Thanksgiving Without The Guilt

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to There is a Method to the Madness.
My name is Rob Maxwell, and I'man exercise physiologist and
personal trainer.
I am the owner of Maxwell'sfitness programs, and I've been
in business since 1994.
The purpose of this podcast isto get to the real deal of what
really works and mostimportantly why things work.

(00:21):
Hence the name, There Is aMethod to the Madness.
Before I get to today's show, Iwant to thank Jonathan and Lynn
Gilden of the Gilden Group atRealty Pros.
They are committed to providingthe highest level of customer
service in home sales.
Why don't you give them a shoutand figure out what your home is
worth?
386-451-2412.

(00:46):
Good afternoon, everybody, orgood morning, good evening,
whatever time you're listening.
It is afternoon for me onTuesday, a couple days before
the 2025 Thanksgiving.
I hope everybody's doing well,moving, getting ready for a uh a

(01:06):
fun holiday.
And that's what I'm going totalk about today.
So Thanksgiving is considered tobe a big eating holiday, at
least here in the United States,right?
So we do a lot of eating, we doa lot of uh, well, some of us do

(01:30):
a lot of drinking.
Uh, you know, I'm aprofessional, so I retired from
that like uh say 32 years ago,something like that.
But anyway, I'm not going to bepartaking in any of that, thank
goodness.
But uh, you know, we watch a lotof football, we do a lot of
things like that, and that's allwell and good.
But uh, you know, how do wemanage it?

(01:53):
So a lot of people tell me oftenabout how much weight they gain
over the holidays.
So pretty much I think here welook at the holidays as far as
Thanksgiving rolling through NewYear.
So that's you know what mostpeople will call the holidays.

(02:14):
And one interesting statistic Icame up with, or I didn't come
up with, but I found it as I wasdoing my research for the emails
this week and for this podcast,is people generally do not gain
as much weight over the holidaysas they think they do.

(02:37):
And what's probably true is theydon't eat any more for the most
part than they normally do.
Now, we're talking the UnitedStates, so that's not uh to give
ourselves a pat on the back.
What that really means is thatmost people eat too much most of

(02:57):
the time.
And uh that's a problem, ofcourse.
But most people think if you askthem, they're gonna say they
gained four to five pounds overthe holidays.
The statistics show that mostpeople gain less than a pound
over the holidays.
I know you might be theexception and all that good
stuff, but there does seem to besort of a disconnect between how

(03:19):
much weight people actually gainand how much they think they
gain.
So that's one little thing tothink about.
Now let's talk about the mostimportant thing regarding that.
You know, people will uh, youknow, I've been doing this 31
years or so, and uh I've beenuh, you know, asked questions

(03:41):
like this for a very long time,and it's not just about
Thanksgiving, it could be otherholidays or special occasions,
but when people are trying tolose weight or they're doing it
the right way and they're takingup a new lifestyle, so you know,
not that losing weight's thewrong way, but what I mean is

(04:04):
that when somebody combines thatwith picking up a new lifestyle
to lose weight versus going on adiet to lose weight.
I mean, the lifestyle way is thereally way to go.
But whatever way you're talkingabout, people will ask, well,
what do I do during theholidays?
I've just started this newlifestyle, I've been working out

(04:28):
with you a couple days a week,I'm doing my cardio, I'm uh, you
know, my skin's getting tighter,I'm seeing greater definition,
I'm getting stronger, I'mfeeling better.
I don't want to ruin that.
What do I do?
So that is what we are going totalk about.

(04:49):
You're gonna get different typesof opinions, of course.
We all know how opinions work.
And I'm just gonna give you myexperience with this, my
educated experience with this,because there are different
belief systems.
Now, I've known some people thatare on real stringent diets, not

(05:13):
ones that I put them on becauseI really don't believe in that.
I believe when we, well, I knowwhen we need to lose weight, we
need to create a caloricdeficit.
So we have to cut the calories,but I don't think we should be
cutting them too drastically, orwhatever we lose is probably
going to come back as soon as wequit trying to be so strict.

(05:37):
So I don't think that's theright way.
As I said, I really believe inlifestyle changes and I believe
in somewhat dropping caloriesuntil we get to our desired
weight, taking time to do it.
All right.
Uh you can read my book, YouCan't Outrun a Poor Diet.
I think I go over those rulespretty well in there because it

(05:59):
really is just behavioral rulesthat you're going to have to
master to get better at this, tomaintain a nice, healthy weight,
hopefully throughout your wholelife.
All right.
So how, well, let me get back towhat those folks would do.
The people that are on prettystringent diets, again, not that
I put them on, but I've hadclients that are either seeing a

(06:22):
physician for that or they'redoing some kind of uh, you know,
diet they found somewhere thatmost likely I didn't agree with,
but you know, let everybody dowhat they're gonna do.
So, you know, they would reallystick to it on Thanksgiving or
other holidays.
I mean, did it work for them?
I mean, I guess, like I guess itworked for them at the time.

