Cheating Could Be Ruining Your Progress

You've eaten healthy all week.  You haven't allowed yourself to veer from your meal plan, and you are PROUD that you've stuck to it! I mean, that is legit something to be proud of! But now it's the weekend and you just want to relax a little bit.  You don't want to have to worry about eating healthy and sticking to a meal plan.

I get it!  Weekends are fun!  They are spent with family and friends.  They are for eating out and enjoying yourself.  You've got 48 hours to live it up before you have to go back to reality.  Right?  I mean, I was there once...I had a job that I hated.  I lived for the weekends when I had that time to myself to do whatever I wanted!

I used to reward myself with the weekend to eat whatever I wanted when I had done a good job the rest of the week.  However, that was hurting my progress rather than helping it.

About 80% of our physical results come from our nutrition.  That saying that, "Abs are made in the kitchen?"  That would be accurate.  What you eat on a daily basis matters...even on the weekends. Our food is important!  So if you allow yourself two whole days of eating whatever you want, that could be the reason you are not seeing the progress and results that you want.

If you are in weight loss mode, it is important to have a meal plan on the weekends.  I'm not saying that you can't enjoy a dessert, but don't be eating dessert for your meals. ;)

Make your nutrition a priority.  For me, I had to make in a non-negotiable.  I wanted the results so bad, but my actions were not lining up.  I had to get my act together.  I had already been working out consistently for a year.  I knew I didn't have a problem trying to get that done, but my nutrition was atrocious.

I kept wondering why I wasn't seeing the results that I wanted.  So I finally had a little chat with myself.  I had previously seen a girl, whom I look up to, dedicate 6 months to her nutrition and her dedication paid off big time!  I wanted that!  So I dedicated 3 months (yes, weekdays AND weekends) to my nutrition to see what could happen.  When I crushed it, I added another 3 months  to that!  Now, I'm 8 months in and feeling absolutely amazing!  I feel in control of my food freedom!  That is not something I could say 8 months ago.

So...this weekend, I am not going too far off track.  I've come too far to have a super-blow out-cheat weekend.  Here are some of my tips for helping you stay on track AND enjoy your family time:

1. Take something to the party that you will eat!  This is extremely important so you know that you will have something that you can eat and it won't hinder your goals.  Sure, you may choose to indulge later, but at least you will have something that is still on your plan.
2. When in the buffet line, load up on veggies first!  Filling your plate with veggies first will allow you to still consume food with nutrients and nourishment that your body needs.  Then fill it with protein and healthy fats.  The dessert will always be there, should you want to come back for some later.
3. Enjoy the conversation and fellowship!  Unfortunately, as Americans, we've made get togethers all about the food.  They shouldn't be!  They should be about the people you are there to see!  So instead of focusing on what you should or should not eat, focus on rekindling and growing relationships!  Get to know your family and friends better.  Catch up!  People are more important than food.
4. Get a workout in!  I know that after I get a workout in, I have a better mindset.  I will always make better decisions after I've worked out as well.  So you better believe that I will be working out this weekend before all of our parties!

What other tips do you have?  Is there something that has worked for you?  I'd love to hear about it!

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