Imagine a Mom. She has been working hard the last 60 days since ending her breast feeding journey with her almost 2 year old. Her constant workouts and mindful eating have been on point lately. Suddenly clothes are fitting, collar bones are showing and the strut in her walk has returned. She feels strong and her daily food routine is in check and balanced. Things are looking up and the scale is moving down. Life is good and she is feeling good.
Then, a text message from her husband comes through with a list of things needed to pack for their 4 day stay in San Diego. (Ps. This is something I adore about my husband. He's the list maker and it helps my scattered brain get things organized for my family) However, this time among it, a list of food.
Burgers
Dogs
Potato salad
Mac & cheese
Coleslaw
Lays potato chips
Cheese dip
Bacon
S'mores ingredients
.........and the list goes on
Anxiety Strikes. Is this holiday weekend going to de-rail all her accomplishment?
Does this sound familiar? It might be a bit dramatic, but let's face it, I am dramatic. I also struggle big time with over indulgence, and the holiday weekend is the perfect opportunity to do that. Im not saying that it shouldn't be ok to have a S'more with my family, the problem is when I start to feel bad, physically and mentally, from the choices I make. When I literally use the holiday as an excuse to eat foods in excess, so completely out of my ordinary routine.
SO how do we figure this holiday weekend "food thing" out?
I persoanlly LOVE the 80-20 rule. I try to follow this throughout my normal week as well, but the guideline REALLY helps for holiday weekends and vacations.
80% of the time, eating mindfully and healthily, and 20% of the time allowing myself to eat what I enjoy.
Here's the trick though. I so often count a whole day as lost if I partake or indulge in foods that are unhealthy or high calorie. A whole day is a lot of food! So instead I found that breaking it up into meals makes it much easier to be successful.
Think about it, just because one meal is indulgent, doesn't mean the next has to be. This is how I do it.
If there are 35 meals in a week, then 7 of them get to be whatever you want them to be.
Some weeks, I don't indulge in those 7 meals, I'm just honestly feeling good and digging my salads and lean protein. But some weeks, I NEED those meals. Especially when a holiday weekend is coming up.
I was talking to a good friend of mine Kate, co author of The Daily Soul Sessions about how to balance food on vacations as she gets prepared to head out for a few weeks with her immediate and extended family. She had great advice.
She said
"When we go out to eat I usually only let myself look at the salad menu! I know, brutal....but others in my fam get other stuff that I really want a bite of, so I can have a bite and still get my veggies in with my salad."
This is great advice on how to manage that 80% without feeling like you have to throw a whole day away of healthy eating.
So my encouragement to you is to take it meal by meal. Give your self some perimeters that are realistic for you that set you up for success! You want to have fun, but you still want to feel good!
What are your tips to staying on track or keeping your routine through the holiday? Tell us in the comments below.
Praying you all have a wonderful 4th of July!