In The Ultimate Thanksgiving Survival Guide Part 1 I gave you 4 tips to staying healthy and not destroying all of the hard work you’ve put in the last few months.

If you’ve been exercising, eating well and living a healthy lifestyle you are going to want to stick to it for the long haul.

However, for many once Thanksgiving rolls around, all these good habits tend to fly out the window!

Sure, we all tend to over-eat a little during the winter holiday season.

It’s hard to stay disciplined.

There are more parties, more food, more cookies, and more opportunities to grab a treat here and there than any other time of the year.

These temptations won’t be going away anytime soon.

Add all of these calories to the holiday stress of gift shopping, party planning and hopping, decorating and cooking, and you have a recipe for weight gain.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can stick with your plan over the holidays and keep losing weight.

After all, every day presents temptations, so why should the holidays be any different?

Part 2 of The Survival Guide I will provide you with more Tips, Healthy Recipes and Home Workouts!

You’ll have everything you need to stay on track so you can continue to lose weight during Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season!

TIPS:

1.  Keep your goal in mind! Although you may only over-eat a couple times over the holidays – a little on top of a little adds up to a whole lot – think compound effect. Remember the reason why you are choosing to lose weight and keep that goal in the front of your mind at all times.

2. Burn calories! The more calories you burn with activity, the more food you can consume without feeling terrible about it. Get your workouts in the day before, the day of and the day after! Go for a walk after dinner or between courses. Get that heart rate up, your metabolism will thank you for it.

3. Try not to starve yourself before “The Big Feast”. If you starve yourself during the day, you could wind famished and ready to eat anything in site. Eat a good protein packed breakfast and drink lots of water.

4. Choose the WHITE meat. Dark meat has more calories and more fat than white meat. If you prefer the dark meat, then at least take off the skin since that is where most of the fat and added calories are.

5. Take Breaks. If you’re Italian like I am you know you’re in for a long day and multiple courses so taking breaks is super important. After you finish each dish put your fork down. Get up and walk around. Go outside and toss the pigskin around.

6. Choose No Calorie Beverages. If you are going to be having alcoholic beverages then everything else you drink should be calorie free. Skip the soda and juices. Drink water or green tea to avoid the dehydration that comes along with drinking too much.

WORKOUTS:

I have put together this section for anyone that will be away for the holiday or simply stuck at home for a few days.  Below you’ll find 4 workouts you can perform just about anywhere with no equipment needed. Grab the kids download the workout watch instructional video that goes along with each workout and get moving!

Download Workout # 1 Strength ——> weekend-warrior-workout-1-down-the-ladder

[responsive_video type=’youtube’ hide_related=’1′ hide_logo=’1′ hide_controls=’0′ hide_title=’1′ hide_fullscreen=’0′ autoplay=’0′]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s__fey493RY[/responsive_video]

Workout #2 Core ——> weekend-warrior-workout-2-abs-of-steel

[responsive_video type=’youtube’ hide_related=’1′ hide_logo=’1′ hide_controls=’0′ hide_title=’1′ hide_fullscreen=’0′ autoplay=’0′]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Ap7yrVVGU[/responsive_video]

Download Workout #3  Cardio  ——> weekend-warrior-workout-3-cardio-workout

[responsive_video type=’youtube’ hide_related=’1′ hide_logo=’1′ hide_controls=’0′ hide_title=’1′ hide_fullscreen=’0′ autoplay=’0′]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_jtVpFXxQQ[/responsive_video]

Download Workout #4 Full Body ——> weekend-warrior-workout-5-the-pyramid

[responsive_video type=’youtube’ hide_related=’1′ hide_logo=’1′ hide_controls=’0′ hide_title=’1′ hide_fullscreen=’0′ autoplay=’0′]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqWkpMbCF0A[/responsive_video]

RECIPES: The recipes below are seasonal recipes that you can make with the leftovers from Thanksgiving or a side dish for the big day!

1. Pumpkin Chili: This recipe gives you a great way to use leftovers.  It’s a big hit with my members!  The kids love it!

Download The Pumpkin Chili Recipe >>> pumpkin-chili

2. Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash: If you want a quick and easy dinner, it’s hard to get better than a stir-fry and some roasted vegetables. However when you combine the two, you can get something that looks great tastes great and is simple to do. That’s what this recipe basically is – take a basic stir-fry with Turkey and vegetables, and then put it inside some roasted squash to mix the flavors you got yourself a quick easy meal everyone will love!

Download The Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash Recipe >>> turkey-stuffed-acorn-squash

3. Ginger Carrot Sweet Potato Soup: It is sweet, creamy, and slightly spicy but tasty! This sweet potato recipe can be easily modified to be vegan or vegetarian (simply replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth). It makes a nice light dinner or can be a wonderful side for THANKSGIVING DINNER. You can also make this after Thanksgiving by adding left over turkey to the soup, for an even heartier version!

Download The Ginger Carrot Sweet Potato Soup Recipe >>> ginger-carrot-and-sweet-potato-soup

To keep it in perspective, let’s try to remember what’s most important – being with family and friends and appreciating our blessings.

But when you’re working hard to lose fat and get in shape you never want to take step back because you had a few days of over-indulging.

Use this guide to help navigate you through Thanksgiving and the rest of the Holiday Season!

—–> JOIN US FOR A FREE FAT BURNING THANKSGIVING WORKOUT! <—–

The TFW Mahopac Thanksgiving workout starts at 9am and is open to the public email [email protected] and let us know you’re attending.