It's the most wonderful time of the year! The holidays are a time for family, giving, and, the best part, food. My mouth is already watering for my grandma's homemade stuffing and my mom's mac and cheese. Every year, I eat a Thanksgiving meal with the family at least twice that day so I can fit all of the family into one day. It's as if my stomach has no limit, which is a good and a bad thing. It's good because I get to taste all of my favorite foods, but eating a whole tub of banana pudding has it's downfalls. I feel like I gain at least ten pounds by the time the holidays are over. Here are some helpful tips to feel less guilty about clearing three full plates of food with your family this Thanksgiving.

1. Wear stretchy pants.

Trust me on this one. It looks a lot less awkward than unbuttoning your pants in front of Grandma and Uncle Joe. Not to mention, you won't even notice that you can hardly move because you won't be able to see your Thanksgiving Muffin Top in stretchy pants.

2. Help out in the kitchen as much as you can.

It'll be hard to feel guilty about eating too much food if you spent hours slaving away to make it. After all that work you deserve to TREAT YO SELF!

3. If anyone needs anything from the kitchen, volunteer to get it for them.

If you're going back and forth between the kitchen and the table, you'll have a chance to burn off a few of the calories that you shoveled into your mouth a few minutes before. You'll feel much better about falling into a food coma after if you were moving around a lot before. Hey, at least you were being productive, and your relatives will go on about how polite you are.

4. Ask questions!

This is an easy one, but it's important. If you continuously ask your family questions, they'll be too busy to ask you why you changed your major again and critique your after college plans. At the same time, you'll seem like you actually care about your Great Uncle Mike's mole removal last month.

5. Make sure to tell your loved ones how thankful you really are for them.

This time of year is great because it's probably the first real meal you've had in months. For your family, this time of year means everything because you're finally back home. When you start spending that quality time with them, it'll almost feel like you never left. Take every second of it in. Let them know you love and appreciate them. They need it even more than you do.

Happy Thanksgiving!