Manic Monday ~ The Teeter Totter: Balancing calories in and out!
It's inevitable that we, Americans, will ingest more calories this month due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I'm not saying we should plan on consuming the average Thanksgiving caloric number of 4,500 (yes!?.. Quoted from the Calorie Control Council). We certainly should NOT plan on consuming that amount, but rather still enjoy our favorite Thanksgiving offerings with a mindful perspective. I have already begun balancing what I call my "teeter totter." I use this "teeter totter" effect every time I enter a season of barriers. The teeter totter basically is a method that my clients and I use to work around our barriers. I firmly believe that incorporating a healthy diet and including good exercise programs and activities are the key components to maintaining a healthy life. Sometimes, however, people can become limited to these components due to injury, medical reasons, work issues, and life's unexpectancies. When this happens, there often is an imbalance with either the healthy diet, the exercise, or both! But, don't throw in the towel! Readjust!
For the holiday season, I begin adding in several extra mini exercise sessions throughout the week. I know that Thanksgiving will be a little hefty for me. And although I do not anticipate eating 4,500 calories, I can assume that I will consume more calories that day than the usual daily intake. I forecast about 800-1,000 more calories (hey, that's a little over 3 slices of pizza by the way). My normal daily intake is 2,000 calories. So 2,800-3,000 is about what I believe I will have by the end of the day. So, I have been strategically tipping my teeter totter on the heavy side of exercising right now. I have been walking off an extra 300-350 calories per week for all of November. 4.3 weeks x an average 325 cal. = 1,397.5 calories burned. And I need to do this so that when my teeter totter goes heavy on food consumption this month, well.... I will be able to balance it out! There are other ways to tip the teeter totter when needed. One of my best friends actually grabs a group of ladies the day after Thanksgiving and runs an extended workout class designed to burn off many of those extra holiday calories. I went one year....and it rocked! I felt awesome afterwards as the guilt of extra calories was gone. The other way to tip the teeter totter is to be disciplined enough to eat small portions and treat thanksgiving as a normal meal. This means no seconds, avoiding a stacked plate like you would have at an all-you-can-eat buffet, and passing up Aunt Martha's pecan pie.
Whatever your choice, make it work to your advantage. The goal is not to walk out of this season feeling defeated. You can be in control. You can come out ahead!
So, teeter totter away! It can be a wild ride, but it's worth it!
Have a GREAT weekend!
~Rachel Zimmerman
