Gratitude: A Heartwarming Feast for Thanksgiving"

As the season of Thanksgiving approaches, it's the perfect time to reflect on the importance of gratitude in our lives. Beyond the traditional turkey feast and pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving is an opportunity to nourish our souls with appreciation for the blessings that surround us. Let's delve into the art of being grateful and discover how cultivating this mindset can enrich our lives.

Count Your Blessings:

Thanksgiving is not just a day but a mindset. Take a moment to reflect on the positive aspects of your life. Whether it's the support of loved ones, good health, or the opportunities you've encountered, counting your blessings sets the tone for a grateful heart.

Express Your Gratitude:

Gratitude is most powerful when it's shared. Use this Thanksgiving as a chance to express your appreciation to the people who have made a difference in your life. Write a heartfelt note, make a call, or simply share a moment of gratitude around the dinner table.

Focus on the Present:

Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, it's easy to overlook the beauty of the present moment. During Thanksgiving, allow yourself to be fully present. Enjoy the laughter of family and friends, savor the flavors of the feast, and relish the warmth of shared moments.

Gratitude Journal:

Consider starting a gratitude journal. Documenting the things you are thankful for each day can be a transformative practice. It helps shift your focus from what might be lacking to the abundance that exists in your life.

Acts of Kindness:

Extend the spirit of Thanksgiving beyond your immediate circle. Engage in acts of kindness, whether it's volunteering at a local charity or helping a neighbor. Small gestures can have a profound impact on both the giver and the receiver.

Learn from Challenges:

Gratitude doesn't mean ignoring challenges; it means finding the silver lining in every situation. Reflect on the lessons learned from difficulties and be grateful for the strength they've given you.

As we gather around the Thanksgiving table, let's not only indulge in a delicious feast but also feast our hearts on gratitude. Gratitude transforms ordinary moments into extraordinary memories and opens the door to a more fulfilling life. This Thanksgiving, let the spirit of thankfulness be the main course, bringing joy, warmth, and a sense of abundance to all.

Staying Healthy over Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is less than 24 hours away and many people have already started preparing their meals and their stomachs.

Thanksgiving week is one week out of the year. Long-term consistency is what gets you to your goals. Tomorrow is unstructured — give yourself the freedom to enjoy food, free time (if you have it), and relaxation. Then, wake up on Friday and check in — listen to your body.

First of all, eat a little bit of everything like carbs, protein, fats and especially the micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. You can find these in your vegetables and fruits as well.

Be careful with the amount of sugar you are eating, especially drinking your beverages. There is a lot of sugar in teas, juices, lemonades, and half-and-half drinks. So we have to be really careful with the amount of sugar that we are drinking. Consuming sugar can lead to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cancerous diseases. As the holiday season is about to start you should aim to eat at least three times a day and consume healthy foods.

Tips to stay on track with your health goals this Thanksgiving

1. Avoid Over-Eating

To avoid overeating at parties and dinners, eat before you go. The healthiest choices for food are not always available at parties or dinners. I try to always eat a healthy meal before I go to one of these. That way I’ve consumed healthy food, am not hungry, and less likely to make poor decisions about consumption when partying. Hungry people tend to make poor decisions when it comes to menu selection. Showing up hungry at a party is akin to grocery shopping on an empty stomach. That is also a bad idea, so try not to shop for food when hungry or show up for a dinner with an empty stomach.

2. Skip the Seconds

Try to resist the temptation to go back for a second helping. Leftovers are much better the next day, and if you limit yourself to one plate, you are less likely to overeat and have more room for a delectable dessert. Choose the best bets on the buffet. While each of us has our own favorites, keep in mind that some holiday foods are better choices than others. White turkey meat, plain vegetables, roasted sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, thin gravy, and pumpkin pie tend to be the best bets because they are lower in fat and calories. However, if you keep your portions small, you can enjoy whatever you like.

3.  Slowly Savor

Eating slowly, putting your fork down between bites, and tasting each mouthful is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your meal and feel satisfied with one plate full of food, experts say. Choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, salads, and other foods with lots of water and fiber add to the feeling of fullness.

4.  Drink Green Tea and Water

To feel full before the big holiday meal, drink green tea and water. Drink green tea and water before a meal is a good way to feel full without eating. Water takes up a lot of space in the stomach. Added hydration is beneficial for weight loss as it aids digestion and muscle growth. 

5. Working Out Over the Holidays

How often can workouts be skipped during the holidays? Because of travel, holiday gatherings, and out-of-the-ordinary time pressure, getting outside to run or visit the gym may be more challenging than normal. But how many days can anyone miss a workout? It is ok to miss a day. But it is important not to let one day turn into two days. Many national gyms have reciprocal memberships that allow workouts at affiliated clubs. Youtube has many Barre, Yoga, and Meditation classes available for free and doesn’t require any equipment.

6. Ways to Avoid Bad Decisions

Ways to avoid bad decisions at the table. This one is particularly challenging as all those sumptuous food items stare up at us from the table. Some selections are bound to be healthier than others. Look for vegetables first. Avoid bread, fried food, and those laden with sugar like candied yams. When tempted to eat that cornbread dressing, pecan, or pumpkin pie I would suggest smaller portions. Im always advising people what to eat or not eat. But a spoonful of just about anything will not hurt you. No one will feel deprived of this approach.

