Me and Peanut last year at fireworks for the 4th! I love looking back to last year and seeing our progress ;)
Thank you for all of the well wishes Peanut made it through her surgery just fine and is recovering well.
We have low key plans with her this weekend, there will be lots of play ground visits, cooking out on the grill, and maybe a zoo trip!
Living healthy does not have to be a headache during the holiday weekend! I know many will be having barbecues and there will be the temptation to go all out and celebrate. But I try to remind myself that celebrations do not always have to be centered around food. This is our goal as a family to make celebrations fun but not focus on the food. This is hard for an Italian girl who grew up with food= fun+love
So I have a few tips to stay on track this weekend:
-Get out and exercise! If you start out burning some calories you will be off to a great start. I also feel if you have exercised you feel better and are less likely to over eat.
-Bring a dish! Yes offer to bring something I am pretty sure no one hosting a party ever minds extra treats. My go to offer is always to bring a fruit salad. I love getting all my favorite fruits together and bringing a big bowl chopped up small. It is always a hit.
-Do not go hungry! I see people all the time saying they will skip breakfast or not eat a lot all day because they are going somewhere. In my experience this is the worst thing you can do. When you allow yourself to get too hungry then you are even more likely to over eat because you are so hungry you will not feel full as quick. My advice is to eat you normal breakfast and have something light like steamed veggies ahead of time so you are not overly hungry.
-Water drink it up! Yes I go everywhere with a 32 ounce bottle of water. I am constantly drinking it, not only does it keep me hydrated but it also keeps me feeling fuller, again making it less likely to over eat.
-Pick the healthier choices: opt for the chicken breast instead of a hot dog, have a burger without the bun, skip the potato salad and heap on a fresh salad. For me it is all about picking and choosing. if I want to have a burger, I will not have the potato salad, or vice versa.
-Have fun! If you focus on the fun activities and less on the yummy food it will be easier to eat less. Just have fun and try a little bit of each thing but do not over do it. I always think about this: My long term goal is to stay on track no matter what so if I can do it during a party then I can do it anytime!
Remember there will always be holidays, cookouts, parties, birthdays, and just celebrations. They are fun and I know it is a great chance to treat yourself, but if you over do it at every single one of them all the time then you won't make real progress. You will be healthy for 2 weeks and work off the over doing it from the party and then by the time you start burning off new weight, another party comes around and derails you all over again. It is all about the balance and will power to say NO I do not NEED to over do it, I can be healthy every day no matter what the occasion but still enjoy myself. FOOD does not equate happiness and love. I keep reminding myself of this ;)
What keeps you on track during party and cook out season?
7 comments:
Great tips mama!
I usually don't do the summer holiday's and opt to stay indoors chasing the kids or chatting with family. I try to snack on fresh fruit until dinner which curbs my appitite a bit. And at dinner I am so focused on the kids eating that I hardly have a chance to touch my plate lol. When I fix my plate I think of what I would normally want to eat then i put half of that on my plate. That's my go to without a the wonderful scsle you gave me.
Thanksgiving is a hard holiday for me and I must admit I over eat on Thanksgiving. I look forward to it all year and it definitely is centered around food. I pack my plate because there is never seconds or leftovers left.
These are good tips. Lately I navigate parties by being picky. Today, that meant I was not tempted by the store-bought cakes and pies but did have 2 of the homemade cookies. That was after filling up on deviled eggs (2 halves), a salad of coleslaw, sliced tomato and veggie sticks, and strawberries and watermelon -- the Costco hamburgers and hotdogs were easy to skip.
Water it up indeed! :)
Great tips!! This year, we are going very low key. We're going to grill some chicken - and that's it.
We've decided to spend family time playing video games and watching fireworks... focusing on fun instead of food. :)
i drink water, fill up on veggies (no dip!), and try to play with the kids. bbq's aren't my thing, but i try to make the best of it all.
Thanks for all the great tips!
Joanna T would love to live in your house LOL he has been playing video games all weekend!
We are hoping to catch the fire works tonight
DANG MAMA
you are such as inspiration.
Carla
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