Weekends

Don't let the weekends be your pitfall!!!! It is so easy sometimes to allow yourself to just "do whatever" on the weekends because you felt you did so well (or mostly well) during the week.  This is not a good practice because not only can you undo all your good from the week, but you can actually make matters worse than just that.  Try to stay focused on your goals, plan, motivation, and reasons for change by planning how you are going to handle the weekend before it arrives.  Whether you are having to plan around a birthday party or dinner party or family time make sure you make wise choices and are including such events in your planned PI's. 

Indulgences, whether they be planned or unplanned, are a part of life and should be enjoyable without being destructive.  The majority of your PI's (or UPI's) should not be a day-long event or weekend-long event or even a whole meal event.  Sure this will be the case on occasion, but for the majority of your indulgences, make them one item and the rest of your meal (day, weekend) supportive choices.  Try to also limit your physical indulgences on the weekends (a.k.a., couch time).  Sure you need to rest, but you don't need to be a slug.  Make time to be active with your family, friends, dogs, or just a date with yourself.....twister with the kids, fetch with the dogs, walk with your friends, whatever....you can be relaxed and have a good time and still get off the couch. 

If you have a major splurge dinner before you, try to get in some intervals (15 minutes, 10 minutes, or even 4 minutes (20 seconds of intense work and 10 seconds of active rest for 8 rounds) of intervals is better on the front end than nothing) beforehand to help balance out your metabolism as well as your insulin response.  A workout on a day you have a very indulgent PI on the agenda is also a great way to balance it out.  Know that it does not do you any good to starve all day long so you can gorge at dinner....this will actually be more detrimental to your metabolism as well as your choices come dinnertime.  Eat supportively throughout the day and make good choices around your indulgence at dinner. 

Remember that this is not a fad diet you are doing here.....it is your life and you need to try to make it a balanced one.  Will you be perfect every time with everything...no...but it's about making the best choices you can, and moving on from there and not beating yourself up for the bad ones.  We all have our days, but those bad moments or days should not define who we are, who we become, or what our next day will be like.  When you make a bad turn, just set your mind to make the next choice a good one....you'll get there....this is a journey not a sprint to a destination you never have to revisit.