Health Fitness and Weightloss Lifestyle

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. Everyone knows that this is the biggest shopping day of the year. Everybody and their mother is going to be in the streets shopping, trying to get the best deals on the best products so that their families will be outfitted with the best gifts on Christmas Day. Thanks to all that shopping, The Day after Thanksgiving has become the best exercise day of the year. You definitely get in more than an hour of cardiovascular activity while you are strolling through the malls, and if you are buying anything you are definitely walking around with bags which means strength training exercises. That’s right, the more you buy, the more strength training you are doing. A full day of shopping, in fact could be equivalent to a workout on your Smooth Fitness machine.

A full day of walking through the malls could be enough to not only burn off the food that you ate the day before on Thanksgiving, but enought keep you from having to get on that Healthrider until next week. So do your part, contibute to a healthier you and a healthier economy and get out and shop today!

So much has been said about what you can’t eat on Thanksgiving Day, so we thought we’d add a healthy and delicious Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie Recipe that we found at eatingwell.com.  It has 80% of the amount of Vitamin A that you need in a day so it is a healthy little treate. Hope you and your family enjoy it!

Ingredients
Crust: 30 small gingersnap cookies, (about 7 1/2 ounces), 2 tablespoons raisins, 1 tablespoon canola oil
Filling: 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, 2 pints (4 cups) frozen low-fat vanilla ice cream, softened.

Preparation
First, preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray. Next, prepare the crust: Combine gingersnaps and raisins in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add oil and pulse until blended. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Thirdly, bake the crust until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Fourth,prepare the filling: Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well. Add ice cream and stir until blended. Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Finally, let the pie soften slightly in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay so we know that Thanksgiving is all about the food, as was mentioned in a previous post.  However, that is not going to keep us from giving you the facts. Take them for what they are worth, but don’t let them keep you from enjoying your Thanksgiving Day meal. #1: Potatoes. Potatoes may be delicious in your mouth, but they are the quickest and easiest way to lay on the pounds. Potatoes are starchy and don’t give you that much nutritional value. #2: Cornbread anything. Cornbread is another one of those starchy items that will have you fatter than fat in no time flat. The only problem is that cornbread is what a lot of people use to stuff the turkey with so how you are going to avoid eating it is unclear. #3: Cookies. Unless you are on the Cookie Diet, you do not need to eat lots of cookies on thanksgiving. Sugar is a no no on Thanksgiving especially since you aren’t likely to do anything to burn the calories that sugar creates.

#4: Soda. Soda is one of the worst things you can put into your body and for some reason people think that Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to cram 5 or 6 sodas down their throats in one afternoon. Not ok! Soda is packed full of sugar! It’s diabetes waiting to happen. So If you don’t want to be on a Diabetic Diet, don’t do it.

Thanksgiving is just about 2 and 1/2 weeks away and people are already beginning to get ready for the food fest that is going to take place on that day. Truth be told, there is nothing overly healthy about this day. People are going to be eating all kinds of stuff all day long: turkey, dressings, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, corn on the cob, green beans, casseroles, pumpkin pies, sweet potato pies, and more. Not to mention the beverages of every kind that are going to be had on this spectacular day dedicated to family and food. The only working out that will be going on won’t be on a Freemotion treadmill or on  Bowflex machine, it will be a working out of the mouth and men and women alike sit around the dinner table, around the television screen for the big football game, and in the kitchen chatting about every topic imaginable.

In fact, the healthiest part about Thanksgiving Day has nothing to do with food, with diet or exercise. The healthiest part of Thanksgiving is the fact that it’s a day spent with family and friends. It’s a day spent in the company of those we love and care about most. It’s a day to sit back and relax, to break bread in good company, to socialize and enjoy being with the most important people in the world. So take a day off from a healthy physical lifestyle on Thanksgiving day. Don’t do any workouts on your Total Gym. Enjoy the gifts God has given us. Happy Thanksgiving!