The Weekend Is Almost Here – Are You Ready?

HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS FOR THANKSGIVING WEEKEND – DECIDE WHERE YOU ARE AND WHO YOU WANT TO BE:   Sometimes we can start with the best intentions but it only takes one to two things to trigger it into a snow ball effect – and before you know it you are out of control. It’s important to always HAVE A PLAN! I can’t say it enough, if you plan you will have so much more success than if you don’t.

If you want to be a SHARK: You will cheat one day this weekend and only one day and the other days you will have planned and you will follow them 110% and you will have the very best weight loss week. Remember, your plan must include all days not just the day you know you are cheating. Sharks know what they are doing at all times – everyday. They plan and they follow it. So if you want to be a shark and have the best weight loss this weekend, you need to know exactly what day your cheat day will be and know exactly what you are eating on your non Cheat Days. As you know, it’s important to plan your cheat day but when we are not on a regular schedule like this weekend – it’s just as important to plan your weight loss days which are your NON-CHEAT DAYS. Know what you are eating and what your choices will be, and you will come out of this like the SHARK that you are.

If you want to be a SNAIL: You will split the cheat days and be clean all day and cheat Thanksgiving dinner and one night over the weekend and you will lose like a Snail. Again, make sure you have the non-cheat days planned and even plan the cheat dinners knowing exactly what you want to cheat with.

If you want to be a SLUG:  You will taste and have little cheats through the whole weekend keeping the days clean and only tasting and having little cheats each night and you will most likely maintain. If you are happy with not gaining and not losing, and also not over doing anything and just kind of staying in one place, then a slug might be a good option for you. A good way to control being a slug is to try tasting each item that looks appealing to you and bypass anything that you wouldn’t normally eat. Tasting one large tablespoon of each thing you like is sometimes more than enough. When you are a slug you want to stay on your path and make sure no one steps on you  – so each night decide in advance what you are tasting and what you are bypassing. Sometimes when others see we are not 100% they think it’s okay to pull you into the dark side, offering more wine/food than you need or planned –  but if you know what you are tasting and treating yourself to and you stick to it you will come out of the holiday feeling okay and still in control.  Yes, Monday you will feel the weekend bloat and not feeling your best but you won’t feel the worst either. Slugs usually come out of the weekend needing one full week to get back to the pre- holiday number but still feeling okay with their decisions.

Being a slug is very common for many people over the holidays and vacations. And it works great if this is where you want to stay – as long as you know what you are tasting and treating yourself to each day you will do great. If one night it’s drinks and the next morning it’s bagels and maybe one night a meal – it’s all good.  But to be a slug still means that 80% of the day is clean with 20% cheating each day.  Find your balance and what works for you and what’s worth it –  And never ever eat just to eat or cheat just to cheat. Make sure everything that you do is worth the results. Being a slug is fine to do and you should have no guilt when it’s over a vacation or holiday weekend.  The only time being a SLUG is NOT OKAY is when you are living like this everyday and never really getting any where. Make a choice and stick to it. If you feel you deserve to be a slug this weekend then go for it and enjoy it.

If you want to simply MAINTAIN:  You can keep it very simple and have one cheat dinner and one full cheat day and that will keep you maintained for the week.  And you will come out of it feeling great and controlled and be able to stay on your weight loss path feeling great. Again very important for the cheat dinner your day needs to be super clean and your non cheat days need to be 110% planned weight loss days. This will keep you on track for a maintain week and in a very good place come Monday morning.

If you decide to be a GLUTTON and eat from the time you wake up until you go to bed over the course of the weekend then you will be one of the very unhappy people who wake up Monday morning trying to squeeze into your clothes that will make you feel more like the stuffed turkey and sausage that you consumed over the weekend. At that point I promise you will look back and not be happy with your choices and you won’t even remember what you ate and drank that got you to this point. THINK BEFORE YOU GRAB AND ALWAYS REMEMBER EVERY CHOICE HAS A GOOD AND/OR BAD CONSEQUENCE.

My final thoughts for you this Holiday Weekend – there is always a choice and if you make the one that works for you this weekend – then come Monday morning you will feel so much better than any EXTRA food or drink you would have tasted.   There is no better feeling than waking up Monday morning knowing that you followed what you planned. You enjoyed – you feel great and you fit into your clothes. Remember me saying this – wherever you are right now, today, this moment – you want to be in a better place come Monday morning. You can enjoy the weekend, the food, drink and the treats and still do the right thing. You want to enjoy those you love, and remember the holiday is about being grateful for what you have and who you have in your life. It’s not about over indulging and gluttony.  It’s about happiness, being grateful and feeling good both mentally and physically. You need to figure out and plan what that is for you this coming weekend and what plan will make you feel the very best starting Wednesday night and waking up Monday morning.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

211 E 43rd Street Manhattan, NY 10019