Two Fit Family Fun Activities For the Thanksgiving Holiday
My Two Favorite Holiday Activities the Whole Family Can Enjoy Before Eating Turkey
November 1, 2022
Quadeera Teart
My two favorite holidays of the year as a kid were Thanksgiving and Christmas. It really wasn't about the food, it was about the time I got to spend with my family laughing, watching movies and engaging in all the holiday break activities.
I come from a large family on my mom's side. I spent lots of time with my family growing up. My aunt's had activities lined up for me and my pack of cousins every weekend and the holidays were no different. I don't know exactly when it began, but somewhere around my teen years, someone in the family implemented kickball as a Thanksgiving activity.
Throughout my teen years I remember fun activities like kickball, bike riding and running races being implemented either the day of the holiday or the day after, when we all gathered back around the table to finish all the food we didn't finish the day before.
In this article I'm sharing two of my fit family fun favorites to help you and your family get moving, burn calories and curb appetite or cravings this Thanksgiving holiday.
The Great Thanksgiving Day Family Morning Walk
Studies from the National Library of Medicine show that aerobic exercise such as running, cycling, and swimming decreases appetite by changing the levels of hormones that drive our state of hunger. We've heard it several times, food affects our mood, but so does exercise. Before we fill up on all the traditional unhealthy foods of Thanksgiving drenched in sugar and salt, let's give our brain, body and hormones a little help with a heart pumping walk, run or aerobic activity all the family members can benefit from.
Day After Thanksgiving Yoga
My family is filled with so many different creative types. One of my cousins Aaliyah was all about the yoga life and would do everything she could to get our aunts and other family members active in the yoga lifestyle. Since we were gathering for the second Thanksgiving Day meal anyway, she'd propose we all come in our stretch pants get some stretching (Yoga) in before we engage in our second day of turkey, stuffing and all the fixings. What a blessing she was to us all.
You can round everyone up the day after Turkey Day or the day before to keep everyone, even Grandma, feeling well before, on and after Thanksgiving.
Here's an idea: Before you start cooking, send out a Zoom link and start streaming a yoga Youtube video the whole family can enjoy. Yoga can be a real heart pumper, but the most important part is what it will do for your brain and body. The movements will help your body release exercise brain chemicals such as dopamine and endorphins that make people feel happy. It's important for us to get the happy hit from healthy practices so it will continue to reproduce after its kind throughout the holiday. Holidays can be fun, but for some they can also be stressful. Getting everyone involved in a mindful heart pumping exercise can help manage stress, alcohol and food consumption.
Other ideas you and the family can enjoy:
An After Meal Bike Ride
Relay Race
Young vs. Older or Men vs. Women Kickball
Pumpkin Pie Swim - only the winners get to take a whole pie home
Dance Baby Dance
The holidays are about making memories and passing along tradition, so be creative. A tradition of healthy fun is one of the best gifts you can give to your family to create a legacy of health, wealth and prosperity. Here's to your family's health and wellness this holiday season.
About the Editor
Quadeera Teart is the Publisher and Wellness Curator of Feel Well Magazine.She loves teaching wellness and women-owned companies strategies to increase visibility and credibility through multiple forms of media. She's had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Harriet Cole, former editor-in-chief at Ebony Magazine, TV Personality & Wellness Entrepreneur, Yandy Smith-Harris and led brand initiatives for the celebrity non-profit, Honey Shine, Inc., a non-profit founded by Tracy W. Mourning. You can stay connected to her by subscribing to Feel Well Magazine and by following her personal page on Instagram.