How to Survive Thanksgiving Without Gaining Weight or Feeling Guilty

There's no other holiday more closely associated with food than Thanksgiving, but many people see eating copious amounts of food as a negative.

The fact is that occasional "overeating" can be a good thing.

There's an important hormone (some term it "the Master Hormone") called leptin that decreases (bad news) when you cut back on your calories for more than a few days in a row.  

A bout of overeating—in the midst of a period of relative caloric restriction (that is, dieting)—can restore leptin to normal, metabolism boosting and fat-burning levels.

[Yet another reason why .]  

So go ahead and indulge a bit on Thanksgiving, just follow these tips:  

• Drink even more water than usual both Thursday and Friday.
• Exercise on Thanksgiving before eating.
• Eat a salad and other vegetables before the Big Meal. (Soup is even better.)
• Get right back on track Friday. If you insist on eating leftovers, eat them in normal portions, not like it's Thanksgiving: Round II.    

Happy Thanksgiving!