(06:45):
I can't remember it not, but youknow, these aren't folks that
I've known for years and yearsand years.
My guess would be that it didn'twork for long, but that would be
my guess.
In other words, maybe it workedthat Thanksgiving, but then
maybe three months later.
Maybe, do not know, just reallymaking assumptions here, they
were back to an unhealthylifestyle.

(07:07):
So I've have had people be superstrict on their eating plans
over the holidays.
And personally, I don't thinkthat's the best idea.
So let me give you an example.
Let's say somebody is followingone of those really low 1100
kilocalorie diets that somepeople are getting on and

(07:29):
they're taking some hormones andstuff like that to help with
this through their doctors,whatever, that's a very low
calorie diet.
So they they set out to do thaton a Thanksgiving.
I mean, yeah, they'll probablypull it off, but again, or maybe
pull it off.
I don't think long term, butagain, what are we teaching

(07:49):
ourselves?
Are we really teaching ourselveshow to live in that gray area a
little bit better?
Like, you know, so many peoplewhen they start following plans
like this are very black orwhite.
They're either all in or allout.
And typically that's not amindset that works very well.

(08:10):
All right.
So similar to this would be abodybuilder training for
physique competitions.
Now, I've done those and I'vetrained people that do those.
And, you know, a physiqueathlete isn't going to train for
a show, say like in January orFebruary, for that very reason.

(08:34):
I mean, I don't know any thatever have because you do have to
be really strict for eight toten weeks, maybe even 12,
depending on the conditioningyou went into.
So, you know, two months tothree months, the person is
going to be really, reallystrict.

(08:54):
Really counting what they'reeating, watching their sodium
intake, their sugar intake,keeping the calories at a
certain level, keeping theprotein at a certain level, the
carbs, the fat, all of it,really paying attention because
they're really scientificallytrying to dial in the exact body
fat they want and the exactlevel of, say, skin thinness

(09:16):
that they want that will showthrough sodium intake and
bloating and things like that,that they're really controlling
through their diet.
So there's no way they're goingto do that in January or
February going through theholidays because they know
they're not going to be perfectduring the holidays.
And, you know, they tend to dopretty well as far as that goes,

(09:38):
like year-round maintaining areally healthy weight.
They tend, as athletes, to doreally well.
You know, again, I'm justspeaking in general.
I'm sure there's, you know,anomalies with them like there
is everywhere.
But it's very similar.
You know, it's like, I justdon't think it's a great idea to

(10:00):
try to be perfect on days likethat.
All right.
So we've seen the extreme.
And then the other extreme is,you know, all the hell with it.
I'm going to do whatever I wantto do when I'm going to do it.
Now, here's my caveat to that.
Again, most people that kind ofadopt that mindset are that way

(10:21):
all the time, anyway.
And there's no such thing as afree lunch, no pun intended,
meaning that if you just dowhatever you want to do,
whenever you want to do it,food-wise, alcohol-wise,
whatever, there is going to beconsequences.
And the consequences is going tobe weight gain.
You will not get around it.

(10:42):
I don't care how active you are.
So if you're one of those peoplethat says, you know what, I'm
going to get up in the morning,I'm going to eat as much coffee
cake as I want.
I'm going to have as much baconand scrambled eggs as I want.
And then, you know, um, mypartner puts out a bunch of
mixed nuts and cheeses andcrackers, and I'm going to eat
that until I'm stuffed.
And then I will uh, you know,we'll have our lunch or dinner,

(11:05):
you know, a turkey smorgasboardof everything that there is
stuffing and mashed potatoes andum whatever, a cornbread.
Man, I make myself hungry here.
Green bean casserole, pumpkinpies, pecan pies, cherry pie.
Uh, you know, maybe there'sdrinks going around, and I'm
just gonna eat until I'mnauseous.

(11:27):
And then, you know, I'm gonnaget my lazy boy and pass out as
I watch a boring football gamebecause so often we get sleepers
on Thanksgiving for some reason.
Maybe, you know, I'm puttingthat out there, and all of a
sudden the football gods willgive us a good game for once on
Thanksgiving.
That would be awesome because Ilove football.
And then wake up from that uhturkey coma and uh, you know,

(11:49):
have a turkey sandwich on ryewith loaded with mayonnaise and
another piece of pecan pie, andI'm gonna consume about 6,000
calories today, and you know,I'm not gonna pay the price for
that.
Well, yes, you will.
But again, people that tend togo overboard like that do it all
the time.
I don't know too many peoplethat try to be really health

(12:12):
conscious that are gonna gooverboard that much.
But guess what?
Here is the best news of theday.
There is a gray area, people.
One of my rules I tell peopleall the time is eat 80% good,
80% of the time.
I mean, that's pretty easy,right?

