As I was sitting by the fire roasting my second s’more with a beer in my hand my friend said to me, “this is what you need to blog about. People need to know that you eat s’mores and drink beer.” My other friend chimed in, “and then you will get right back at it tomorrow. You need to blog about how you do that.”
So the truth is, I ate a s’more. Okay, okay, I ate two! I chose to serve ribs instead of that lean meat I suggested. I drank my water in between my beers. But I drank more than my fair share of beer. I ate too much. I drank too much. I didn’t quite follow my own advice exactly. I tried. I am not beating myself up over it- and neither should you.
I strive for an 80-20 lifestyle: 80% of my diet is clean and 20% allows for those fun foods. The last two weekends have not been that 80-20. Instead of beating myself up, I focus on what I did do well: I never missed a workout, I ate a lot of vegetables, and I drank plenty of water.
I have also planned and written out goals to help myself get right back on track. Here are some small things that I do that set me up for healthier choices.
1. More water- Are you sick of hearing it? I’m not sorry. After a weekend of indulging, I start Monday morning off with 32 ounces before I eat or drink anything else and aim for one gallon total throughout the day.
2. Throw. It. Away.- Yep, it angers my husband every time I do it but I purge the bad food. I have to get the food that is tempting or triggers me to eat poorly out of the house. As much as I love those lemon cookies my mother-in-law left at my house, I had to throw them in the trash or else I’d eat them all.
3. Sweat sessions- After a day of indulging schedule a workout for the next day. Put it in your phone, meet a friend, tell your significant other, and stay accountable to getting sweaty.
4. No alcohol- If off track for you means drinking alcohol, cut it out for a few days.
5. Set some goals– Make a goal for yourself to get back on track and stick to it. I like to make a goal of eating 4 servings of vegetables every day for the whole week along with drinking my gallon of water and staying away from sweets. Basically if I have had a not so stellar weekend, I make it a point to eat really clean the whole next week.
The reality is, I am human. I like to enjoy life with good food and a few adult beverages. Some fitness professionals may say that what I do is wrong. I shouldn’t eat sugar, or drink beer, or wine, or pork, or bread, or the 500 other things, but I do. I live a balanced life. I aim for an 80-20 lifestyle sand if sometimes I am just 75-25 and that is okay. I don’t beat myself up over it, I hop back on the wagon by doing these things and get better the next day.
What I don’t do is indulge every single day. I plan my weeks ahead of time and if I know I am going to have a couple of fun eating days they I tighten the eating up on another day. And since I have had several fun days as of late, I tighten it up this week.
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