How To Enjoy Your Weekends And Crush Your Goals

It’s Friday night. You’ve stuck to your nutrition goals all week. You’ve meal prepped, eaten appropriate portions, stayed away from processed foods, and passed up the donuts at the meeting yesterday morning in favor of some veggies, some nuts, and a nice glass of water with lemon. You’re now home with a few hours of free time for the first time all week, and you just want to relax. With a glass of wine. And a cookie. And some chips. And another glass of wine, then some take out and ice cream. Sound familiar?

Well, if it doesn’t, you are the exception rather than the rule! Most of us struggle to stay on a nutrition plan on the weekends for a variety of reasons. First, the weekends are when most of us are in social situations that likely involve food and/or alcohol. Second, the lack of structure over the course of the weekend creates more opportunities for us to do things that aren’t planned. Third, the weekend often is when we grocery shop, and if we aren’t careful about sticking to the perimeter of the store, things make it into our grocery carts that don’t aid our goals. Finally, we are home more than we usually are during the week, giving us more time to snack. So how do we avoid these pitfalls? As with many things, planning is the key. Here are a few tips:

· Choose activities that are less likely to involve food.
· Choose restaurants that you know will have healthier alternatives.
· Look at menus ahead of time, select what you will have, and stick to it.
· Decide ahead of time if you will drink, what you will drink, and how much, then stick to it.
· Make a grocery list and do not buy anything that isn’t on the list.
· Keep that pantry stocked with healthy items.
· Eat your healthy meals as planned so that you feel full and are less likely to snack.
· If you feel like snacking, have a glass of water first, then wait fifteen minutes.

Of course, life happens, even if we are trying to stick to a nutrition plan, so if you do find yourself deviating from your plan, just move on and crush your next meal, then the one after that and the one after that until you are back in the groove!