Tag: holidays

Thanksgiving feast weight gain myth

I have an important Public Service Announcement that should be read by all before a Thanksgiving feast:

Eating one large meal will not make you fat.

Also, eating a piece of pecan pie or pumpkin pie that you normally would skip will not make you fat. Obesity is a big problem (ahem), but it’s a lifestyle, not the result of one meal. And research backs this up.

A study showed that during the holiday season including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, the average weight gain was 0.8 pounds. That’s within standard deviation — i.e., you can gain that much in a day just from normal eating. It’s not a big deal.

So my point is, enjoy your holiday feast with family. Of course, if your doctor gives you specific nutritional instructions, follow that. (This is not medical advice.) Or if you have personal convictions that you should follow, then do that. But don’t let guilt or shame or some overreaching news article keep you from enjoying a piece of pie. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Let me add to that — this isn’t about eating a lot. Actually enjoy the feast if you get to partake in one. And enjoy the people around you. It won’t all be perfect — life never is — but be thankful for what you have. And don’t let shame or guilt keep you from enjoying a feast with family. This day is unique — you won’t pass this way again.

holiday meals don’t cause obesity

As we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, there will undoubtedly be news journalists and magazine writers telling people to not overeat at holiday feasts. So let me preempt their “breaking news” and tell you to not listen to them! Eating more than normal at the occasional feast doesn’t mean you’ll get fat or that you’re a glutton. There has been actual research done on this which showed that the average weight gain for the entire holiday season is just 0.8 pounds. Look at that number — less than one pound! So don’t worry about a meal here or there. It’s your daily habits that determine if you’re overweight or not. Go ahead and enjoy the family get-togethers during the holidays. Enjoy the food and don’t feel guilty if you occasionally eat more than normal.

I’ve ranted on this before, so I’ll just link to that, which links to the actual news article with the research: holiday eating is not making you fat.

If you typically concern yourself with counting calories and saturated fat grams and such, don’t let that keep you from enjoying your meal. As I wrote above, one meal is not the problem. But if you feel the need to have restraint (like if your doctor told you to avoid sugars), then decide before the meal what you will eat and how much, then eat the meal within those boundaries so you don’t ruin your enjoyment of the meal, like I wrote about recently in my post about a bowl of chocolate versus a responsible adult. It’s a mindset strategy so you can enjoy your situation even when there’s restrictions.

Oh, and if someone wants to argue about it before or after your family get-together, you can tell them about the actual study in the news, but if they’re determined to not enjoy their meal, that’s on them and it may not be worth your time arguing about it. Just go eat another piece of pecan pie… 🙂

combining Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas

This year, it seems people got into decorating for Halloween a lot more than normal.  And as you’ve probably noticed, retail department stores are pushing the Christmas decor on us before Thanksgiving.  It’s getting crazy.  I like to keep the holidays separate — my rule is no Christmas music or Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.  But stores seem to not be informed of my rule.

Before long, these holidays will all become merged by the unstoppable commercialization process.  Figuring out how to market the holidays together might seem difficult, but fortunately someone has already figured all this out.  In the article I’m about to link to, Chris Carlisle combines Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  For a mascot / symbol, he creates a “ninja robot Mecha Santa Claus”.  If that’s not enough to get you to read the article, I don’t know what is…   Plus it’s funny, and he has a good way of explaining all this.

Holiday Ninja Action Force Unite!  [link broken]

the special days of September, pt 3

Now we’re going to continue our look at the special days and holidays in September.

