Thanksgiving has historically filled many clients with dread. Somehow folks get the idea that one day of a little extra food and a few drinks will undo everything they have worked so hard for in the gym.

That isn't true. Just like working out one day won't get you in shape; one day of extra calories won't destroy your fitness.

​However, that doesn't make navigating the holiday a breeze. For those of us who have contentious gatherings to look forward to, work on the next morning, or to outrun other bargain shoppers on Friday: here are 3 key factors to taking Thanksgiving in stride.

If there is one habit I get the most push back on, it's counting calories.

Every client at one point or another has told me tracking their daily calorie intake is not possible. First of all, it is. But that doesn't matter if a person isn't going to do it.

Fortunately, the goal with the calorie counting habit is not to have every client tracking their intake every day until the end of time. The goal is to make them aware of how many calories their meals contain and recalibrate their concept of serving size.

Which brings us to today's topic. There is an easy way to build your meals so you can skip calorie tracking and still lose fat.

What is "functional training"?

Is it using a Bosu ball? Is it TRX exercises? Is it plyometrics? Is it all three?

You wouldn't know it to listen to the trainer at your local gym, but functional training isn't a standardized training method. 

Building functional strength is totally subjective. Depending on your injury/health history and training goals; "functional" takes on a different definition.

I've put together some criteria to help you decide what "functional" training looks like for you.

Yes, you have a Spider-Sense. Only we regular folks call it the Autonomic Nervous System. 

And much like other super powers, it can be a double-edged sword.

Once upon a time, this fight or flight response saved our skins on a daily basis. That's back when most stressors were more along the lines of giant bloodthirsty predators. Nowadays, our stressors are bills, traffic, your phone ringing, and prolonged periods of work stress. 

The problem is, our fight or flight response reacts to all these new triggers the same way. Unlike Spidey's spider-sense, your nervous system can't assess where your stress comes from and give a metered response depending on the kind of stressor. It's all or nothing. Even worse, prolonged stress responses create a web of negative effects.

Learn to manage your stress responses or instead of saving your life, they may accidentally destroy it.