Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now Christmas and the New Year are on the horizon. Most people stuff themselves up to their esophagus with food on Thanksgiving. Then with all the leftovers, do it all over again. Creating a person that is incapacitated by food for the next 2-3 hours. Even the people who have health and fitness goals can't seem to contain themselves from over eating on the holidays. They succumb to all the food and temptation to keep eating past satiety. Only then realizing they just through away all the progress they made in the last two weeks. So how can people navigate the fine line of enjoying the holidays with family and with food traditions, but maintain progress through this season?

Protein

The first item to check off is protein. Thanksgiving obviously has a potent dosage of protein from turkey(24g per 4oz).  Most other holidays center around a specific choice of protein as well. For example, Christmas is pretty synonymous with ham, prime rib, even some times turkey too. 4th of July has burgers, brats, ribs centered around it. So no matter the holiday there should be a heavy dose of protein to eat or choose from.  Starting your holiday meal with the protein first will make the biggest impact with food quantity on the holidays. Protein is an essential nutrient, it will satiate you quicker and make you feel fuller longer than other sources of food. And it will contribute to recovery from workouts as well. Protein is a win win no matter which protein source you have available on the holidays.

Routines & Order

Next on the list, is routines and order. Most people do some sort of traveling on the holidays either to relatives houses or they will host family and friends at their house. No matter the circumstance, maintaining and keeping your normal routines and structure around the holidays is vital. Why is that the case? Because the opposite is chaos, and throwing yourself into the pit of chaos only leads to bad outcomes. For example, if you go to your relatives house and they have more snacks and candy around the house than you know what to do with, that is a problem. Then, on top of that, abandoning your daily habits will make the problem exponentially worse. You are then thrust into a position of chaos and non structure. Putting your own fruition of desires and wants in that moment to the forefront. Leading to scavenging the pantry and fridge at the first feeling of hunger or boredom. After the seal comes off the lid, then its Armageddon and chaos can't be contained. But, if you approach the day with your normal routine and structure you know what to expect, your body is in its normal rhythms and you don't open yourself up to the possibilities of chaos and personal desires in that moment. Examples are eating breakfast at your normal time. If you normally workout in the morning, then going and doing some sort of a workout. Waking up generally at the same time you normally do. Finding ways to create as much structure as possible to enjoy the food and company of the holidays. But not giving into the hedonism that can lurk as well.

The Time around a Holiday Meal

The third pillar we're going to talk about probably doesn't get talked about as much as the other two might. This pillar is all the meals and time around your holiday meal. Breakfast, snacks, lunch possibly that fit around your big holiday meal. Most people are aware of going off the rails with the Thanksgiving meal itself. But rarely does the snacks and meals around it get the publicity. Beware of meals and foods surrounding holiday meals. Some might say they consume more leading up to and around holiday dinner than at dinner itself. We don't give the attention to the snacks while we're cooking the turkey. Or all the alcohol we're drinking throughout the day while watching football and waiting for the big meal of the day. But this is where most of the damage is done. The bites and sips that add up all day long. Compounded with the meal itself and all of a sudden you've ate 5,000 calories for the day. Oh and by the way this is just one day. This isn't including if you have to do multiple Thanksgivings with both sides of your family. So enjoy the big holiday meal. Eat till satiety, but beware of endless snacks and leaky food consumption.

Conclusion

To wrap things up. The holidays aren't meant to be a food hedonism holiday. Where you get to eat as much as possible and give into whatever your heart desires in that moment. The holidays are meant for celebration, being with family and friends, relaxing for a few extra days. These rules or guidelines laid out here aren't meant to be an end all be all. But they are here to help you enjoy the holidays more and celebrate what they are truly there for. Not the worshipping of the self and what the individual wants to do.