Whether you are the one holding the party, or you're the one who was invited- we are all eventually going to be at a BBQ this summer. Here are 11 Tips for Staying on Track while still having a blast this summer with your friends and family. 1. Don't Ignore the Problem.
Admit it. You'll want to eat the chips and then you'll want some soda. After that you'll be hungry for something more and a burger and hotdog hit the spot with your cold beer. You know it will happen. I know it will happen. Hiding your head in the sand and not making a game plan will not help you on your way to your weight loss goals. Start putting a simple game plan together now. 2. Salt. Sugar. Fat. You eat something salty, then you want something sweet, then you are hungry. Thanks to some really smart food engineers (ya those are real), the chemicals added to foods like Lay's Potato Chips or your can of soda, send signals to the brain telling them to eat more more more. Salt, sugar, and fat: those are what you need to watch out for and steer clear off. Don't start the cycle, but if you have eaten a handful of chips and are now wanting a Coke, choose water instead. Are you going to eat? Yes you are! But decide to eat wisely. Choose the best foods you have available and enjoy! 3. Sauces, Spices & Soda. Most sauces and spices are covered in sugar, mono-dyglerites and msg. A can of soda has more sugar than what an average adult should intake in a day. The processed meat you are eating more than likely will take a day or two just to digest. Now you have all the ingredients for constipation, fatigue, bloating, headaches, immune flare ups, yeast infections and more. Mmmmmm delicious. 4. It's not about what you eat. It's about why you eat it. You have to eat to live (like our name implies). A half of a bag of Lay's BBQ will not help you to live. It's eating to die. So ask yourself these questions: "What is this food going to do for me?" "Was made by a plant or IN a plant?" "Is there a healthier choice i could be eating instead right now?" Sometimes we have to put aside what we want now for who we want to become. 5. It's okay to eat. So eat! If you feed your body the exact same foods over and over, it will bore of it pretty quickly. Weight Loss plateaus are extremely frustrating and one way to avoid them is to let loose a little and enjoy that fire grilled burger or Kabob. We aren't machines. We are human. Sometimes in order to get out of a plateau, more perfection isn't what's required- but a shake up is! So if you've been on your A game for a while, it's okay to let loose and enjoy, just remember #4- It's not about what you eat. It's about why you eat it. 6. Eat before you leave. This is a classic. It’s also a classic no one follows. You prep and prepare the entire morning and then head to the party starving. Happens nearly every time doesn't it? So don’t allow it anymore. Eat and stuff yourself silly at home with your healthy food, then go to the party satiated. Don't fall into the trap of "it's too hard". That's a lie made to make you believe you are weak. It's not too hard. You are strong enough. Be disciplined but remember #5- It's okay to eat. So eat! 7. Bring your own Food. Another Classic that too few people do. Sure, it’s easier to just swing into Publix and grab pre-made potato salad and 2 bags of chips, but you’re not only making yourself sick, you're also paying $10 to do it. I rather pay $20 and feel good about myself. Or, rephrased, wouldn't it feel awesome to go have a great time out all day AND eat right? Think about how proud you're going to be of yourself. Not a good cook? Check out our recipes here if you are a Member. 8. Alcohol isn’t your friend. Not beer. Not a margarita. Not a strawberry daiquiri (although that would be the least of your concerns). Sugar mixed with alcohol creates fat. Plain and simple. Whole grains turn into sugar and sugar turns into fat. Beer is made from grain, beer causes weight gain. Better to take a shot of tequila than a can of beer. One or two drinks really do cause weight gain and inflammation. Stick with water and no regrets. Seriously, it's true, you don't need alcohol to have fun. (Plus it's way more fun to watch all the drunks when you aren't one of them!) Party on! 9. Life doesn’t revolve around food. I heard someone shout "oh yes it does!" People just head to the food table like cattle because there’s nothing else to say or do. You're told to bring food because what else are they gonna tell you to bring? You can buy a full sports net, volley ball and so much more for under $30 and now you're not only "the cool one" at the party- you're losing weight by burning calories too! Someone hand me a burger! So strike up a conversation, don’t just stand around holding a plate- have fun again socializing, which is why you’re there right? 10. Expect the Best but don’t expect perfection. Failure is part of the process. You have to go down the road of failure if you will ever end up with success. Don’t hold yourself to impossible standards like perfect eating; it takes months and months, if not years, to develop and keep clean eating habits and still never reach perfection. So if you are new to this, give yourself more credit. The fact that you are reading this says you are trying. You're doing better than the majority! 11. Don’t blow it all because of one mistake. You said you wouldn’t have any more brownies but you just keep going back and getting another nibble, another piece, and then you say… “Screw it! I already messed up, mid as well…” and you eat more and more until you feel so guilty you want to puke. Don’t fall into that trap darling, you’ve worked too damn hard and too damn long to let something like one mess up make you go back and re-work for all of it. If you get a flat tire, you fix it. You don’t stab the other 3 tires. Address it and keep moving forward. Mistakes are part of it. Remember why you’re doing this. Eating bad foods isn’t a reward, it’s a punishment. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But it isn’t easy and you have to be strong while accepting your own failures as a way forward to success.
1 Comment
Shar
7/23/2016 09:22:12 pm
Great article!!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Categories
All
Archives
October 2017
|