A Healthier Holiday with This Exercise

A Bite-Sized Read for Your Health and Waistline

Photo by Tim Cooper on Unsplash

I often do this “paper plate exercise” with my clients before holidays like Thanksgiving. I’ve found it to be a powerful tool to help you shift your approach to holidays and large gatherings that focus on food. This is why I wanted to share it with you this week, as many will celebrate America’s Independence Day with BBQs, brunches and gatherings with lots of food.

When it comes to our health, we want to reconsider our approach to holidays and eating festivities. Using Thanksgiving as the quintessential example, the average American will consume about 3,000 calories at dinner alone. Then you can imagine if we include drinks, desserts, and appetizers it can be up to 4,500 calories. Many don’t think about their food intake at celebrations because their “occasions,” not the norm, and they’re often filled with “one-a-year foods.” And Thanksgiving can begin the downward slide into holiday weight gain. For my clients, and for me in the past, it’s a challenge to make healthier choices at these special events. Not anymore! It can be easier. Here’s how:

To start the paper plate exercise, grab a paper plate and a pen (or a piece of paper with a circle drawn on it to be you “plate”). Flip the plate over and on the back, write a list of all the foods that will be at the holiday or social…