Happy Turkey Day!  (In the U.S.)

“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.”    –  Erma Bombeck

A couple of weeks back I shared some wicked recipes for what was a little late for the Canadian Thanksgiving, but perfect timing as the U.S. gears up for the busiest travel holiday of the year. This has proved to be both awesome and bad for me and my lady. I must admit, thanks to some delicious pumpkin pie, both at home and at Denny’s, and my famous homemade pumpkin spiced lattes… we may have put on a couple of unnecessary pounds, which –truth be told—will probably continue next week. Many of you may have noticed, or will be aware now that I’m mentioning it, that you seem to be instinctively drawn to these delicious and calorie-rich foods and, despite knowing better, seem to be putting on a couple of pounds.

I’m here to tell you: it’s honestly okay!  Enjoy the holiday season! Don’t feel guilty if you sneak that extra serving of stuffing, or turkey, or (in my case) pumpkin pie. You will cause yourself more pain fighting against what are our natural rhythms. You see, we are programmed to “bulk up” a little this time of year because of winter. Even living in the tropics for a year can’t undo 34 years of living in northern climates, or another 6000 years of evolutionary adaption to North European climates. But I will tell you that here is where most of us get into trouble: As we get through winter, in the old days, food would become less available and would need to be better rationed. Plus, it did get pretty cold, so a few extra pounds came in handy to get us through to spring. Unfortunately, what happens to us in modern times is that food is always abundant. We have tremendous technology, in both clothing and heating systems, that we stay pretty warm, so we never end up losing that little bit of holiday weight. So, how do we solve this? Well, again, one thing we can do is be realistic. Enjoy your Thanksgiving! But bear in mind: there is a difference between indulging and binging. You do not have to behave as if you will never have stuffing in your life again. But we can also exercise a little more willpower in the New Year when our system has been designed to absorb it and utilize it. For as much as there is a weekly and monthly cycle, there are yearly cycles, and the more we are aware of this, the more we can work with these cycles and rhythms. Then the happier, and healthier, we will be! To my U.S. family and friends: have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! For everyone else… You, too!