A time of giving, not gorging

The holidays are upon us and this the time when the diet goes out the window never to be seen again until the New Year's resolution.

Like many people, I spend my Thanksgiving holiday with my family and the in-laws. I come from an Italian family and we love to cook, eat and shoot the breeze with each other for hours. While I love this fact about my family, it poses quite a difficult challenge when trying to live a healthier life.

Traditionally, our Thanksgiving meal consists of the usual turkey, stuffing and green bean casserole. However, we also have spaghetti, rigatoni and about an entire table full of various desserts. The common conception about Thanksgiving is eating until the button on your pants is hanging on for dear life; then you take a nap and eat some more. But that doesn't have to be the case.

This year, I am going to try to pay more attention to my portion control.

It is unreasonable to expect anyone to completely adhere to a strict calorie- counting diet and intense workout regimen during Thanksgiving. That being said, control should not be thrown out the window. This year I don't need that second helping of mashed potatoes, or the third trip to the dessert table to make sure I sampled everything.

One of the things I have learned from reading various articles and magazines is that if you are distracted by, let's say a football game, while eating, you are more likely to ignore the signs that your body is full.

I love football just as much as the next guy and I can't wait to watch as much as I can on Thursday, but I'm going to attempt to refrain from watching the game while I eat, perhaps spending time with the family talking about days gone by and days to come would be better for that 30 minutes or so.

I wish everyone the best of luck as they approach the most difficult time of the year to maintain a healthy diet. Happy Thanksgiving.