PREPPING FOR THANKSGIVING

IT IS FINALLY UPON US.

THE ONE HOLIDAY OF THE BIG THREE (Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas), THAT IS TRULY FOCUSED ON MY ONE FAVORITE THING ON THIS EARTH…

EATING…

Yes, ladies, and gentlemen, and descendants of awful white men that colonized, and gentrified the gentle people that gave us this wonderful day…..IT’S THANKSGIVING.

It is the one time of year where I go ultra balls to the wall, putting to shame any cheat meal that I may have consumed the previous 300-some days of the year.

However, if you are like me, and care somewhat about your fitness goals, and are versed at all in the concept of energy in -vs- energy out, then you know how easy is to pack on a pound of fat on Thanksgiving

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN

To refresh: there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, and the average American eats between 4,500 and 6,000 calories on thanksgiving day. So, if your maintenance calories are, say, 2,300 calories, and you eat, say, 5,250 calories…you just consumed almost a pound of fat in one day.

Now, you know me, I am all about enjoying your life, and all the food that comes with it, and in the grand scheme of 365 days of the year, 1 lb of fat is NOTHING to stress over.

However…

We all know that the month following Thanksgiving is going to be filled with holiday festivities, and all the cakes, and pies, and cookies to go along with em; and before you know it, that 1 lb of fat that you gained on thanksgiving has turned into 7 lbs by the time Christmas roles around.

(Me October through December)

Now I’m assuming that if you are reading this, then you have some form of fitness goals in mind; be it whether to lose fat , maintain your current weight, or build muscle. These obviously all come with certain calorie goals, that will all vary per individual.

So let’s look at the some tips you can do to maintain any progress you have made, while still being able to completely enjoy yourself on the BIG DAY.

THE KEY HERE IS LOOKING AT TOTAL WEEKLY CALORIES, NOT DAY-BY-DAY CALORIES.

Let’s use me as an example.

Right now, my calorie goal is about 2,675 calories/ day, which equates to about 18,720 calories/ week.

Then let’s say I plan on eating 6,000 calories on thanksgiving day (no i will not be tracking, but let’s guesstimate).

Because of that one 6,000 calorie bomb of a day, this will put me 3,325 calories over my WHOLE weekly goal.

So what do we do to mitigate that? Divide those extra calories over seven days (for example: 4 days leading up to thanksgiving, and then 3 days following thanksgiving).

So for me than would be 3,325 calories divided by seven days, equating to 480 calories a day that I can burn off through either calorie reduction, or cardio. I prefer to split it, so I will cut my normal intake by 240 calories, and then do 315 calories of extra cardio.

Sunday: 2,435 calories, 240 extra cardio=2,120 calories

Monday: 2, 435 calories, 240 extra cardio=2,120 calories

Tuesday: 2, 435 calories, 240 extra cardio=2,120 calories

Wednesday: 2, 435 calories, 240 extra cardio=2,120 calories

Thursday: THANKSGIVING= 6,000 CALORIES

Friday: 2, 435 calories, 240 extra cardio=2,120 calories

Saturday: 2, 435 calories, 240 extra cardio=2,120 calories

Weekly Total: (2,120 x 6) + 6,000= 18,720 Weekly Calories

18,720 calories for the weekly total, meaning that even though I had that one giant calorie bomb of a day, I will not gain any fat differently had I gone about my normal diet any other week. 

NOW YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF:

“Hey whats the big deal, I don’t need to care about eating excess calories right now cuz it’s bulking season anyway, right?”

Well yeah. But if your goal is to build muscle, while minimizing fat gain (which is inevitable if you are gaining muscle) as much as possible, then wouldn’t you want to avoid gaining a whole unnecessary lb of fat, if possible?

YOU MAY ALSO BE ASKING:

“What if I don’t track my calories?”

Well apart from the fact that I highly recommend tracking your food if your goal is to lose, or gain weight, in this case simply eliminate one thing you may eat from your diet everyday, while increasing your daily activity for a week.

ABOVE ALL THIS THOUGH: THANKSGIVING HAPPENS ONCE A YEAR AND I WANT YOU GUYS TO EAT, EAT, EAT AND ENJOY YOURSELVES! 

That’s all for now.

Till next time, babes.

xoxo

-Nick