What am I thankful for? I'm thankful for all this good food I'm about to eat on Thursday. Living in New York away from family means less homecooked meals and more bottomless brunches. Thanksgiving officially starts the Winter holiday eating season. That time of year where you eat and then grab a another plate and then unloosen your belt buckle! Between Turkey Day and New Years, many American over indulged in decadent sweets and high calorie foods. 

If you're planning on eating 2 or 3 plates during the annual Thanksgiving feast, you should get a workout in first thing that morning. You will feel so much better going into the evening knowing you burned some calories. Let's face it... after you finish eating you are headed straight into the living room to watch football. Try to incorporate one of these activities into your Thursday morning routine before you pull up to the table.

GYM

Many gyms host early Thanksgiving Day hours, usually between 8AM and 12PM, so clients can get a workout in before scarfing down turkey, dressing, candied yams and mac n' cheese (getting hungry just writing this, lol).

HIIT CLASS

For a higher intensity workout and much more burned calories take a HIIT group class. Keeping with the holiday spirit, the classes are usually named something like "Turkey Butt Blast". These 45 minute to an hour classes usually burn a large amount of calories. Anywhere from 600 to 1000 calories are burned from the constant and non-stopped intensity. 

LOCAL TURKEY TROT

If you're more of a runner, then you can go for a 5K (3.1 mile) or 10K (6.2 mile) run on Turkey Day. Most cities host them in their Downtown area and it's a great way to start Thanksgiving morning before your in-laws drive you up a wall.

Don't let the holidays be your excuse for putting on weight. You can still maintain that summer body over the winter. It's a little harder to stay motivated with sun going down at 4PM and the snowflakes. Keep on pushing and have a Happy Holiday!