A Bloated Brit on Thanksgiving

Despite not being American, I think Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. I like the family emphasis, the positive atmosphere of the occasion, and the way that each family seems to have put their own spin on the traditions of the holiday. I also like the food. However, I am especially fond of Thanksgiving because I treat it as a challenge to see how much I can eat.

This was to be my fifth Thanksgiving in America and up until this year I had celebrated it with a different family each time. On all four previous occasions, the hospitality shown by my hosts was remarkable, as was the quantity of food I ate – I have yet to sit at a Thanksgiving table where someone has eaten more than me. This time I knew the competition from last year and I knew that out-eating them would not be difficult. However, I still wanted to challenge myself and that meant working up a serious appetite on Thursday morning.

I began with a 45 minute cycle ride, during which I battled against some tough head winds. Next up (after baking a pecan pie) was a four mile run that I ran rather quickly according to some small children out cycling with their family. “Good job!”, “You are fast!” they remarked when I was stretching after I had overtaken them earlier. Finally, I hit the weights and busted out a ‘beach workout’ consisting of upper body weights and ab exercises.

It was all going according to plan, as when I emerged from the shower I was tremendously hungry and ready to devour anything that might get wafted under my nose. Some cheese and shrimp for appetizers whetted my appetite further and by the time we sat down for the dinner I was poised like a coiled spring.

Two enormous plates later I declared myself full, although later that evening I somehow managed to find the space to gorge on a slab of pecan pie with ice cream and felt considerably bloated for the remainder of the day.

It was a day full of working out and eating. It was a great day. 

Working out to work up an appetite for turkey and
trimmings is very much part of my Thanksgiving tradition.