Time to work off that turkey

LOLITA HARPER

Get up. Get up off the couch and go do something active.

(Wait.... Wait until you are finished reading this, then go.)

If you are anything like me, Thanksgiving Day included at least

five hours of football, a wonderful spread of delicious foods and

desserts, concluded with the time-honored, ceremonial act: the

un-buttoning of the pants.

Ah, the joys of doing nothing, while your stomach gleefully

processes five times its normal daily allowance.

But today it has hit you. Your waist feels a bit thicker, your

seat a little softer -- there’s a little more love to handle.

You might do what too many people do around this time of year and

throw in the towel. You could succumb to the seduction of the holiday

season -- with all its silky eggnog, sweet candy, comforting baked

goodies and warm pies -- and tack on another 10 pounds to be lost

starting Jan. 1.

Or, you can get a head start by making a proactive effort to not

only ward off those looming, holiday pounds but get a jump on

shedding the weight that mysteriously reappeared after last year’s

resolution to lose five pounds.

It’s not hard.

Let’s start with today.

Feeling a little heavy?

Need a boost?

Do something.

Go walk around the Back Bay. Play tag with your kids. Walk to the

dog. Rake the leaves. Mow the lawn. Toss the football around,

reenacting glorious moments in the Detroit-Green Bay game.

Run, jump, hop, skip, play, lift, leap. Pick a verb, any verb, and

just do it.

That’s what people like Alana Stein and her cohorts at the VERB

organization suggest.

VERB is a national campaign to get people to move and is managed

the national Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. The

five-year campaign encourages people to find a verb, or several

verbs, that fit their personalities and interests and to use them as

a launching pad to better health, she said.

Cool. I picked out my top three verbs: shop, shop and shop. I’m

feeling healthier already. But seriously, even shopping is better

than sitting around on your tuckus all day, VERB officials say.

Yeah, and the way we shop at this time of year just adds to the

exponential caloric burn. The long walk from your parking space, from

which you can barely make out the name of the store you are heading

for. The inherent muscle toning that comes from dragging 15 bags

through the mall. Having that last minute dash for the very last

bottle of lavender exfoliating body scrub. And -- if you are really

trying to burn some calories -- the ensuing brawl that could follow.

Oh, yeah, um, where was I?

Anyways, the point is to get up and get a move on. Trust me,

you’ll thank me when New Year’s Day rolls around and you save your

resolutions for more important things, such as finding a good lawyer

to defend you against that silly assault and battery charge at Bath &

Body Works.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or by e-mail at

lolita.harper@latimes.com.