It’s time for the first major battle in the 2011 Holiday War: Thanksgiving.

If you’re just joining us, the entire “aProven” family has Declared War on the Holiday Season. Specifically on what it does to us: The stress. The weight gain. The general un-healthiness of it all.

The objective in our war is to make this a meaningful, memorable time for all the right reasons. Come january we want memories, not extra pounds. We want smiles, not stress.

So here are some strategies for the first major attack: Thanksgiving Day.

1. Fuel up. Don’t skip breakfast in order to “save calories” for the big feast. The last thing you need is to be starving and cranky. That doesn’t make for positive memories, and it makes it harder to stick to your plan for the big meal. A quick omlette or boiled egg (be sure you get protein) will keep your energy up during prep time.

2. Get moving. It’s a lot harder to get people active after the big meal so why not schedule some family fun right before? A football game, turkey trot, even just a quick game of tag can get everyone’s blood pumping and burn some calories in advance. Plus, it can create some wonderful memories.

3. The Bird. Skip the deep-fryer and stick with good, old fasioned baked turkey. Skipping the skin cuts 10 calories and 2 grams of fat for every ounce you eat. Turkey happens to be one of the healthier items on the menu so feel free to enjoy a full serving, especially if you stick to white meat.

4. The Bird has dangerous friends. The other items on the table are not necessarily as good for you as the turkey. There are some healthy treasures hidden among the abundance, so hit those first.

5. Make it count. Studies show we get the most enjoyment from the first bite of a food. After 2-3 bites we’ve gotten all the pleasure we’re going to get. Eating more than 2 tablespoons of any food is like continuing a bad romance after the passion has died. You’re getting calories with no payoff. Time to cut your losses and move on to a new dish.

We’ve got more strategies in our Holiday War. In fact, we’ve got a full, 5-Phase Battle Plan that we think will help make this the most memorable Holiday Season Ever. And as a Registered user of the website, you can have it for free.

Click here to download the Battle Plan.

Happy Thanksgiving!