Myth: You can’t stay on track with your health goals and still maintain a fun social life.
Fact: Balancing a healthy diet and a healthy social life is completely doable — if you’re smart about it.
Here we have some useful tips for staying slim and sociable.
1. SIP SLOWLY
Often the biggest social saboteurs to your health goals can be found at the bar. Alcohol not only quickly racks up your calorie count, but a Saturday night of too much drinking can also derail the best of intentions for a Sunday morning workout.
You don’t have to abstain completely, but if you’re going out with friends, try to limit yourself to one drink. If you want to have a few brews, follow the one-to-one rule: For every alcoholic beverage you have, drink one glass of water. This will help you stick with your normal plans in the morning.
2. PREPARE YOUR FOOD
Eating healthy is a manageable goal when you have total control over your meals. To stay on track without staying home, prepare an eating plan beforehand. Make sure you’ve fueled yourself up with a healthy meal before you go so temptations will be less tempting. You could even bring along your own healthy snacks if you’re pressed for time.
3. RETHINK BRUNCH
Saturday morning mimosas or a cheeky bacon sandwich after a long night can be tempting after a night on the tiles. Rather than skip out completely with the time with your friends, swap brunch for a healthier group activity like morning yoga and green juice. Or stick to a fruit salad and water. All of the social time, none of the guilt.
4. ASK FOR SMALLER PORTIONS
Your fear of high carb pasta doesn’t have to keep you from checking out that new Italian restaurant all your friends are going to. When you go out to eat, you can do damage control by asking for smaller portions since restaurants have a tendency to overserve. If the restaurant doesn’t offer a more manageable lunch-size portion, ask your server to box up half of your meal before they bring your plate to the table.
5. GET YOUR GYM TIME IN EARLY
We’ve all set out with the best of gym intentions only to get derailed by a spontaneous post-work happy hour. To keep you from feeling guilty for either skipping Spinning or ditching your co-workers, commit to being an a.m. gym-goer. That way, no matter what your day throws at you, you can feel good about not forgoing your fitness routine.
6. UP YOUR TRAVEL GAME
Rather than book your beach time at an all-inclusive resort where you’ll laze around, drink all day and get your money’s worth at the buffet, book a vacation that includes activity on the itinerary — think yoga retreats, hiking treks and ski trips. By the time you come in for a hot toddy, you’ll have more than earned it.
Northampton Food 