Stay motivated!
Good news! It’s not too late to manage your weight going into the summer of 2022. Don’t throw in the towel and risk additional weight gain. Keep going on your weight loss journey and you’ll thank yourself come summer. We’re here to help, so check out the easy-to-follow tips below.
Eat Before You Go Out
Whether to a Spring garden party or out to dinner, if you grab some protein or veggies first you won’t be automatically craving bad food choices and an excess of alcohol. If you go too long without food at any time you are going to be very susceptible to overindulging.
If you are going to someone else’s house, offer to bring a low-carb veggie choice, a salad, or a healthy side dish.
If You Are Hosting the Party
If you are having friends or family over be sure to serve lots of protein and low carb veggies, and, have plenty of “to go” containers to send the kind of leftovers home with your guests that you know will only add girth to your waistline. And just like the tip above, be sure you have eaten before your guests arrive.
No Alcohol is Best, But....
Alcohol really can pound the weight on, so no alcohol or very limited alcohol will keep you feeling and looking your best but if you do want to join in the festivities, try to limit yourself to one glass of champagne or wine or a vodka soda or any white alcohol. Then you can fill your glass endlessly afterward with Seltzer/Soda Water and lime (not Tonic water) and feel just as festive. And by that time no one else will notice :-).
If you do overindulge, then make the next two days carb and alcohol free. And drink at least two liters of water to rid those toxins and take away that alcoholic bloat.
Limit Your Carbohydrates
Just like for healthy no - gain maintenance at any time of the year, limit your carbohydrate intake to just two “events” each day and have protein at least 3 times a day. And two liters of H2O!
Now what do I mean by a carb "event"? By that I mean a moderate serving. What you want to avoid is carb creep – that is – having little bits and bites of carbs all day long – which is a main cause of fat gain at any time of the year. Lots of small carb portions are like many small but steady 'insults' to your pancreas all day long making it difficult to rebalance your insulin response.
An "event" might be yogurt and fruit at breakfast, or toast and jam, or low carb/sugar cereal and non fat milk. And then your one other "event"might be a full sandwich at lunch, or pasta salad, or a grain or high sugar vegetable at dinner like potato, corn or beets or carrots. The point is, you have carbs purposefully at a maximum of two times a day, whenever your prefer. If you are going out or making a real feast, then save your entire carb allowance for that meal - and enjoy!
And if you do have an excess of carbohydrates on one day, then eliminate them the next day.
Eat Protein!
We suggest eating protein 3 times a day because doing so will greatly reduce your cravings and overindulgence in carbs. And protein ensures that you are sparing, not burning muscle for fuel. Remember muscle uses fat for fuel so you never want to burn down muscle.
Drink water…
Like a minimum of 2 liters a day. Water will reduce your cravings, hasten metabolism of the carbs and alcohol you do have, and keep you full – and its easy and free!
Finally, if someone asks you why are not eating and drinking everything in sight, simply say something like “oh I’m just not indulging tonight”.
