There’s no doubt about it: when we think Thanksgiving, we think food. Period. We dream of tables heaped high with golden turkey, mounds of mashed potatoes, savory stuffing and baskets piled high with warm bread rolls. And then there’s a lot of sitting — sitting around the table, around the TV as football teams charge across the screen, maybe going to see that movie that was released Thanksgiving day or paging through the ads for Black Friday deals. The result?

We let those countless calories sit and melt onto us like the spoonfuls of gravy that drown our plates.

So if you’re considering going to the movie theater, instead of adding 1,000 calories of salty movie theater popcorn drenched in butter to the already-overwhelming amounts of turkey protruding from your stomach, get up and get moving.

Haul out the holiday decorations

Nobody likes climbing through the dusty crawl space or digging through heavy boxes to find those buried decorations from last year, but you will usually find something interesting and the physical activity will hopefully bring you out of your post-turkey coma. Of course, this is reserved for those who are at home for the holiday — but maybe you could spread some Thanksgiving cheer by helping your grandparents haul out their decorations. ‘Tis the season.

Gear up for Black Friday shopping

Use those stored-up calories for the rush of the Black Friday crowds. A typical shopper can walk up to 2.96 miles and burn about 150 calories per hour — but depending on the urgency of the deals, the dash for the last product on the shelf, not to mention the many bags to carry, can significantly increase that number. Put on your walking shoes, my friends, and let the holiday shopping begin.

Organize a friendly family game of flag football

Whether you want to believe it or not, professional football will go on without you watching. Peel your eyes off the TV for an hour or so and let some calorie-burning fun bring the family together. According to LIVESTRONG’s fitness page, you can burn about 526 calories per hour playing flag or two-hand touch football. Notice the words “friendly” and “flag” in front of football. A visit to the Emergency Room would certainly put a damper on all the festivities.

Do the dishes

Yep, loading the dishwasher for 30 minutes can burn 105 calories, according to FitDay.com. It’s the best revenge on the lazy family members parked on the couch.

Lose the chair

It’s no secret that the amount of calories shoveled into your body will far outweigh the meager work of lifting the fork to your mouth. But if you let dear old Aunt Agnes take that last chair, or bite your tongue when cousin Joe snags that last cozy space in front of the TV, you will burn 50 calories more standing than sitting per hour, according to LIVESTRONG’s weight management webpage. And they’ll think you’re just being polite.

Enjoy the day 

Ultimately, Turkey Day is about a whole lot more than just the turkey. The number one travel day of the year is meant for just that: making the journey to see family and friends and pausing for that one day to remember just how much we have to be thankful for. So don’t stress yourself about one day of indulgence; the Boston Globe said the average American will consume over 3,000 calories (almost the equivalent of one pound) during their Thanksgiving Day feast, and I don’t know anyone who would be willing to spend six hours playing flag football with the family to burn it off. So enjoy the company, the food and the holiday atmosphere, and remember to laugh — a study from Vanderbilt University found that you can burn 50 calories with just 10 to 15 minutes of sustained laughter.  

Maggie is a junior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].