This Thanksgiving… Give Your Diet the Day Off!

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.

It’s more laid-back than Christmas, the weather hasn’t become bitterly frigid yet… and it’s a food lover’s dream come true!

But with more and more people going on diets that are more and more restrictive, we are losing our enjoyment of this holiday, worrying excessively about packing on the pounds due to the massive quantities of tasty food available.

So I’m throwing on my cape and tights to save Thanksgiving this year and demanding you cut loose this Thursday… in the name of your health!

Once Upon a Time…

It may sound hard to believe, but it wasn’t that long ago that everyone in the same household sat down for dinner together every night, eating the same delicious meal.

But with lives becoming more and more hectic, and dietary advice becoming more and more varied, these days it’s far more likely that everyone is going to fend for themselves each evening, only sharing a table together on rare occasions.

C’est la vie. I know what it’s like to be as busy as a madman and have different tastes than my roommates, so I’m not gonna be the crotchety old man wishing things were the same now as they were in the good ol’ days.

But I can’t help but feel like we’ve lost something in the process.

The Hidden Health Benefits of Feasting

Though I don’t do it as often as I’d like to anymore, I used to have a group of friends that would get together every Sunday, spending basically the entire day cooking, drinking cheap wine, and chowing down like it was our final meal. We had a blast and saved more money than if we would have hit up the town for a night.

And yet we all remained lean and healthy.

The French, Italians, and Spanish are notorious in the nutrient-obsessed United States for making a big deal out of eating, spending long hours in the company of friends and family eating fatty, cholesterol-laden, and calorically-dense foods yet remaining in excellent health compared to those of us across the pond.

Author Michael Pollan argues that the health benefits of food come not just from the nutrients in the food itself, but from the rituals that we surround eating with, and sitting down for a shared meal with friends and family may have psychological benefits that aren’t derived from any calories, vitamins, or minerals.

Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year

And yet, when Turkey Day rolls around, so many of us give up the chance to take part in this ages-old ritual and remain stubbornly stuck in our dietary habits, giving up what may be the most important part of the holiday!

Sally’s a vegetarian and needs a tofurkey, Franklin’s on the Atkin’s and can’t eat any yams or potatoes, Jerry’s on a low-fat diet and won’t be straying from the green beans and cranberry sauce, Kirk is going Paleo and won’t touch the stuffing or pumpkin pie, and Pam is IF’ing until 5:00.

Dudes, stop being a pain in the ass! No matter what diet you are on, give it up for Thanksgiving!

One Day Isn’t Gonna Hurt Anything

The best diet is the one that doesn’t make you feel deprived, which means you should make room to cut loose occasionally if you hope to never fall off the wagon.

Besides, the trepidation about the healthfulness of Thanksgiving food is pretty ill-founded. Thanks to some long-standing traditions, it’s the one day of the year you are going to find healthy food made from minimally-processed ingredients and cooked from scratch in almost every household.

So throw caution to the wind this Thursday! Load up on carbs, fat, and protein. Have seconds; hell, have thirds. Take a nap afterwards. Guess what? One day of gluttony and sloth isn’t gonna make one bit of difference in your body composition.

Plus, you’ll be reaping the psychological benefits of spending quality time with loved ones without worrying about counting calories, cutting carbs, or passing on dessert.

I know I’m looking forward to cutting loose.