This article is NOT about portion control on Thanksgiving. Nor is it about swapping lower fat versions of your favorite ingredients to make your Thanksgiving meal healthier. Isn’t that a relief? Although finding ways to make your Thanksgiving dinner healthier can certainly be beneficial for you and your loved ones, there are also other ways to have a healthier Thanksgiving. And since at Philly Powered, we are ALL about your moves, your way, we wanted to get you to think about how to get your family moving on Thanksgiving.
I know, I know. On Thanksgiving, we watch the parade, give thanks, spend time with our families eating way too much delicious food, enjoy holiday libations, and watch football. Why mess up a good thing, right?
Well, this Thanksgiving, why not start a new tradition of integrating some kind of movement into the day? Give thanks that you still have the motion of your limbs by using them! It doesn’t have to be strenuous or complicated. You could go for a walk or start a neighborhood game of touch football. Play a family game of HORSE. Challenge the young bulls in the family to a dance off. Snatch those earphones from your niece and show her how you used to jump double dutch back in the day. Play a game of Just Dance 2015 on the Wii or pull up YouTube videos of the latest dances and learn how to “Hit the Quan”. (It’s easier than you think.)
Just 30 minutes of dancing, football, walking, or other activity will help you to meet physical activity guidelines, burn off all those calories from dinner, and improve your mood. Even if you don’t feel like “playing”, just going for a walk after dinner has its benefits. Who knows, maybe your new family tradition of movement (Can we say “Smith family Soul Train Line”) will be more popular than grandma’s macaroni and cheese.
Check out how (and why) Philadelphia Healthy All-Star, Syreeta Bacon, has learned how to be active with her family.
