The weekend is here and that means backyard BBQ's and being social. It also means temptation with foods that are a struggle for you if you are trying to loose weight, have diet sensitivities, or have foods that despite being able to eat (or drink) just dont' make you feel good. It's still a struggle for me too but I have found a few things that work for me when the weekend rolls around.
Make a Plan: The first thing to do is try to make a plan in your head or even write it out. Are you going to have a partner who you can go to if your resistance is low? Do you know in advance what foods will be offered where you are going and can you plan on what you will eat in advance? Can you stick to "real foods"? Veggies, protein, things that haven't been in a box? What works for you?
Bring a Healthy Dish to Share: BBQ's are usually a pot luck affair. If you are bringing a dish, pick your favorite healthy dish. Make an amazing salad. Bring some version of your favorite healthy veggie dish. Make it something nice and cooling for the body for a hot day. Fill your plate with it when meal time rolls around.
WATER: Take a water bottle or a cool thermal cup and keep drinking water. Sometimes you are thirsty versus hungry. Sometimes you are just looking for something cool to put into your body on a hot day. Fill up on water before you eat. You will eat less and the water will keep your cell metabolism burning. Skip the soda. Save yourself the empty calories and the bone depleting phosphoric acid!
Plan a Treat, Not a Cheat: For me sugar is a real temptation. In the past if it had sugar in it I would eat it. Sugar is addictive and I don't want to open that can of worms for myself again so I made a pact with myself. My favorite sweet treat is chocolate and peanut butter. If I am going to treat myself I am only going to treat with something truly worth it. So unless they are serving chocolates with peanut butter I (85% of the time) skip the sweet treats out. But I do not skip treats all together! Once a week I treat myself to a little chocolate/ peanut butter concoction. Which leads me to the next tip.
Work For It. WALK! Once a week my family and I splurge on a small treat. We don't keep sugary things in the house anymore. Too much of a temptation and too many of us have bad reactions to sugar. But if we are going for a treat, or maybe out to dinner over the weekend, we pick somewhere that is within 2 miles from home and we walk there. We meet friends there. We see friends along the way and say hi. It's become a fun family thing to do! If you can't walk to and from your outing, make sure you fit in a walk or some other form of physical activity sometime over the same weekend.
Have Inspiration at Your Fingertips: What motivates you? Are you working toward a new dress? A new swimsuit? Is there an inspiring saying? Is there a picture of that fitness model you admire? Keep a picture on your phone something you are working towards and when you are staring a struggle in the face, whip out your inspiration and make a decision. Would you like to be a step closer or a step further from your goal? Make a decision and move on:)
Just remember that none of this is about diet, and it isn't about deprivation. Be gentle with yourself. Guilt and judgement only precipitate the cycle of eating, feeling guilty, eat to feel better, more guilt, addiction to what your eating, more guilt. This is about changing habits over time. This is about planing treats and feeling like you are making a conscious choice when you eat, and not letting addiction and cravings make the choice for you. This is about living a healthy lifestyle and finding the best version of you hidden under mood altering foods and drinks. This is about finding out for yourself what works for YOU and enjoying life!
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