Thanksgiving is just a few days away and most Americans plan to spend it stuffing our faces with turkey and watching football. We then follow that with eating desert and late night leftovers into the next day. Overeating is almost felt to be our patriotic duty on Thanksgiving! Most will wake up on Friday morning with indigestion and a few extra pounds. Sadly, we will continue this pattern throughout the holidays and wake up in January, ten to twenty pounds heavier! How do we break this holiday tradition? How can we survive the holiday without gaining that requisite 5 pounds or so? Here are a few tips from your favorite doctor:

1. Run your local Turkey Trot road race. This is a great annual tradition in many families. Think about it, no matter how fast or slow you run, after completing a 5K or 10K Thanksgiving morning, you can basically eat almost anything you want! If you can't run, then at least take a brisk walk that morning. This will start the holiday off on the right foot and get you in a good mood to survive your friends and family!

2. Drink lots of water instead of wine or beer. Water helps fill you up so you won't feel so hungry when that late dinner finally is ready. Have only one or two glasses of wine spaced throughout the day. This will keep the calorie count down and keep you out of trouble.

3. Be light on the gravy. Have you ever looked at how many calories are in that turkey gravy? A little gravy goes a long way!

4. Eat the white meat turkey and forgo the heavy dark meat. Even though it's my favorite part, it is packed with calories.

5. Chew slowly and talk constantly! (I never have any problem with this!) Have fun with your family and keep up a brisk conversation. Chew slowly and keep talking, you will eat less and get to know them better!

6. Just say no to the multitude of desserts! It's OK to have just a bite of this or a bite of that. It will not offend anyone if you don't eat an entire piece of each of five kinds of pie!

7. Cheer for the Cowboys! This may not help you keep the calorie count down, but I'm from the Dallas area, so it's a necessary part of the holiday! If you actually watch the game, you will spend so much energy cheering "the 'Boys" that you won't eat as much!

8. Spend your holiday giving back. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Deliver meals to the elderly. You will be blessed ten-fold and definitely will not over eat when you realize how many people go without every day!

These are just a few tips on how to survive the Thanksgiving holiday without packing on the pounds. Happy Thanksgiving!