pumpkin pie thanksgivingThe time is almost upon us. Thanksgiving 2011. Families everywhere are excitedly preparing their holiday menus and the multiple grocery and liquor store shopping lists. But there's one thing we as average human beings cannot prepare for, and that's Thanksgiving calorie overload.

In the moment, it's all worth it. The savory taste of juicy turkey with crispy skin and warm, gooey spoonfuls of Grandma's apple crisp are a MUST-HAVE. You find yourself thinking, A fourth piece of pie can't hurt, right? WRONG. 

So the big question is: What can we do? Fear not, my friends! Check out my 10 realistic* tips for a healthier Thanksgiving:

* Some of these tips may make you look like the biggest fool in your family. Yes, I'm including your booger-eating 6-year-old cousin.

1. Have you ever heard of a turkey trot? Of course you have. Almost EVERY single town has some sort of Thanksgiving 5K road race for charity. Not a big runner? Walking it is usually fair game!

2. Kill time before your guests arrive by doing a couple of stair climbs in the comfort of your own home. Just make sure to give yourself enough time to spruce up again after.

3. Turn up the heat, baby! Crank up that oven so it radiates into your kitchen like a homemade sauna. I can feel the inches melting off my thighs already.

4. Mix up the first side dish, do 15 push-ups. Next side dish, 15 sit-ups. Repeat.

5. Celery is a Thanksgiving hostess' best friend. While the family is downing fatty stuffed mushroom and non-Thanksgiving-related mini hot dogs, stick to the crunchy sticks and burn more calories than you're taking in.

6. That turkey's not going to carve itself. Use the drumstick as a 4-pound weight and do bicep curls while trimming the fat.

7. Strategically sit next to whatever relative of yours is the neediest. Every time they ask for something that's obviously at the other end of the table, stand up and go retrieve it for them.

8. In fact, who sits down and eats meals like a normal person these days? Eat your salad, then do 10 jumping jacks. Taste the turkey, run in place for 5 minutes. Soon, the whole family will join in the stupidity fun!

9. Clean-up is all yours, baby. Heavy dishes -- and lots of them -- make for bigger triceps.

10. PASS OUT. After you've consumed your fair share of Thanksgiving goodness, your tryptophan levels are skyrocketing and it's nap time. What's that saying? The more sleep you get, the skinnier you are? I'm sure Grandma Ida will understand that a catnap, not a round of Mahjong, is in your best interest.

Do you have any tips or tricks to keep healthy on Thanksgiving?

 

Image via Joebeone/ Flickr