One indulgence I'm not getting rid of

When it comes to dieting and fitness, everyone has certain items they give some leeway to.

In my case, that leeway is popcorn.

I won't lie, I'm a bit of a movie fanatic. I love watching them, whether it's action, comedy, drama, romance or Robert De Niro. I have a sizable collection at my apartment, I just signed up for Netflix two weeks ago (either the best or worst thing to happen to me recently) and I'm a regular at the Hy-Vee Red Box down the street. I also take full advantage of the fact that the Maverick 4 (cheap seats) theater in Mankato is within walking distance from my place.

With this love for movies comes a love for snack food to munch on while watching said movies. Like any other movie traditionalist, I enjoy my popcorn while indulging in cinema goodness.

Of course, as you can probably guess, popcorn doesn't exactly jive with my exercise-oriented lifestyle. Most bagged popcorn is pretty reasonable calorie-wise, but it's a high-carb treat and, depending on your need for butter, it can be pretty darn unhealthy. Movie theater popcorn -- and all it's salty, buttery glory -- can be downright artery clogging. (here is a link to the nutritional values of various types of popcorn, some are bad enough to make you gag).

Like anybody else, with summer (hopefully) around the corner, I'm conscious about keeping the weight off in the hopes of having a non-ghastly beach body come July. For the most part, I'm taking the necessary measures to do so. I've halted my late-night snacking habits, I've been avoiding fast foods, and I'm cutting down on trips to the bar (more so a cost-saving measure due to work furloughs, but still). I've also ramped up my exercise schedule lately (just signed up for the 7 at 7 trail race a couple weeks ago, that's keeping me motivated).

I will go to decent lengths to keep myself feeling healthy and fit. However, ditching popcorn isn't one of them. To me, a movie without popcorn is like a car without a radio: still serviceable, but not nearly as enjoyable.

Besides, being healthy doesn't mean much if you're not happy. And without a little indulgence here and there, it can get pretty tough to be happy.

Thanksgiving calories reviewed

They might call it Black Friday, but at this point, I'd prefer to call it Full Friday.

At present I'm sitting in my pajamas, watching TV and trying to let my stomach recover from the onslaught of Thanksgiving. Going for run is about the furthest thing from my mind at this point. Heck, walking across the street might even be beyond my ambitions at this point.

Like any other Thanksgiving, I indulged a little more than I should've at dinner, with gravy topping everything from mashed pototoes to stuffing and the pumpkin pie tin becoming well-aquainted with the digging of my fork. And since I didn't need to worry about driving anywhere upon arrival to the dinner, alcoholic beverages were also on the menu.

For the sake of entertainment and education, I carried around a pad of paper and a pen for the day and took down the calorie intake of all things consumed. I did this by either looking at the nutritional value on the containers of things I was eating/drinking, or by looking them up on this website. By the time I finished adding everything up, I felt like John Belushi in the cafeteria scene in "Animal House."

Here is how the calorie content for the day breaks down:

• 1 fiber bar - 140 calories
• 1 bowl of generic raisin bran cereal - 260 calories (note: the cereal and bar were consumed before I arrived at the actual Thanksgiving dinner)
• 2 glasses of white zinfandel - 292 calories
• 2 servings turkey - 660 calories
• 2 servings ham - 376 calories
• 3 servings mashed potatoes - 333 calories
• 3 servings gravy - 300 calories
• 3 servings stuffing - 330 calories
• 1 serving fruit gelatin - 243 calories
• 1 rum and Diet Coke - 80 calories
• 3 dinner rolls - 270 calories
• 3 slices of pumpkin pie - 810 calories
• 4 cans Bud Light - 440 calories
• 1 slice of apple pie - 400 calories
• 1 slice of oreo pie - 470 calories
• 1 serving peanut brittle - 180 calories
• 1 White Russian - 360 calories
• 1 margarita - 325 calories

Total calories consumed for the day: 6269. According to the exercise calorie counter I have on my blog, it would take roughly seven hours of biking 14-15.9 mph (around 100 miles of total biking) or a little more than seven hours of running 7 mph (8:34 mile average and more than 40 miles of total running) to burn off the calories.

With that in mind, I think I'm going to go hop on the treadmill for awhile

Thanksgiving: The day dietary inhibitions flew out the window

Loosen up the ol' belt, grab a dinner plate and don't skimp on the gravy.

Thanksgiving day is upon us, and with it comes generous helpings of turkey, stuffing, casseroles, pumpkin pie and whatever else your heart (and stomach) desire. Add in a side of football and a dash of beer to watch those gridiron contests with, and what you have is a recipe for dietary disaster. According to this article on health.com, an average person will consume around 2,500 calories over the course of Thanksgiving dinner, or roughly the high end of what's considered a healthy daily intake for physically-active adults.

(side note: The article above lists pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes -- two of my more favored Thanksgiving helpings -- as healthy eating options for the nutrition-conscious crowd. Not sure if their nutritional value holds true after the multiple servings I'm sure to indulge in, but there's some good news!)

Granted, you can always say no to second helpings and that extra-large slice of pecan pie for dessert. But in my experience, it's hard to turn down a helping of the dish your aunt spent all day preparing, unless you want to deal with glaring looks from across the dinner table. Besides, there's only so many occasions where you have the opportunity to try such a wide variety of food, albeit foods that have varying degrees of nutritional value.

Consequently, I've already chalked up the day as a loss for any discernible diet I may have been on. I figure a day of indulgence is an acceptable vice, so long as it doesn't send me down the slippery slope of the holiday eating season, where family dinners and cold weather conspire to send health & fitness into hibernation.

As far as the marathon training is concerned, the current version of the Minnesota Timberwolves has a better chance of beating the '96 Chicago Bulls than I have at getting a 10-mile training run in on Friday morning. So I've been mindful to plan ahead for my "Turkey day hangover."

I put in a hard week of running (36 miles) last week, put in a fair amount of time at the gym and ran 16 miles so far this week. I'm also hoping to squeeze in one last workout before driving up to my parent's house for dinner in the morning.

Aside from that, I'm just going to enjoy the holiday, enjoy the company, and most of all, enjoy the food.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!