  7. Go Easy on Alcohol

Don’t forget those alcohol calories that can add up quickly. Have a glass of wine or a wine spritzer and between alcoholic drinks, enjoy sparkling water. This way you stay hydrated, limit alcohol calories, and stay sober

A couple of things that will not work. 

A couple of possibilities that are not useful for the health conscious at the holiday. For example, adding the word ‘just’ in front of a food selection will not make it smaller. “Saying I’ll just have one piece of pie or just one bowl of mashed potatoes will not lessen caloric intake.”

Similarly, eating off someone else’s plate is not helpful. There is no benefit for you taking food from someone else.  If you want to sample something that looks good, do so. Just remember the advice about smaller portions.

Just remember to be realistic.

The holiday season is a time for celebration. With busy schedules and so many extra temptations, this is a good time to strive for weight maintenance instead of weight loss.

This way, at the start of the new year you will be ahead of the game if you can avoid gaining any weight over the holidays. This is a time to focus on Family and Friends

Thanksgiving is not just about the delicious bounty of food. It’s a time to celebrate relationships with family and friends. The main event should be family and friends socializing and spending quality time together, not just what is on the buffet.

Stay in the Right Lane: Let Yourself Slow Down and Enjoy Life

I just wrapped up my 30-Day Journal Challenge, some things I reflected on this past month...

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." ~Diane Ackerman

It truly is astonishing how fast time goes. And don't we often try to make it go even faster?

Everyone seems to want everything yesterday.

We work in jobs we have very little control over. Add that to our daily responsibilities as parents, spouses, partners, friends, children to aging parents, and—not to be forgotten—ourselves. It's a lot.

Maybe you are like me. When I was younger, I too often:

• wanted to fast-forward to a new day, a new week, or a new season of life
• wished time away
• focused on that vacation that was months away
• had my eye on that next goal
• sought to get through tough circumstances I was facing, or
• desired to be where someone else was in life

What did it cost me? Memories and opportunities. I was always thinking ahead. I was not in the moment.

I missed opportunities to learn and grow because I was always focused on that next thing instead of learning what could help me in that next thing.

I missed all the beauty this earth has to offer because I was driving too fast.

It cost me time. I wished away something I can never get back. It cost me the fun of simply living life, my life.

Countless people feel this way and end up disassociating or self-medicating in order to endure life rather than living it. I too was guilty of this when my tennis career came to an end due to a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Then losing my mother, father, and brother, I just worked an insane amount of hours and kept running to avoid sitting in the moment and dealing with grief.

Unfortunately, wishing you were somewhere in the future and numbing out until you get there will rob you of the present moment… and life is only ever made up of present moments.

So how do you stop wishing your life away like this? It has taken me forty-five years on earth to figure out how to make every moment count. And, if I'm honest, it's something I must work on every day.

"Don't focus on making each moment perfect, focus on the perfection each moment provides, be it a good one, or not so-good one." ~Jenna Kutcher

Just make it count. Be in it. Live it.

I am going to continue to live in the right lane, enjoy every moment, create and experience new moments, and focus on the journey itself, not the destination.

"The most dangerous risk of all...is the risk of spending your life not doing what you want, on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later." ~Randy Komisar

So how do you do that? It isn't always easy.

Have good self-awareness (know yourself and trust yourself). Be intentional. Make time for the people and things that matter. Make time to think about what you really want in life.

And slow yourself down.

How To Stop Wishing Your Life Away: 9 Tips That Actually Work!

1. Recognize that all we have is right here, right now. 

2. Accept discomfort and become comfortable with it.

3. Remember that every situation is temporary: this too shall pass.

4. Stop assuming that life will be better when circumstances have changed.

5. Practice sincere gratitude.

6. Make a list of all the things you enjoy doing, and focus on them.

7. Avoid comparing your life to others.

8. Stop doing things that you hate.

9. Take action to make real change happen.

This Thanksgiving, Express gratitude to those around you. You will have to think about what you have before you can express gratitude for it. 

And to leave you with my favorite quote of all time;

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!” ~Hunter S. Thompson

I love you all,

Cindy Ross xoxo

TIPS TO GET BACK ON TRACK AFTER THANKSGIVING

As promised on the Fat To Fit Radio Show.....

TIPS TO GET BACK ON TRACK AFTER THANKSGIVING 

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."  ~Lou Holtz

YOU CAN DO IT!

If you're like me you most likely woke up to having to deal with the post Thanksgiving "damage control"- not fun! Getting back on track with your fitness and weight loss goals after a festive holiday of overeating with family and friends can be overwhelming for some people. If you ate too much on Thanksgiving don’t worry you can regroup and get back to exercising daily and eating clean!

Typically at social gatherings there are plenty of high calorie foods and desserts to tempt and tantalize your taste buds. Often self discipline and control seem to go out the window the moment you step through the door. If you overindulged don’t despair there is nothing wrong with indulging a bit by eating succulent foods; in fact, it’s good for the body and mind to have a high calorie meal now and again after weeks of eating clean.

