Wendy and Debbie share a Thanksgiving Gameplan to help you rethink how you come to the table this Thanksgiving. We cover fasting, detox, post indulging ideas, and finding joy at the table.

Debbie  00:00

Here we are just about a week away from Thanksgiving, and we wanted to give a game plan for Thanksgiving, because people tend to have these ideas about what they're going to do in order to be able to indulge on Thanksgiving, and lots of people end up not feeling so great.
You don't have to indulge.
 

Wendy  00:21

Just the idea that you're going to over indulge is a tradition or a pattern that might be a family pattern or influence just because of the community that you celebrate with. And I think the first idea is that you don't actually have to over indulge. 

 

Debbie  00:44

Exactly. That occurred to me several years ago when I realized this is just another dinner. There just happens to be a lot more people gathered. And then I really enjoyed it, and I ate slowly, and I didn't over indulge, and it was so much more enjoyable. I tasted the food and it was wonderful. And ever since then, I've been enjoying my Thanksgiving dinner so much more in the past several years because of that. 

 

Wendy  01:09

Coming to the table mindful can be a game changer for people. So number one, you don't have to indulge. 

 

Debbie  01:22

Yes, you don't have to fill up your plate. Maybe with small amounts, and if you want to add a little bit more, do that. This year doesn't have to be a huge, over indulgent feast. 
Don’t skimp on eating that morning.
 

So another thing I know people do, and I probably did this years ago, is I would skimp on eating the day before and again earlier part of the day on Thanksgiving to save space for the meal.

 

Wendy  01:57

But what happened when you “saved space?” 

How, how did you feel coming to the table?

 

Debbie  02:02

Well, then you're coming to the table starving, right? And that never works out well. 

 

Wendy  02:10

It's not a recipe for wise decision making when it comes to our choices of food? 

 

Debbie  02:15

Just like it's not a good idea to go to this food market starving. You end up spending a lot more money.

 

Wendy  02:21

We make fun of this word hangry, right? Hungry + angry, but that's the truth. And if you're in a social situation and you're hangry, tensions are high. So just don't skip on your breakfast. Don't skip meals the day before. Just eat normally and feel good going to the event. Feel good and well nourished when you come to the table already.

 

Debbie  02:47

And that will almost guarantee that you won't overeat. If you're mindful the day of, you won't be so starving that you'll just be shoving things in your mouth. You don't want to come to the table super hungry. You want to come to the table ready for a meal, not hangry. That's not a good place, right?
Connect with Nature
Wendy  03:05

This is a quick podcast, but a couple more ideas. Plan on going for a walk after your meal with or without your family. Go out into nature and get super connected with the outdoors, if that's a possibility for you, because that can help with your digestion. 

 

Debbie  03:32

Absolutely good for your digestion. That was sort of a normal thing for humans to do for so many years. So get up and go walking, and maybe you won't feel that coma tired that a lot of people feel after Thanksgiving.

 
Enjoy and savor. Let go of guilt.
Wendy  03:52

I think Thanksgiving can be a time of special foods, and maybe we eat a little bit more rich foods. Maybe we do actually have more dessert and options on the table. So we're not saying don't have fun with all that. We say, go all in and enjoy the cranberry sauce or the extra stuffing, and enjoy every bite. Really savor the time at the table with people, and maybe you could even spark up some interesting conversations and have that feed you at the same ti...