(12:33):
Like, if we do that all thetime, you know, like I would say
that's what I do.
Like, I don't eat perfect allthe time.
I'll have some ice cream here orthere, I'll have some foods I
shouldn't eat here or there, butlike I eat well 80% of the time.
And I don't try to eat the best,greatest food all the time, you

(12:57):
know.
Again, it's gonna go moretowards that 80% really, really
clean diet every day, 80% of thetime.
And again, you can't measurethat.
I get it, it's kind of just away for you to think about it
that you're gonna eat good mostof the time.
That's pretty much what thatmeans.
And if you think about that onThanksgiving, you know, it's

(13:20):
it's not what you eat once in awhile that's gonna put weight on
you.
I try to tell people that allthe time.
Like, you know, your mom comesover, you haven't seen her in a
while, and she brings you somekind of like nice cake that she
made, and you've been trying toeat good and you've been eating
good all week.
You know, no, having a piece ofher cake isn't going to kill

(13:44):
you.
You don't have to cut the cakein fours and have a fourth of
the cake, you know, you can cutit into eighths or sixteenths or
whatever and have a small piece.
I mean, that's not going to hurtyou, so you don't have to be so
perfect all of the time.
We go to a lot of sportingevents, you know, football,

(14:05):
baseball, basketball, all of it.
And um, if you go to stadiums,you know there isn't great food.
I mean, there's decent food, butthere isn't great food.
I'm not gonna turn down one ofthose nice, like super
sweet-looking soft pretzels.
I'm gonna have one.
I mean, they're good.

(14:26):
I don't have soft pretzels everyday.
I don't go to a game every day.
I'm gonna have one of those.
Or like uh if I go to YankeeStadium or something like that,
or another baseball or footballstadium, I might get the vanilla
ice cream in one of their littlesilly helmets, you know.
I mean, that's what I'll do.
I I don't, there's certain foodsI don't eat because it's pure

(14:48):
crap.
Like I don't eat trans fats, Idon't eat uh red meat for me.
I like there's certain things Idon't eat, but like I'm not
gonna stay away from things thatI really like all of the time.
I don't eat pizza every day, butif I'm in New York City or
somewhere, I'm gonna get a sliceof pizza, or even if I'm here.

(15:08):
I mean, so we don't have to besaints.
So I want you to enjoy yourThanksgiving, understanding that
you don't have to be a saint andmaintain a good fitness level.
I promise you, studies haveshown that it's not what you eat
once in a while that puts theweight on, it's what you eat

(15:31):
every day.
It is your staples.
And there's something cool thathappens in the body.
It's called the set point theorythat you can make work for you.
So the set point theory saysthat your body gets really
comfortable at a certain levelof kilocalories.
Now, ideally, it's best to tryto raise this set point theory,

(15:52):
which you can by basicallymaintaining a good, healthy
weight and exercising, you canraise that level.
But what it means is that yourbody really, really likes
homeostasis.
So it likes to stay at a certainweight.
So what it will do is if youconsume, say, two to three to
four hundred calories extra in aday that your body's not used

(16:12):
to, your body's gonna do apretty good job of revving
everything up and burning itoff.
Now, if you do that every day,it's not gonna do that.
Eventually that catches up withyou.
But because you do it onlysometimes, you only go over your
needs, you know, every once in awhile, maybe once a week,
something like that.
It's not gonna cause you anydamage.

(16:35):
At the same time, it's not goodto just simply binge, binge,
binge on Thanksgiving becausethat's not good for your
digestive system.
You're probably not even goingto enjoy it.
And if you really want to enjoyit, slow down when you eat.
That's your body's way of nottaking in too many extra
calories.

(16:56):
You want to enjoy it, right?
So don't eat so fast.
Now, a couple things here as Iwrap up.
Number one, this isn't true foreverybody.
Some people have diagnosedeating disorders, so they have
to be really, really careful.
There are certain foods, it'slike alcohol to an alcoholic.

(17:16):
Once it touches the lips, theycan't stop.
So there are certain people thatdo have these diagnoses, and you
know who you are, and only youknow who you are.
So, yes, you do have to becareful because there are
certain sugars or whatever thatif you start to eat, you may
start to overeat.
So, for you, you need to listento your professional on that

(17:39):
because it's sort of a slightlydifferent rule system there.
Another thing is remember move,move, move.
The average person burns atleast 150 calories a half hour
of walking.
So if you really want to enjoymore, move more.
If you want to play footballwith the family, studies show

(18:00):
that that burns anotheradditional 500 calories.
So the more you move, the moreyou can enjoy.
And by the way, it really doesaid digestion to walk before, to
walk after.
It's simply good for the system.
All right.
And you know, just this is justsomething that I like to do.
Um if you really want to thinkabout really getting into the

(18:22):
spirit of the holiday, talkingabout Thanksgiving here, you
know, a nice little gratitudejournal gets the soul set on
fire for you.
You know, wellness is aconnection of body, mind, and
spirit.
And I just think like if we gotup and no, I'm not trying to
preach to you, or maybe I am,but you know, whatever, you can
turn it off if you want.
But for me, it really, reallyhelps to just kind of like get

(18:46):
up and write down just thingsthat are really good, you know,
things I'm really grateful for.
You know, it's Thanksgiving, youknow, it's not, you know, eat
turkey and watch football day,you know.
Just sometimes things like thatwill change your whole
perspective on how you'relooking at the day.
And that could really, reallyhelp you.
You know, that's just my fivecents on that.

(19:07):
So I hope everybody enjoys yourThanksgiving, and I appreciate
each and every one of you.
All right, thank you everybodyfor listening to today's show.
I really appreciate it.
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