On Tuesday night, I was driving home along the bank of River Des Peres here in St. Louis.
It’s a 4-lane road. And I had a lane between me and the river. A car passed on my three…no big deal.
Then, like the Dukes of Hazzard, he veered right towards the water, hit a little bump and went airborne into the river.
It scared the bejesus out of me.
Clearly, I just saw a guy die.
When I doubled back to help, I saw two things: 1) A car, right-side up, three quarters of the way submerged, and 2) the driver walking up the bank without a scratch on him.
Turns out he was an Uber driver who had just bought the car. And that is what he was upset about. Not the fact he almost met his maker.
When I drove home, I was so thankful that he was okay.
And selfishly, really thankful that I didn’t have to live the rest of my life with the image of human life being extinguished.
And then, went down the rabbit hole of all the other great things in our lives we should be thankful for.
So, crazy story. But all is good.
Now, speaking of thankful…
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving (in ‘Merica it is), so how do we wake up Friday morning not feeling like a total piece of garbage?
First off, no matter how large and awful one meal is, it isn’t going to make or break your fitness goals.
But, I get the feeling a good portion of our Crew gets a little anxious about the upcoming smorgasbord of food and drinks.
Especially if you’ve been on a great kick and don’t want to derail your momentum.
Don’t panic!
[This applies to guys’ weekends, golf trips, vacations, etc.]
Here are three strategies to keep you “on track”
1. Eat Fewer Calories Leading Up To Thanksgiving
Today and tomorrow, eat fewer calories than you normally would.
Like I said, your fitness goals are not made or broken at one meal, or one day – it’s dependent on the longer trend over weeks and months.
But think about this…every calorie NOT consumed today and pre-dinner tomorrow means MORE “free” calories you have to spend on Thanksgiving.
Short yourself 500 calories today and tomorrow and you’ll have banked 1,000 calories, or three pieces of pumpkin pie.
An easy way to do this: skip a meal today and tomorrow.
2. Stay/Get Active
Make sure you work out, walk, ride the bike, exercise, etc. today, tomorrow, and hopefully in the morning on Thursday.
That does two things:
First, you’re less likely to put as much garbage in your body if you’ve worked hard.
Second, exercising burns even more calories so you are in a bigger caloric deficit when you strap on the old feedbag.
An easy way we do this: our family has been doing a Turkey Trot for 50+ years the morning of Thanksgiving. It’s a 5-mile run/walk that gets your day kicked off on a positive, healthy note (don’t worry about the chili, cheesy potatoes and cold suds after the run:)
3. Enjoy It – Then Get Back To Work
During one of our coaching groups a few years back, some of the guys came up with #nevermisstwice and we’ve been using it ever since.
Meaning, you’re going to miss a workout for whatever reason – it’s gonna happen. But, you never miss two in a row.
You may eat like a garbage can for a day, but never two days in a row.
An easy way we do this: on Friday morning when you wake up a little fuzzy and bloated, reach for the healthy leftovers like turkey and veggies. Get your body moving, and you’ll straighten yourself out.
That’s it.
And I cannot stress that Enjoy It! is the most important strategy on the list. Thanksgiving comes around once a year, so relax, live in the moment and be thankful for all the great people you have in your life.
And be thankful the Uber guy is still here – that would’ve really ruined his family’s Thanksgiving.
Monday, you’ll be right back at it like nothing happened. Kinda like that memory-erasing stick in Men in Black.
Remember, we do the work, so we can play.
Stay STRONG,
Jeff Pelizzaro
PS – If you want to lose fat, then you need to do two things to be in a caloric deficit.
First, eat less calories than you burn. AND second, exercise to keep your furnace burning calories.
Thankfully, everything you need to workout is in the 18STRONG Membership, which is now just $99 for ALL of our programs – just pick the one that’s right for you now. Then, progress to the next step and the next.