Too Much Fun?

I really make the most of my weekends, especially in the summer. That often means over-consumption of cocktails, sunshine and food. Nothing wrong with playing hard on the weekends when you’ve worked hard all week, but I definitely am not out to completely derail the healthy routine I’ve developed over the past few years.

Isn’t it funny how a weekend of drinking/eating can slowly trickle it’s way past Sunday and all the sudden it’s Tuesday and you’re still sort of hungover and craving french fries? Yup, I’ve been there.

How are you supposed to do this (note: I had a bad case of hiccups):

and then still prance around in a bikini on this:

Here are some tips & tricks that work for me!

Schedule a workout on Monday. By all means, make the most of your weekend…but end it on Sunday. I find that if I make the time for a workout on Monday, it really motivates me to get back on track for the entire week.

Bring your own food. A lot of weekends are spent traveling to exotic places in the summer (such as the Jersey shore), which provides oh-so-healthy food options like boardwalk pizza and ice cream. Sometimes it’s not possible to bring perishable items because you don’t have the option of storing them in the fridge and/or don’t have a place to make your own meals, so here are some easy, travel-friendly snacks to bring with you to any summer weekend excursion:

• Fruits that can hang at room temp, such as apples, bananas, pears, peaches, & nectarines
• Laughing Cow cheese wedges and whole grain crackers
• Pre-made pb&j sandwiches (2 slices of whole grain bread with 1 tbsp nut butter and 2 tsp jelly)
• Pirate’s Booty! Great for noshing when you have that chip/salty craving
• Un-meltable bars (i.e. no chocolate on them) such as Larabars and Kashi granola bars
• Trail mixes (buy pre-mixed versions or make your own with a mixture of nuts & dried fruit) portioned in ziploc bags or reusable containers in 1/4 cup servings

Trust me, having one of these snacks instead of a funnel cake will make a huge difference. Plus you’ll save money!

Drink a ton of water. Most of the symptoms you feel when you’re “hungover” are actually a result of severe dehydration. Say you’re spending a weekend at the beach…make sure you always have a big thermos/bottle of cold water nearby and keep hydrating while you are out and about – after every drink or so at the bar, chug a glass of water.

Sleep. Sleep is so important for so many reasons…but fun activities on the weekends can really throw off our sleep schedule. I’m not saying you shouldn’t stay up til 4 am or sleep til noon, but you’ll notice it really does throw you off, especially when you’re somehow exhausted on Sunday night but can’t manage to fall asleep. Try to get back to 8 hours a night as quickly as possible after a busy weekend.

Make a date with your scale. I know that some people are completely against the scale and measuring their health/weight by an actual number. Some people would rather judge weight gain or loss by how their clothes fit…for me though, by the time my jeans are tight, it’s already too late. I weigh myself weekly just to make sure I’m maintaining my healthy & happy weight. I’d rather know as soon as possible if a pound or two has creeped up so that I can slightly adjust my working out/eating, rather than not be able to button my pants and have to deal with getting rid of 5 or more pounds.

I’d love to hear what everyone has been up to this summer…where have your weekends been taking you??