The Holidays, or for some people, "Hey, clean eating, go fuck yourself."

In America it's that time of year again.  The time where you hang out with family members who seldom come around because, though you might not want to, it is the "right thing to do."  That time of the year where it gets a little bit cooler outside, and all the kick ass television shows and movies start to show up on your TV screen. 

One of the best Christmas movies ever. 

It is also the time when gym memberships decline for a bit because everyone is busy with "the holidays."  Don't worry though, they have a resurgence some time after 1 January for some strange reason. 

For a lot of people the holidays mean it is now easy to eat like you're at a Roman orgy again.  I have no idea why this happens other than the fact that it is vastly easier to eat shit than it is to eat something good.   But if you have been on a decent eating plan for a while, there's no need to fuck yourself by eating nothing but shit between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

I offer you readers some simple solutions to make your holidays food filled, and not wrecking to your diet.  And if you want, you can even take Thanksgiving off from your training--I won't, as I really like pumping iron--but it is acceptable. 

A dietary transgression I frequently dream about. 

First off, if you have a body, you can exercise.  So you can still work out even when you travel. 
Second, plan how you eat.  You don't have to be nit picky about it.  I will use my self as an example, since I am dieting fairly strictly at this point in time and plan on doing so for a while. 

At this point of the Ketogenic diet, I cheat one or two times a week and refeed myself with clean foods on Saturday and Sunday.  What if, let's say, I timed a cheat meal to coincide with Thanksgiving day? Lo and behold, my glycogen gets replenished and my leptin levels too. And maybe I can have some turkey the next day.  Why the fuck not? It's Ketogenic friendly. 

Moreover, one can be overly pedantic and carry their bland, skinless, and weakening chicken breasts in a tupperware container on days like these--there are stories of it happening floating about somewhere.

My personal chef.  She sucks at cooking, oddly enough.

This kind of behavior can be as bad as fucking your diet in the ass by eating bullshit.  Half the fun of eating is eating with friends and family and talking shit to each other about who knows what.  If you alienate your food choice, your family might as well look at you like a leprous pariah for A. Turning down good family fun and food and B. Being a pretentious asshole.  If John Berardi can get down on a cheat meal the serious of the serious dieters and weightlifters should be able to as well.  Shit, there is even an anabolic effect to them.  So hang with your family and don't be an alienated dickweed. 

Here is how it will go down for me: I will probably cut down to one cheat a week or more before Thanksgiving day.  I will undereat a lot on the Wednesday before, and taking my cue from Ori Hofmekler (who talks about the good of overeating followed by undereating in The Warrior Diet) I will eat my face off on Thanksgiving day.  I will then eat lightly the following day (resuming my ketogenic dieting) and go back to normal, thereafter.  I will repeat this for Christmas, and my birthday in January.  Eat, drink and be merry, friends.