Thanksgiving is a national excuse to be grateful for whatever is going right in your life. It also marks the beginning of the 2016 holiday season, when the unchecked tendency to gobble-gobble means we end up 3 to 7 pounds heavier by New Year's. It doesn't have to be that way. We humans have choices, from what gets piled onto our dinner plate to how we deal with our brand-new president-elect. We're living through high-stress historical times, but if you're hungry for a healthier, more meaningful way to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday, I have some ideas to share:

FIRST, A GUT CHECK. If thinking about turkey day 2016 makes you feel anxious instead of enthusiastic, sit calmly and pay attention to where the stress is coming from. Maybe you need a break from the news. Maybe you feel too much pressure to be the perfect host who makes every dish, bakes every pie. Maybe this year you'd rather be a guest than a host, and sit back and be waited on, and that's OK, too.

LET LOVE BE YOUR CENTERPIECE. Revisit your guest list. If you're stuck with invitees who are mean-spirited or otherwise annoying, see Thanksgiving as an opportunity for you to practice acceptance, kindness and compassion. Be thankful you are evolved enough to handle their pathology. On the plus side, if you can surround yourself with love and loved ones at your table, your stress will melt faster than handmade marshmallows on candied yams.

SET YOUR INTENTION. If you want your Thanksgiving to be more nurturing, start your day by setting an intention. Wake up to the deeper meanings of the day: gratitude, love, appreciation of family and friends. Do it as you light a candle, sit in silence, or take an early morning walk. When negative emotions arise — and they will, because that's where the mind goes when you're not minding the store — refocus and count your blessings. Accept the day as it unfolds, without letting it drag you down. If you feel yourself losing it, stop and take a few deep, calming breaths. Consider the health benefits of a glass of red wine.

BE A CONSCIOUS COOK. Thanksgiving is a symbolic meal, and your typical farm-factory turkey — loaded with chemicals, hormones and antibiotics— represents all that is wrong with America's addiction to fake, tortured food. So this year, ban the Butterball and buy a free-range turkey raised on Mozart, Copeland and organic feed.

To symbolize your commitment to eating purer, unprocessed foods, bring only real food to the table: fresh vegetables, wholesome grains and creative side dishes. And one more thing: To really enjoy the holiday, think of Thanksgiving as a team sport. Ask for help with cooking, serving and cleaning up.

CREATE A RITUAL. Thanksgiving didn't start out as a holiday to celebrate overeating and football. When the pilgrims and Native Americans sat down together, they were sharing a meal as a way to develop harmony and trust. (If only it had worked.) This year, do your part to create a meaningful holiday ritual. Begin by establishing a stress-free zone around the table: no cellphones, no gossip, no fights. Dim the lights, call for quiet, light a candle and pass it around, inviting everyone at the table to say for whom or what they're grateful. I know it sounds corny and hard to pull off, but go for it. Feel the mood in the room shift. This is what trust and harmony feel like.

EXERCISE! No matter how busy you are, take at least 30 minutes to exercise before the day takes hold. Ride your bike, dance to "It Ain't Over" by the Bello Boys, get the yoga flow going. It will ease stress, burn calories and boost your resolve to make this T-day the best one ever.

DO SOMETHING CHARITABLE. Make a double-portion of your favorite holiday dish and take it to a homeless shelter, write a check to a favorite nonprofit, or open your table to a stranger who has nowhere else to go. Is anything more obvious or easier to prove? Generosity, like maple-glazed Brussels sprouts, is a great thing to pass around.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! LET US PRAY

"May your yams be delicious. And your pies take the prize. And may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs." — Grandpa Jones

Marilynn Preston — healthy lifestyle expert, well being coach and Emmy-winning producer — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She has a website, marilynnpreston.com, and welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. She also produces EnExTV, a digital reincarnation of her award-winning TV series about sports, fitness and adventure, for kids of all ages, at youtube.com/EnExTV and facebook.com/EnExTV. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.