Hopefully everyone had a joyous and fun 4th of July holiday! Personally, I had a relaxed holiday of spending time with family, cooking some healthy food, and playing around with the kids. I think it’s fair to say, I “behaved” and didn’t ditch my diet due to the holiday, as I have many times before. However, learning from the past, it is always much harder to continue on with the healthy lifestyle when you (overly) indulge, so my ongoing challenge is to perservere through and keep it healthy! Your diet slump does not need to ruin your progress!
If you didn’t follow suit, not to worry! We all have our slip up’s, so don’t beat yourself up for it – It happens to everyone. One way I like to look at it as, it’s not what you did in the past, but how you go forward! In dedication to my philosophy, and to the many of you who may have gone a little calorie-crazy yesterday, I have 9 great ways to recover from the calorie-coma (ok, enough with the calorie jokes).
1. Blast the Energy
This is probably the last thing you want to hear, so I am going to say it first: A quick workout! A brief and powerful sprint of exercise is exactly what you need, to get the blood pumping and the energy up! For example, do a quick run of say, 100 m or so, or do a mini circuit of 10 push ups, 10 crunches, 10 jumping jacks, etc. If you have a jump rope, do 5-10 minutes at a steady pace. Yes, it will be challenging, but it`s not meant to be easy! Secondly, a short time of doing a high impact workout will go by quickly – and you will feel amazing!
2. Drink LOTS of Water
Over the holiday it’s unlikely you drank as much water as you should have, as you may have been preoccupied with other cold beverages. In that case, you must double up today! Keep a 1.5 litre bottle of water with you at all times, and fill it up twice, even three times, if you can. Your body will thank you!
3. Have a Healthy Breakfast
What you do when you wake up, sets the tone for the whole day, so start it off with a bang! Have a healthy, filling breakfast, like fruit and oatmeal, steamed spinach with a poached egg, fruit with multigrain and peanut butter, for example. It will make you feel great and give you a prefect start to the day!
4. Read Motivational Quotes
It may sound cheesy, but I’m telling you, it works! Get on the internet, or grab a book with motivational quotes, and just read a few. Think about what you want to accomplish while you are reading, focusing on what it is you want out of the day. Focusing on your goals with a positive mindset can really make them come true!
5. Track Your Food
Although you may not have tracked your food over the holiday – ok, of course you didn’t – It would be very helpful for you to track your food today, if not every day. This way, you will be more aware of what you’re eating, especially after a bit of a “diet holiday”. I guarantee you, when you have to write down everything you eat, you may think twice about it!
6. Create a Motivational Collage
You may have heard me mention inspiration boards, and the motivational collage is very similar. Get that motivation flowing by… creating something that motivates you! Go through the newspaper and magazines and cut out pictures and words that inspire and motivate you. Arrange and glue them down to a board or paper and put it somewhere where you can see it all the time. For the short term, just creating it will motivate you, and seeing it every day will keep you motivated. Win-win!
7. Take The Stairs!
Such a small thing in our lives that we don’t pay attention to, taking the stairs is a great way to burn a few extra calories and get you kick started, back on track with your diet! Make a point of taking the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator, it can only do you well!
8. Make a Playlist
They often say, music cures the soul, and I am a firm believer in this! A great way to put you back in the weight-losing spirit, is your favorite uplifting music. Whichever kind of music it is that makes you happy, feeling invincible, add about 10 or more tracks to a playlist and listen to it when you are feeling down or need that extra push.
9. Use a Supplement
Even during those times of indulgement, there are effective supplements you can take that may not be magical, erasing the food you ate, but can help supress your appetite and cravings, while keeping the energy up. Weight loss supplements are healthy and don`t take any effort to use, so incorporating one into your daily life really makes a lot of sense. Phentermine.com has reviewed all of the diet supplements on the market, and so far, Phen Caps have given the best results.
Everyone has their slip up’s or days off where they just don’t want the pressure of counting calories and sweating them off at the gym. This is completely natural, and ironically, a healthy thing to do! If we don’t treat ourselves every once in a while and give ourselves a break, then we will simply give up and not want to tackle the challenge at all. Save yourself the trouble and torture, and take a day off to relax and have the foods you like. This is not a bad thing, as long as it is in moderation! And, of course, you use my tips and get back on the bandwagon afterwards!