Our annual homage to the peace feast that supposedly went on between the English pilgrims and the Native Americans has gotten a little overblown, don't you think?

Research has shown that the average Thanksgiving meal can range between 2,000 and 3,000 calories. This shouldn't be surprising considering the preponderance of deep fried turkeys, four cheese macaroni and sweet potato pie that grace many family tables each holiday season. 

Despite what you may think, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We are truly blessed to live in a free country of overabundance. There is, indeed, much to be thankful for.

The problem with Thanksgiving, however, is that it's a tipping point. Thursday's mega-dinner turns into Friday's leftovers, then Saturday's excuse not to workout, and next, the holiday party binge and then (the crescendo), get in shape and eat better end up on the resolution list AGAIN.

The Thanksgiving feast can be likened to eggs and bacon. At some point in our rearing we were conditioned to label these items as 'breakfast foods' when in actuality, you can eat whatever you want for breakfast without consequence. The same applies to our holiday meals.

Although I wasn't present, I'm going to hypothesize that the first Thanksgiving meal was devoid of deep fryers and baked macaroni. Yours can be too. A tradition is simply a habit passed down from generation to generation. Some habits are bad and should be replaced.

This Thanksgiving, let's exercise a little restraint and tone the dinner down a bit. Instead, let's relish the many gifts we have to be thankful for, including our health!