Unfortunately, many people have negative attitudes towards themselves in the aftermath of overeating and convince themselves that they have already ruined their diet. The negative mind set can cause them to think to themselves “Why should I continue try to lose weight or get in shape? I already gained weight back....” then they fall right back to mindlessly eating junk food and sweets, and lack the desire to continue to exercise which ultimately causes more weight gain and frustrations.

If you are discouraged here are 6 simple ways to get back on track to assist you in reaching your fitness goals. 

6 Fitness Tips To Get Back on Track! 

1. Get back to the gym! It’s easy to let the day after Thanksgiving be a day of rest after waking up feeling the after effects of having way too many calories. Your body needs you to workout today more than ever to get it back on track and burn off some of the calories from Thanksgiving. Commit to exercising for at least a week to help release the water weight you may have gained, it takes a few days for the body to balance itself again after eating a large high calorie meal and desserts.

2. Drink up! After eating a huge meal filled with carbs, fats, sugars, and sodium your body will have a lot of toxins to get rid of. Drink a gallon (or more) of purified water to flush out your system. A great detox drink to have first thing in the morning is 8 oz of warm water with 1 tsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and cinnamon mixed with 1 tsp raw honey. This will aid detoxing your organs and digestive track.

3. Eat a low-carb diet. When you eat a lot of high carb foods your insulin increases turning your food into glucose and then storing the energy as fat. It also limits the body's ability to release stored energy otherwise known as fat. So to turn your body into a fat burning machine try to keep your carb intake to 50 grams a day. Stay away from gluten and dairy products as well because they cause water weight retention and inflammation which will sabotage your efforts. Have your carbs in the morning and eat protein and fresh veggies for the rest of the day. 

4. Write down your goals with a smile on your face. Write down goals that you will do this next week. Always write in the present tense as though you have already accomplished them, i.e. “I weigh ____.” “I love to workout!” “I crave healthy whole foods each day.” Believing in yourself that you can will help you reach your goals and follow through! 

5. Visualize fitness success.  Each morning and night focus and visualize exactly how you want to be, use all five senses. Post a photo for a visual aid of how you desire your physique to be. Have gratitude in your heart and give thanks aloud throughout the day for your miraculous body and for all the blessings in your life.

6. Plan ahead & be prepared! If you fail to plan you're basically planning to fail. Write down your meals and workout plans for the week, and follow through! Keep a gratitude, meal workout journal. Keeping accountability for yourself is highly motivating. Keeping a gratitude journal will literally transform your thoughts to create the life and body of your dreams!

If you do the above faithfully you will overcome the dreaded post Thanksgiving "hang-over" and it will help take care of the "damage" easily. Make exercise a high priority in your life to get your body, mind, and spirit back on track.  Believe in all that you are and have fun as you continue to strive to live a healthier and happier way of life.   

7 Tips to Avoid Overeating on Thanksgiving

As promised on Fat To Fit Radio last week...

7 Tips to Avoid Overeating on Thanksgiving

1) Take Home Leftovers: Bring your own Tupperware. If you overeat because you enjoy good food there is no shame in coming equipped with your own doggie bag. No need to eat mindlessly if you know that you can savor it again later.

2) Sit Down: Many of us take a plate of food and nibble on it until you've found a seat or are ready to sit down. It’s hard to really enjoy food when you are standing up, balancing a plate. Don’t take a bite unless you are sitting down.

3) Name Three of Your Favorite Thanksgiving Foods: It’s likely that you named foods you only get once a year like cranberry dressing, sweet potato pie, or turkey. Consider what it is about these foods that gives you pleasure.  The texture?  Taste?  Smell?  Focus on the foods you really love. Savor. Consider whether you really enjoy filler foods like rolls, things you can get all year.  Stick to what you know you love.

4) Take a Game or Photos: When food is the only event at Thanksgiving, it makes it too easy to mindlessly over eat. Bring your favorite board game, cards, or even bring along photos from the years to ooh and ahh over.

5) Find Ways to Soothe and Comfort Yourself. Holidays are exciting and stressful at the same time. Find ways to calm and soothe yourself so you don’t turn to calories for comfort. 

6) Rethink Thanksgiving: Perhaps we need to change our perception of the holiday before we can change our behavior. In many ways, Thanksgiving is just like any other meal. Allowing yourself to think Thanksgiving is  "different" or "special" seems to imply that there is a different way we eat. Yes, it is a holiday. However, mindful eating is not a diet. You don’t have to avoid good food. It just means eating it slowly, with full awareness. 

7) Mindless Triggers: It’s likely that you know your most common mindless eating triggers. Do you tend to pick mindlessly at food when it is sitting directly in front of you? Does eating next to an annoying relative lead you to stress eat? Make a list of things that sabotage your mindful eating and strategize around how to address them. For example, pick your favorite person to sit next to and grab the seat. If you tend to pick at food, commit to passing food out of arm’s reach as soon as you sit down.