanksgiving, that is just fine.

Good news...

Speaking for myself, the early part of this week is all about cooking and cleaning.  People are coming!  I love that, but there is no way I am going to let them see what the bathroom ends up looking like when I procrastinate on the housework.  The good news is that standing (and I defy you all if you think cooking can be done sitting down) is healthy for us.  The better news is that running up and down the stairs while cleaning and, um, hiding things in closets counts as exercise.  Yes, I will probably work out—it is good for my stress levels—but if I don’t manage to spend quality time with my spin bike, I’m not going to freak out about it.

My point?  Holidays can be full.  There are the good things to be full of (hiya sweet potato pie!) and the less good things (existential angst, family drama, bad green bean casserole).  We get to choose what we fill up on.  We want to be happy and healthy.  If that means we get our sweat in while cleaning the kitchen, that’s great!  If we need a break from relatives, we can get that on a bike ride or a run around the neighborhood.  Even if we make all the wrong choices (Sure, Uncle Steve, I’d love to discuss politics!  Of course, Grandma, I want a piece of all five kinds of pie!), the holiday is just one day.  We get to make new choices every single day.

Do what makes you less stressed.