How to basically survive Thanksgiving

After years of being vegan, then vegetarian, then eating meat in an effort to balance my health and stomach issues, then going back to vegetarian and working again towards veganism (whew, that's exhausting, isn't it?), Thanksgiving is basically the worst. It stands for the positive remembrance of a systemic genocide that began with an act of goodwill on the part of those sonata slaughtered. It is celebrated with the slaughter of animals that would be a genocide if they weren't bred specifically to be tortured and killed for this holiday. We give thanks for all we have, hopefully, and yet waste so much on food and poor nutrition and sleep it off, avoiding awkward conversations with relatives.

Americans eat an average of 4,000 calories in one sitting, then make a vague Facebook post thanking their family for supporting them through this or that, before passing out in front of the parade or football game on TV. There have been a number of articles this year on how to curb that calorie count, so I won't get into them here (you can find some helpful tips here or here, though). But I will tell you how I survive the holidays.

First, I try to not think so hard about what the holiday stands for, and instead truly, honestly reflect on how thankful I am for all I have in life. I am so fortunate. In addition to the things beyond anyone's control such as race, nationality, able-bodied status, and other things that put my at a general advantage in the world, I am loved, and have the ability to love. And it's all mutual! That's the best part about it. The people who I love are the same as those who love me. I'm also sheltered in a home I don't fear losing, and it's warm (right now the dog is laying by the heater sucking up all its warmth, so it's not at warm as it could be). I'm also on track to do what I want in my life, with my time and my energy, and that is such a truly rare and wonderful thing. I have an imagination and despite the beginning of this blog post, a hearty dose of optimism flowing through my veins. I'm thankful to have so many places ready to serve me food today.

But that food. This is where the trouble starts for many people. They want to have one of everything, to be polite, then go back for seconds of what they enjoyed because hey, it's Thanksgiving, why not indulge a little? A few hours go by, some drinks are slung back, and that stretched out stomach has had a chance to burn off just a bit of that food, just enough to give the feeling that more can— nay, should— be consumed. So turkey is picked at while the pies are brought out, and the whipped cream is dolloped on, and maybe ice cream. People pass out at 7 p.m. or sooner, then wake up at 11 and make a small plate of leftovers, feeling justified since they'd only really had one meal that day. But that one meal was over twice the caloric amount of an entire normal day.

Quick tips:

• Make the focus truly on mindfulness and giving thanks. Focus on all the love you feel around you, and if you're celebrating alone and indulge out of a feeling of loss, focus on your love of self and the other things in your life that are positive, or that you hope to make positive. Spread that love into the world.

• Make a plate the size you ordinarily would. Don't gorge yourself needlessly. But if you make a plate that looks on the light side, mentally you'll have an easier time justifying seconds, thirds, and fourths.

• Only eat the things you actually want and enjoy. If you don't really like mashed potatoes, you don't have to eat them just because Aunt May made a big bowl. 

• Start with the vegetables and fibrous foods and work around from there. They are more nutritious and filling than what else may be on the table, so you'll be less inclined to eat extra stuffing.

• Bring a healthy dish. If you can't be sure there will be anything healthy at your Thanksgiving meal, if you know your family is the type to completely drown everything in butter, salt, and sugar, then bring a dish you know you'll enjoy eating and that has a high nutrition value. No one else likes your roasted quinoa pilaf stuffed squash? More for you, and that means less pressure to eat poorly. Even better, some of your relatives may actually enjoy that dish, and you could start a new tradition of having healthier foods at your holiday meals.

• Get moving. Tag, touch football, ultimate frisbee, or an active video game will get the blood flowing while still bonding with family. If that isn't an option, go for a walk. I take my dog with me to my mother-in-law's house. They love each other and he's part of the family, but an added bonus is that when I start to feel stuffed and lethargic, I can take my pooch for a quick walk around the block. It gives us an opportunity to get some exercise and fresh air, plus he can relieve himself of his doggly duties.

• Be selective. If there are a bunch of desserts spread about, choose one or two to sample. Make some rules for yourself if that's helpful, such as only eating home made desserts, or only eating holiday specific desserts. Going in with a plan ahead of time will make it easier once you see the dessert table and your sweet tooth starts salivating.

• Don't take the day too seriously. It is, after all, just one day. While you'll thank yourself later for being mindful of how you treat your body, one day of indulgence isn't going to make you unhealthy, just as one day of exercise and calorie counting isn't going to make you healthy. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you truly have a wonderful holiday.

