Tomorrow is one of my favorite days in the whole year. A day of Thanksgiving with family and friends, enjoying everything that we’ve been given, including wonderful foods like turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and so much more. What a great day to sit back and eat more than one could hardly bear!

Someone told me yesterday that the average person gains 5-8 lbs. over the holiday season. As I am continuing working on losing weight over the next year, I do not want to gain back the weight that I have worked hard to lose over the last few months. I’m hoping to simply ‘break even’ and consider that a success for the holidays.

So what are some ways that I (and you if you’re in my boat) can keep the holiday weight off? Here’s ten things I’m going to try:

1. Control My Portions:
Probably my biggest issue. I can enjoy more of the variety of holiday foods if I eat less of them in their portions. I have to get over my goal-oriented sense of eating and simply enjoy the food, but in smaller portions.

2. Lighten the Load:
Many of the holiday foods can be made with less sugar and fat. Here are some suggestions:
# Use fat-free chicken broth to baste the turkey and make gravy.
# Use sugar substitutes in place of sugar and/or fruit purees instead of oil in baked goods.
# Reduce oil and butter wherever you can.
# Try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in creamy dips, mashed potatoes, and casseroles.

3. Eat Breakfast:
I know this seems counter-productive, but having a little food in your stomach when the big meal comes helps one control their cravings better and keeps you from overeating. It also prevents your body from storing your Thanksgiving feast into more fat because you’re not eating on a consistent basis.

4. Save Your Seconds:
Try to eat everything you need and want in one helping and resist going back for seconds. Save them for leftovers the next day, when you can enjoy them more and feel like you’ve overeaten less.

5. Get Active:
Create a calorie deficit by exercising to burn off extra calories before you ever indulge in your favorite foods, suggests Connie Diekman, MEd, RD, former president of the American Dietetic Association (ADA). “‘Eat less and exercise more’ is the winning formula to prevent weight gain during the holidays,” Diekman says. “Increase your steps or lengthen your fitness routine the weeks ahead and especially the day of the feast.

6. Slowly Savor:
Eating slowly, putting your fork down between bites, and tasting each mouthful is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your meal and feel satisfied with one plate full of food, experts say. Choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, salads, and other foods with lots of water and fiber add to the feeling of fullness.

7. Spread out the food and fun all day long:
Rather than eating all of the food in one hour, enjoy your meal throughout the day. Take a walk in between the meal and dessert, put out appetizers before the main meal, you will be able to enjoy the food over a longer period of time and keep curb your appetite more effectively.

8. Be Realistic:
Switch from a mindset of ‘weight loss’ to ‘weight maintenance’ over the holiday season.

9. Focus on the Holiday Foods:
Save room (and calories) for the foods that only come around once a year! Don’t waste tons of calories and space on foods that you can eat any time of the year.

10. Focus on Family and Friends:
While the food of the holidays is tough to beat, the real focus during this holiday season should be on people. Spend time with family and friends, give to the poor and the hungry, and remind yourself that its about so much more than great food.

Good luck in your battle! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow, Oregon and Arizona are playing in the same dirt! They’re each trying to grow their own garden of fresh roses, hoping to earn the right to play Ohio State in the prestigious ‘Grand-Daddy of Them All’: The Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl, part of the BCS bowl series, is in the sights of both Arizona and Oregon and tomorrow night’s game could potentially determine the Pac-10′s representative. Amid the mess that is the Pac-10 conference, only Oregon and Arizona control their destinies.

Jeremiah Masoli, quarterback for the Oregon Ducks, has been gardening for roses the entire year. His glimpses of greatness last year were colored by his lackluster performances, particularly their season opener against Boise State. Masoli has ‘found his niche’ in the on-slaught attack of the spread offense created by head coach Chip Kelly. His ability to run the ball is well complemented by his ability to get the ball into the hands of quick and agile running backs and receivers. He has been more consistent and made good decisions with the football. In an article over at ESPN, Coach Kelly comments, “Early this season, he tried to take a lot of the load on himself. Now he realizes that we’ve got some weapons around him,” Ducks coach Chip Kelly said. “He’s got a better understanding of managing the game and not forcing issues. Just kind of letting things come to him. He made some really smart plays on Saturday [against Arizona State] just throwing the ball away in the red zone.”

A leader’s ability to not force issues and try and take too much of a load on themselves is an important concept to highlight. Many leaders feel an inaccurate burden that they have to ‘do it all themselves’. And, in a culture where a person has to create their own destiny, often we overwork and overburden ourselves into isolating ourselves from others. A good leader understands that part of their role is to allow the talented people around them to do their part, fill their role. When Masoli was willing to allow other players to make plays, it opened up a vast array of attack possibilities for the Oregon Ducks, make their offense arguably the most explosive in the nation.

Masoli and the Ducks will do well on Saturday if Masoli continue this trend and allows other playmakers to make plays. Leaders, in turn, will find greater success when they allow the talented men and women around them to share leadership, responsibility and success.

After three weeks of not posting, I’m thinking its time to get ‘back in the saddle’. Its been an interesting three weeks, a fall lull in the middle of the ‘season’. Often times we fall in and out of those rhythms that we create in our lives, I suppose that it was one of those times that I fell ‘out of rhythm’. Nevertheless, its time to get back on track.

As I attempt to make this ‘comeback’ I think its important to reflect on some of the greatest comeback qbs and what made them so great at comebacks. Interestingly enough, the great quarterbacks, are also the great ‘comeback’ quarterbacks. There is a direct link between their ‘greatness’ and their ability to launch comebacks, to bring their teams from behind when no one thinks its possible, to have the poise and concentration in the face of defeat, and to come out on top.

In light of the Patriots/Colts game this past Sunday, when Peyton Manning brought his team back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win the game with only a few seconds left, what is it that Manning, Favre and others do that make them so successful in comebacks?

1.They Believe: No comeback can be launched unless the person’s involved ‘believe’ that they can acheive victory. This belief must be based on a personal confidence and desire to overcome the fear of defeat to replace it with the triumph of victory.

2. They Inspire: The belief that a comeback can be accomplished must be a shared vision between players. Manning, Montana and other comeback greats can look their teammates in the eyes in the huddle, tell them that they’re going to win, and the other players believe them.

3. They Perform: Perform in the sense that, when the chips are down and the comeback is on the line, the comeback kid has the experience and skill to make the play that needs to be made.

4. They Rejoice: Comebacks are worth being celebrated. Everyone loves a come from behind victory (except for Bill Bellichek) and when the clock strikes 0 and the comeback victory has happened, the dream and belief that started in the beginning of those comeback moments, those victories must be celebrated!