t’s Thanksgiving. One of the most celebrated holidays in American culture, and, for good reason. Most of us are off work, spending time with family and friends, and overindulging. Typically, this overindulgence is associated with the over consumption of foods, but if you think about it, most individuals “overindulge” in sedentary behavior too-particularly on Thanksgiving. These behaviors remind me of my favorite quote:

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him…we need not wait to see what others do.”

~Gandhi

Many times in life, we allow our environment to change our behavior. Today, we challenge you to behave in a way that changes your environment. Be the person amongst your family and friends who initiates activity and healthy behaviors. Below are some fun ways to spend quality time with your loved ones while being active:

• Play a game. If you are lucky enough to live in warm weather (shout out to CA), bring the family outside for a game of touch football, 3 flies up, or to shoot some hoops. If you happen to be freezing, and therefore staying indoors, plug in the Wii or put on some great tunes and start your own dance party (you know you want to).
• Go for a walk or run. One of my favorite family traditions is getting up early Thanksgiving morning and participating in the Sacramento Run to Feed the Hungry race. Some of us run it, some of us walk it. Not interested in doing an organized race?  That’s ok- just head outside before or after dinner and take a stroll with family or friends.  Either way, it’s a wonderful way to bring everyone together.
• Clean the kitchen! You’d be amazed how many calories you can burn by staying in the kitchen after everyone eats and cleaning up (A 150 lb person burns over 150 calories per hour while washing dishes). Again-make this a family affair. Having the family help clean not only keeps them active (away from the couch) but it also allows for more time to socialize with one another.
• Play with your dog. If you have a dog, you know what it’s like to have them look up at you with those sad eyes, wishing you would play with them. So, rather than feeling bad and giving them a treat when they look at you like that (yes, we’ve all done that before), take them outside and throw the ball, go for walk, or simply stay inside and use their favorite toys to get everyone active.

Lastly, we’d just like to add how thankful we are to have such wonderful people around us. To our family, friends, and wonderful people who follow our blog, have a fantastic Thanksgiving. Remember, be the change you wish to see in this world!