Roadside Attractions (to be or not to be)

I drove to Washington, D.C., yesterday for the Women & Biking Social Event, sponsored by Rose Physical Therapy and headlined by Molly Hurford and Peter Glassford. I'll get to the event (which was awesome) in a moment, but a big problem so many people have with road trips is maintaining nutrition. I both passed and failed at this, in the way life is a series of grey areas, and maybe talking it out will help us all learn together what can be done differently. Truth be told, I did know what I was doing wrong as I was doing it - the lesson is in listening to that voice that say, "you can just walk away now and no one will know you were here."

So I left the house around 7:30 and the drive was beautiful. Before I left, I uploaded some new music onto my phone, made a bunch of coffee, concocted a quick shake, and threw a few sports bars in my bag, knowing nutrition would be an issue for the long day of driving and seminars.

The good news is that I didn't need to stop at Starbucks or pick up some crappy and chemical breakfast food on the go. I also stopped halfway through to grab some fresh air, relax my eyes (and bladder), and do some quick calisthenics. Sitting in a car for that long - sitting anywhere, especially at a slant - really upsets my tailbone and getting up and moving can relieve some of that pressure from my spine and make my muscles relax. I'm starting to figure out that when my tailbone hurts, especially now that I'm also coordinating with an injured shoulder, and the weather is colder, it affect other parts of my body, including the middle of my back. When the muscles in the middle of my back are tightened, they pull at my spine and make the stenosis painful, and it's easy for my to feel the debilitating pinched nerve I so fear. I should have done more, stopped more often, but I was nervous about potential traffic in DC and didn't want to try my good luck. I stretched out some muscles and got the blood flowing on the side of the highway, and that's at least a good start.

A couple moves I like to do that aren't too distracting to other travelers: cross-legged jumping jacks (with or without arms, depending on how my shoulder is feeling), one-legged squats, and jump lunges. These can all be done next to the car without having to touch the ground, which can be covered in broken glass or other unpleasantries, and don't attract too much attention. On longer trips, I've also carried a kettle bell.

We had a lunch scheduled, and I had timed my shake and half bar so I'd get hungry right at 1, so that I wouldn't be snacking on unhealthy bits or too ravenous at lunch. This kind or worked out, as I was hungry right around 1 p.m., but lunch was significantly (from my stomach's perception of time) delayed, and I started to get hangry. Luckily, I still had the other half of the bar left in my bag and no heads rolled, nor were tears shed - a legit victory. 

As a group, we went to Shake Shack, another sponsor of the event, but they didn't have anything that was both vegetarian AND gluten free, so I got french fries. Having a whole day in the car, being stagnant, fries wasn't the best option, but I was in a bit of a bind, as everyone else was already eating. So that was the first misstep. I will say, though, that those fries were damn good and definitely filled me up, despite the small portion. I suppose an immediate injection of ~1000 calories will do that to a body.

Fortunately, Rose PT had an incredible spread of food, including a warm bean dip, hummus, tortilla chips, and fresh vegetables. This was a great switch and a healthy provider of aminos, fats, salt, carbs, and more. The second misstep was that they also had candy spread around the room. I took a couple modest handfuls of jelly beans and kept my distance from the rest. Then the pumpkin custard was brought out. By the time I needed to hit the road for the long drive back to the 'Burgh, Claire, the owner of the center, had filled a cup of caffeinated tea and another of jelly beans and chocolate covered espresso beans. That's when I knew I had officially failed the "healthy travels" portion of the blog post I was previously excited to write. On the drive home, I was slightly disappointed with myself for the snacking, and mainly driven to get home and not freeze my butt off. The temperature had dropped to 23 degrees, according to a man at the Somerset rest stop who just announced that to the air as if his divine watcher had asked. When I come up with a series of exercises that can be done inside without causing total embarrassment, or even in the car, I will certainly let you all know.

I finished a marathon!!!

Okay, it was a poetry marathon, but give me some credit! It took years of training, lots of support from my friends and family, and a lot of digging deep into myself to find the ability to keep going when I was tired and sore and psychologically drained.

Now that it's over, I've taken a shower and a very long nap, I'm starting to recover. Today I drank some apple cider vinegar with water and maple/agave syrup (it's better than it sounds, trust me). I also made some incredible granola. I posted the recipe earlier, so I won't clog your feed with it again, but this time I cut down on the sugars and made the apple juice fresh, and added more of it. Apple juice is a lot thicker when it's straight from the juicer, so I used it to supplement some of the maple/agave (it's also a lot cheaper). For the add-ins, I used chia and flaw seeds, cashew bits, dried cranberries, and banana chips. Here's a photo:

As a public service announcement, since it did HAIL today (ugh), I will let you fine people know that So Delicious brand Coconut Nog is now available in stores, and it is divine. So go ahead, turn up that oven to 300, and let your house warm up just a few degrees while you slog some nog and wait for your warm granola to be oven fresh.