Avoid Gaining Weight Over Thanksgiving

Eat Breakfast: If you start your meal feeling famished, you will have a more difficult time listening to your body and controling your eating.  Beginning your day with a light breakfast will help you to feel less hungry when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner. 

Drink a Glass of Water Prior to Eating: This too, will help to fill your stomach prior to your meal and will therefore help you to avoid eating large amounts of food. 

Police Your Portions: Take smaller portions of food and try to avoid going back for seconds. Also, Connie Diekman, MEd, RD, former president of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) suggests, “"Don't waste your calories on foods that you can have all year long, Fill your plate with small portions of holiday favorites that only come around once a year so you can enjoy desirable, traditional foods."

Slowly Savor Your Food: Experts say that 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. Choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, salads, and other foods with lots of water and fiber add to the feeling of fullness.

Space Out Your Thanksgiving Meal Throughout the Day: One suggestion is to eat Thanksgiving dinner, and then go on a walk as a family prior to eating desert. This will help you to avoid eating numerous large meals throughout the day (Thanksgiving at mid-day, and dinner that evening). 

Don’t Sleep It Off: Moving more than usual -- a game of touch football in the front yard or a marathon of shopping on Black Friday -- will help compensate for any little indulgences.

Be Realistic: The holiday season is a time for celebration. With busy schedules and so many wonderful dishes, this is a good time to strive for weight maintenance instead of weight loss.  One expert says, “Shift from a mindset of weight loss to weight maintenance. You will be ahead of the game if you can avoid gaining any weight over the holidays."

Focus on Friends and Family: Thanksgiving is not all about the food.  Try to focus less on the buffet, and more on the celebration of coming together with friends and family. 

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-tips-for-a-thinner-thanksgiving?page=2

http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/blturkeydaytips.htm

Uplifting Thoughts for the Future

Faith is both a principle of action and of power. It “is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if [we] have faith [we] hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” It is an assurance8 of the Spirit gained through our learning that moves us to act to follow the example of the Savior and prayerfully keep His commandments, even through times of sacrifice and trial. Faith brings us the power of the Lord, which—among other things—is manifested by a hope of good things to come, miracles that confirm our faith, and divine protection in spiritual and temporal matters.
Elder Marcus B. Nash

“Life is good, if we live in such a way to make it so.” This was a part of an inspirational message I read many years ago. What the message calls “a good life” comes as a result of the way we do things, of the words we choose to say, and even of the kind of thoughts we choose to have.
No one needs to feel alone on the road of life, for we are all invited to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. Happiness is the purpose of the gospel and the purpose of the redeeming Atonement for all men.
Benjamín De Hoyos

Our spiritual journey is the process of a lifetime. We do not know everything in the beginning or even along the way. Our conversion comes step by step, line upon line. We first build a foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We treasure the principles and ordinances of repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We include a continuing commitment to prayer, a willingness to be obedient, and an ongoing witness of the Book of Mormon.  We then remain steady and patient as we progress through mortality. At times, the Lord’s answer will be, “You don’t know everything, but you know enough”—enough to keep the commandments and to do what is right.
Elder Neil L. Andersen

It would be easy to become discouraged and cynical about the future—or even fearful of what might come—if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. Today, however, I’d like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as members of the Church. The Apostle Paul declared, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.  My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith. President Thomas S. Monson

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