I spent most of my day today trying to think abut different topics for the weekend warriors blog.. It’s funny how every time I wrote down an idea my thoughts would drift to the weekend. It’s starting to get gorgeous outside, the sun is shining, the temperature is rising and I would imagine that most people have thought once or twice about dusting off their BBQ…. If you haven’t already! At this point I was getting really excited over all the plans I was going to make… you know the ones I am talking about, the parties, barbeques, beach days and the list goes on.
I go through this process every year however last year was different and this year even more so. Last year, I started at MCC for the first time in mid-July so I was very keen on sticking to the program—I believe that initial motivation helped me keep my focus through the summer, but I wouldn’t be lying if I said it was EASY. Motivation is a great starting point to keeping on track but as I learned early on there is a lot more involved!
PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING! Setting aside time to plan allowed me to ‘have my cake and eat it too.” During the summer we had many parties—lots of BBQ and pizza. I found that by finding out what was being served I was able to plan my meals accordingly so that I didn’t feel let out. For example, when they had pizza night—I made an mcc approved pizza! (that’s tip number one)
Its been almost a year since that summer and this time around I am actually a bit more concerned about how its going to go. Why? Well I have done well up to this point and the less you need to lose the harder it is to lose it, not to mention my newbie motivation has most certainly worn off. Its time for you and I to get serious at finding tips, tricks and techniques for getting through those social occasions without blowing up the scale. Here are some of the tried and true ways I have used to date and one or two that I am planning on trying out myself!
(1) When going out or having a party—stay on track with your meals as much as possible (the key is to get an much of the good stuff as you can!) If you skip meals thinking you will be saving calories for later on, you’ll likely end up over eating due to hunger!
(2) Chew Sugarless Gum when the snack foods are on the table—Not only can chewing gum keep your mouth occupied while others are devouring potato chips, but it can also satisfy your sweet craving by providing your taste buds with a fun boost of flavour! Not to mention fresher breath for the cute man/woman at the party 🙂
(3) Make and prepare an MCC approved snack food (such as spicy dip with a veggie tray, spinach and Artichoke dip or chocolate chick cookies) doing this will not only contribute to the party but also allow you to ‘snack’ without worrying to much about what your snacking on.
Good luck—I wish you happy and healthy events this summer!
