Tips to Get Back on Track After a Holiday Weekend!

My holiday weekend was a little different than most :-)  I worked today, so I chose to celebrate the 4th on Saturday.  The day started with one of my favorite things to do on the weekend.  Hang out with my sisters & nieces at my mom’s!  Then the fun continued with Burney and I going out to supper.  I had planned ALL week for this meal, I had eaten clean and not had any sweets at all so that I would feel like I earned this meal :-)  My treat was prime rib (a piece a big as my plate!), hush puppies (because they are just too good to pass up, a couple homemade onions rings and far too many homemade sweet potato fries.  The real fries, actually fried, not baked!  I decided the fries were a tiny bit healthy, they were fresh sweet potatoes after all!  Oh my how good this meal was!

It’s normal for me to have one treat meal each week – just not usually quite this much!  But I DO NOT feel bad for about foods that I eat.  I choose my treats very carefully and I enjoy them.  I’m always the type who chooses to live a little but still eat clean & healthy about 90% of the time.
So Sunday morning, the next morning, I had a clearly defined GAME PLAN to get myself back on track and to feel my best as quickly as possible.  

1. I never beat myself up over foods or fuss at myself.  I have my treat and MOVE ON.

2. I remind myself how far I’ve come and that one meal will NOT ruin my progress.
  
3. I recommit to my goals and set new goals for the week to ensure that I’m on top of my nutrition the entire week. (until my treat for this week!)

4. I drink water like it’s my full-time job.  Now, I drink a lot of water to begin with, but the day after my treat meal, I always drink more – usually about 4 liters to help flush the salts and whatever else out of my system.

5. Then I plan each meal for the entire week.  Meal planning and preparing foods in advance are my secret weapons to keeping my nutrition in check.

6. I DO NOT limit my foods or starve myself after a treat meal (or cheat day).  I always eat clean and healthy foods just as I normally would.

7. I eat more vegetables!  Then I always have a serving or two of fruit each day.  I also choose my proteins carefully, being sure they are lean protein.

8. I commit to eating no processed foods for the week or sweets with added sugars.  This alone will help me feel a 100% better.

9. I commit to exercising each day of the week.  I make a schedule and know which workout I will do each day and what time of day I will press play.