No More Excuses – ONLY Choices!
The Proms and Graduations are over and the kids are gone, and now so are all the excuses! It’s time to get yourself back on track for the amazing summer that is ahead of you. In fact, by this time next week so many of you will be in Greece, Italy, Croatia, Bermuda and many other beautiful fairytale places. It’s a wonderful time of the year that you work so hard for all year to enjoy. You can feel it in the air- the summer sun and the little down time that takes place when summer arrives makes everyone relax a little more and take a little breather to enjoy the accomplishments of all the hard work that takes place the other 9 months of the year. Whether you will remain home or away what you must remember is this one important thing.
Summer is 10 weeks long.
That is a really long time to either stay in control and lose weight;
or maintain and stay the same as you are today;
or do a lot of damage and end the summer in a very unpleasant place.
As many of you know it doesn’t take much for the damage part. All it takes is not thinking, not planning and frequently over indulging – very easy to do any time of the year but especially in the social summer. And even though 10 weeks feels super long the reality is it’s going to go by in the blink of an eye. But this summer is going to be different because we are planning ahead so we stay in a happy controlled but fun place all summer long. That’s right – this summer we are going to try and control our brain and body and enjoy summer and all that comes with it without putting on the extra unwanted pounds.
So how do you find this balance – it’s not as hard as you may think. You need to look at your life as a whole and think about what you want and what makes you happy. Do you want to lose weight OR do you want to be able to go out and eat what you want?. Choose your hard and choose your outcome! Which is more important and what can you live with. Are you okay with maintaining OR Is fitting in your clothes the most important thing to you. Or maybe you want to focus on your health because you know your numbers will sky rocket if you are not following your program and eating clean; or maybe it’s about how you feel and how important it is for you to feel good about your body inside and out so you can act accordingly. Maybe it’s all of the above. To find balance and get the best results that you can live with you need to decide what you will be happy with today, tomorrow and next week. Yes, eating is fun and indulging brings instant happiness for some, however seeing a high number on the scale and not fitting into your clothes by mid July might not be worth the frequent indulgences. Again – remind yourself to always choose your hard and choose your outcome! In order to choose your hard you have to always think about the outcome and not just the moment. It’s easy to say “It’s my vacation and I want to over indulge.” But then you must remember you have to be happy with that outcome when you step on the scale. When you choose your hard and your outcome – you will find balance in what you choose and what you can live with.
CHOCIES:
MAINTAINING: If you have a lot going on one week and you want to maintain you will either do an extra cheat day or give up cheat days and incorporate one meal and drinks or dessert each day (this can’t be long term and should be done on a weekly basis always returning back to the one cheat day a week in between). Another option is to do cheat meal – dessert or drinks every other day. Always having a day in between to regroup with your clean program.
WEIGHT LOSS: Very simple you stick to your clean meals and snacks and one cheat day a week. This is very doable in the summer because if you plan ahead you can always find a healthy choice whether you are going to a bbq, a hotel or a different country. Staying on six days clean is very doable in the summer. You have your clean meals and snacks and if you are over 21 you can even use your snacks as drinks. There are no excuses to go off program. This is more about if you want to do it – then if you can do it.
WEIGHT GAIN: Easy to do but never an option!
We always talk about planning and how important it is. But what is more important is following through on the planning. Do the right things and make sure that if you planned on being 110% this week – then you are 110% this week. If you planned on going off of dinner and dessert and then right back on the next day – make sure you go right back on the next day- no excuses. If you planned on being off program 2 nights but clean all day then make sure you do it. Always think things through what tomorrow is going to feel like and the end result of your choices. Will it make you happy? Is it worth it? Think about where you are today and where do you want to be next week and next month. Learn to live and enjoy today but plan for what you want and where you want to be tomorrow.
Final thoughts – If you want to lose weight you can continue to do that. You follow your six clean days on program and your one day off. If you are going on vacation then you follow the maintaining plan. After vacation you go right back on. If you choose to maintain all summer that’s okay too. Just know what you are doing and what the outcome will be. Think things through and always remember that just because you have a lot of social events that you want to enjoy and celebrate doesn’t mean that you need to cheat at everything you go to. You can enjoy and celebrate everything without indulging in unhealthy weight gaining foods, and you will feel better and have a happier summer staying on program for both your mind and body. When you can be amazing and on program do it because every good healthy clean choice can make the difference between maintaining and gaining. And all the choices you make as the summer progresses will make the difference in how you look and feel each day.
You are the only person who can make the excuse of why you are going off program
and you are the only person who can give yourself a better excuse of why you are staying on program.
Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