  • 15 Felt Hat Day — On this day, men traditionally put away their felt hats.  That’s what this holiday actually means.  But I suspect this is an old tradition, because I don’t even know anyone who wears a felt hat.
  • 15 Make a Hat Day — Ironically, this is the same day as Felt Hat Day.  Perhaps this is when you make a new hat to replace the felt one you just put away.  Again, this seem antiquated.  Who makes their own hats?   Who even wears hats?  If I’m wanting to wear a hat, it’s to play baseball, and I’ll just wear my Boston Red Sox cap.
  • 16 Collect Rocks Day — Uhh… is this day for people who don’t have a life?   I mean, collecting can be fun, like with baseball cards or maybe even with coins or stamps, but rocks?!?   At least it would be a cheap hobby, since you can get a lot of rocks for free.  And I reckon you could build a rock garden with them, though I don’t know why you’d want to.
  • 16 National Play Doh Day — Play Doh… that sounds familiar… is that the guy who was a student of Socrates?  🙂  No, not hardly.  I know what Play-Doh is — this soft clay-like substance, where you shape it into various objects, then you throw it at your little brother.
  • 16 Working Parents Day — Working parents should get this day off work, while their kids are at school.
  • 17 Citizenship Day — I’m a citizen, so I reckon I should celebrate today.  🙂
  • 17 Constitution Day — I’m thinking the U.S. Constitution should be re-read by everyone, particularly by politicians and Congress.   We need to know what rights we have, and our government needs to protect and preserve those rights.   But as it currently is, those rights are being eroded away, and few people seem to even realize it.
  • 18 National Cheeseburger Day — This is a great use of a holiday!  Obviously, this holiday means you should eat lots of cheeseburgers.  That’s not a problem for me!
  • 18 Mushroom Picking Day — What?!?  No thanks.
  • 19 International Talk Like A Pirate Day — ARR!  This day becomes more famous (infamous?) every year.   It always made working in a corporate environment a little more fun, because several people would participate.   If only the leaders would let that kind of talk continue during meetings…
  • 19 National Butterscotch Pudding Day — I figure butterscotch pudding is good, but this seems somewhat obscure.   I like the butterscotch flavor, and I like pudding, but I’ve never had them together.  Perhaps I should research it…
  • 20 National Punch Day — Is this a day to drink fruit punch or a day to punch people?   Well, the title is ambiguous, so I reckon you can interpret it however you’d like.  I might just celebrate both!  🙂  While we’re on the topic of fruit punch, I have a quick rant.  Most Mexican restaurants now serve Hi-C instead of a real made-from-fruit punch.   What’s up with that?  If it’s Hi-C, say so in the menu, but don’t call it fruit punch.  That’s misleading.
  • 21 International Peace Day — Peace, my brotha’! We should all get along, all the time, really, but at least on this day.  So set down your weapons, put aside your grudges, and let’s drink some tea together while watching cartoons.
  • 21 Miniature Golf Day — Ah, putt-putt.  That’s one of those activities that people tend to forget about, yet almost everyone who goes has a good time.  It’s not just for kids…
  • 21 National Women’s Friendship Day (third Sunday in September) — Why do women get a day to celebrate friendship?   Do they need it?  Is there a lack of friendship between women?
  • 21 World Gratitude Day — Be thankful for this blog, which is provided to you free of charge.   You get fresh, original humor on a near-daily basis, all at no cost.  (We do, however, accept donations.  We accept cash, checks, PayPal, gift cards, cookies, and compliments.)
  • 22 Elephant Appreciation Day — Do all animals get a day of appreciation?  Apparently not, because I’ve now went through the whole year of unusual holidays, and there weren’t very many listed about animals.  So what makes elephants special?  Is it their size?  Their memory?  The world may never know…
  • 22 Dear Diary Day — Dear Diary, today I wrote on Buffet o’ Blog, and my ramblings were enjoyed by thousands of people (over time, perhaps).  It’s great that I get to share my awesomeness with the world, for free.  If only I could get paid for writing…
  • 22 First Day of Autumn — I suppose that it’s necessary to define the seasons by a set standard for record-keeping and statistics, but to me, I say it’s autumn / fall when the temperature reflects it.  If it still feels like summer, then it’s summer.  When it’s cool enough that I want to be outside during the day, then it’s fall.
  • 23 Dog in Politics Day — I don’t know… So I did some quick research, and found that it has to do with Richard Nixon’s dog Checkers.  Why his dog gets his own holiday, I don’t know…
  • 24 National Cherries Jubilee Day — WOO-HOO!  Let’s have a jubilee about, um, cherries.  I don’t get it…
  • 24 National Bluebird of Happiness Day — Once again, infamous explorer extraordinaire Burford had been mere feet from capturing the elusive Bluebird of Happiness.   The bird was walking toward Burford’s grasp, when a chimpanzee farted, scaring away the bird in a startled frenzy.  Burford usually laughs when chimps pass gas, but this time it was no laughing matter.  Burford walked over to the chimp and pooted in his face.  The chimp promptly slapped Burford’s butt and laughed hysterically.
  • 24 National Punctuation Day — It’s important to use punctuation otherwise your writing is difficult to read most businesses frown upon sloppy grammar skills thinking it reflects a lack of education they may also suspect the ungrammatical person didn’t try very hard in school so you should always use punctuation it’s really important
  • 25 National Comic Book Day — Didn’t we already have this holiday this year?  Either way, comic books should get more attention.  They tend to get a bad reputation in the media and with most adults, but they are a great art form.  Of course, some comics are stupid and/or not worth reading, just like with many TV shows and movies.  But some comics are entertaining and will even make you think.  So don’t just dismiss them without giving them a chance.
  • 27 Crush a Can Day — Why in the world is there a day for this?  I suppose it can be amusing to see someone crush a can on their head and inadvertently hurt themselves.  But a holiday is not needed for that.  Who decides which days get to be holidays?
  • 27 International Rabbit Day (fourth Saturday in September) — Is this a day to celebrate rabbits?  Or is it a day to have rabbit stew?  And do all parts of the world even have rabbits?
  • 28 Ask a Stupid Question Day — Ah, this one is interesting.  Think of a stupid question, then ask someone.  You can ask us here at Buffet o’ Blog, using our Contact Us form.  We may not have the right answer, but we can give you an answer.  🙂  I realize some people have said there is no such thing as a stupid question, but they have never worked in tech support.
  • 28 National Good Neighbor Day — Do we need a special day for this?  Ideally, no, but probably.  So here’s what you do — be friendly to your neighbor, ask them if you can help them with anything, or bake them some cookies.  But at least be friendly.
  • 29 Confucius Day — You’ve probably heard a lot of those “Confucius say” quotes.  He actually said some good things, if you look at his actual quotes, but you can search for them if you’re interested.  I’ll include just a few of the funny (non-quote) ones.  Confucius say man who run behind car get exhausted.  Confucius say man who push piano down mineshaft get A flat miner.  (A word of warning to anyone in that mineshaft — if you don’t C Sharp, you’ll B Flat!)  Confucius say people who make Confucius joke speak bad English.  🙂
  • 30 National Mud Pack Day — What’s a mud pack?  Is that where women cover their face with mud and put slices of cucumbers over their eyes?  That’s silly.  Although, if you’re paying someone to cover you with mud and vegetables, that’s even more silly.  (But think of what kind of profit margin those businesses have!)

Well, that concludes our look at the special days and holidays in September.   I hope you found some that you could celebrate.  Click here to search for the other posts on the special days of September.