You Should Indulge This Thanksgiving–Here’s Why

Don’t Be Afraid To Indulge

The recommendation to give thanks this Thanksgiving can easily be applied to your body and all it has done for you this year. Take the day (at least) to enjoy time with family, run only if you want and eat as you please.

An article recently published in The New York Times called “Relax, You Don’t Need To ‘Eat Clean'” talks about how Americans typically overreact to foods that are labeled “bad” or “unhealthy” when there is no real danger to eating them when you do so in moderation. For example, if you were to eat an extra serving of bacon every single day, you’d only increase your risk of colon cancer by one-half of one percent. Yep. That’s it.

Jamie Sheahan, a registered dietitian and director of nutrition at The EDGE Sports and Fitness, says she couldn’t agree more and often has to counsel her clients through the holidays as a result of this fear. “Too often I see my clients view the holidays with dread because they are so worried about how their goals will be derailed by temptation and a packed social schedule that often includes even more temptation,” Sheahan recently told us via email. “It’s too bad because the holidays really should be about spending time with our loved ones. One day is not going to ruin it all.”

An avid runner herself, Sheahan added an analogy all runners can understand: “Just like you can’t achieve perfect health or train for a marathon in one day, a day off that includes some reasonable indulgences and rest won’t ruin the progress you’ve made with your diet or running.”

It makes perfect sense now, doesn’t it?

Instead of worrying about how much food you’re consuming this Thanksgiving, we urge you to focus on these instead:

Family

Embrace even the most annoying of family members on this day and enjoy time spent with those for whom you are truly thankful. Worry more about having enough time to talk and eat and laugh with extended family and friends–not on how much you’ll need to “run it off” later.

Running For Fun

If exercising and running is a tradition you do for fun on Thanksgiving, then have at it! There are countless Turkey Trots across the country for a reason; but run with good intentions, not from the fear of needing an ultimate calorie burn!

Eating

Some would argue this is what the holiday is all about–and they wouldn’t be wrong. A lot of runners restrict their eating in some way for the sake of training. Not today! Indulge, enjoy and put a positive spin on all that carb loading.

If any of those caloric value equations for how many jumping jacks you need to do per slice of pie eaten comes across your social media feed, you know how to use the laughing emoji, right?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!