4-Day Guilt-Free Thanksgiving Plan
It’s crunch time! The final plans are being put on the Thanksgiving holiday menu.
Tomorrow will be filled with plenty of tempting indulgences, but the good news is that you can enjoy your Thanksgiving meal while maintaining your waistline. With this 3-day guilt-free Thanksgiving plan, I’ll guide you through a daily solution to stay on track so you don’t de-rail your healthy habits. Each day for four days, I’ll guide you through a simple way to burn 400 calories.
DAY 1…Shake It Up Before Lunch!
Before lunch, shake up your day with a protein-packed smoothie from my Protein Shake Diet Plan. Protein shakes are a refreshing way to jumpstart your day, and a perfect on-the-go option, which will come in handy on this busy day. Sip on your shake while you’re doing prep work for your holiday meal (don’t miss my Thanksgiving recipes!). Keeping your blood sugar balanced by having adequate protein will keep you from nibbling throughout the day.
Vanilla Chai Protein Shake Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 ripe and frozen banana
8 oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk (Optional: replace 4 oz of milk with 4 oz of chai tea)
1 serving vanilla protein powder
½ tsp powdered ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
dash of: pepper, cardamom, ground cloves, and nutmeg
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
Place all ingredients in blender and mix together. Add ice to thicken or chill.
GO THE EXTRA MILE – Rev up your metabolism from the 30-min walk from day 4, and polish it off with this 10-min total body toning routine!
DAY 2…Thanks-Slimming Prep
Before you eat yourself into a “food coma,” join a local Turkey Trot 5k! Gathering with your community and running, walking, or jogging in the fall weather is a fun way to burn off a few calories with your friends and family.
If running’s not in the cards for you, boost your metabolism from the 30-min walk from day 4, and polish it off with this 10-min total body toning routine!
When you return home, start prepping the Roasted Kambocha Squash Salad from the Thanks-Slimming menu. Ever wondered how to remove the seeds from a pomegranate (without driving yourself crazy)? Check out this video with Chef Jason Kieffer’s easy tutorial.
DAY 3…Burn & Firm
After you wake up, and before you dive into those leftovers, and begin your day with two tall glasses of water instead. Re-hydrating after you wake up keeps your metabolism at its peak. In fact, a study from The Journal of Clinical Endoricnology and Metabolism found that drinking two cups of water increases your metabolism by 30% after 30-40 minutes. Remember to keep drinking throughout the day!
Then, take time today to kick-start your calorie burn with 10 mins of a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout. Not only does HIIT training burn maximum amounts of fat, but it also stimulates your HGH (Human Growth Hormone) levels by up to 450% in the hours after your workout. This is wonderful news because HGH is the lovely hormone that’s responsible for increasing your caloric burn levels and making you look younger. Try this HIIT clip from my FastFit DVD.
Once you’re done, head outside for a 30-min fat-burning walk (from day 4).
DAY 4…30-Min Fat-Burning Walk
Find time today to fit in this brisk walk!
5 minute Warm-Up Pace
3 minute Aerobic Interval – Push slightly more than your steady-state pace
3 minute Recovery Interval – Catch your breath and get ready for the next interval!
3 minute Aerobic Interval – You can do it!
3 minute Recovery Interval – Time to take a breather. Walk more slowly, but don’t stop!
1 minute Anaerobic Interval – For one minute, walk as fast as you possibly can! On a scale from 1-10, you should be pushing yourself from a 7-9.
3 minute Recovery Interval
1 minute Anaerobic Interval
3 minute Recovery Interval
1 minute Anaerobic Interval
3 minute Recovery Interval
5 minutes Cool-Down Pace
When you’re done, rev up your metabolism with this quick 10-minute total-body routine here (it’s free).
Calories burned and saved today: 450
