The Word on Weightloss

Hindsight is always 20/20...that’s why when we're dieting and we indulge and overeat we feel guilty or ashamed and silly. Vacations and holiday weekends are the biggest culprit because we’re usually doing something special and outside of our usual routine. Summer picnics with friends seems to always include grilled burgers and hotdogs, potato and macaroni salads, potato chips, dips and a cold beer. It’s very hard not to indulge in these tasty treats; after all you don’t have the opportunity to eat them very often. So when you're on a weight loss program, what are you supposed to do? And once you've already indulged a little too much what’s the best thing to do afterwards? Let’s review a few of the basics of dieting during special occasions with these weight loss tips.

Eat healthy proteins BEFORE you go!
Summer picnics and parties are usually planned in advance. This is good news when you'rel on a weight loss program and trying to lose weight – by planning ahead, you can stick to your diet. About an hour before you head out to the picnic eat a high protein, complex carbohydrate snack. A few examples are:

• an apple with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter
• a few rice cakes and a cup of yogurt
• a hard boiled egg and a piece of all natural 100% whole grain toast

These snacks introduce healthy and filling nutrients into your system, which should help you to actually eat less at your picnic. Do not skip meals or fast for hours before the picnic begins. This form of weight management won't help you save calories. You’ll surely end up over eating and regretting it the next day.

So you still ate too much, now what?

Take a walk.
After a big meal you’ll probably feel so stuffed and possibly bloated that you don’t want to move. The couch looks like a great place to camp out for the next few hours. Don’t let your desire to stay still and lay around keep you down. Go take a walk and keep moving! Walking after a big meal will actually help the digestive process and keep you on track for losing weight...much more than just laying on the couch! Your system will activate itself and movement helps the digestive process move along faster. By doing some kind of exercise, you'll feel betterY by the time you get home!

Eat a healthy breakfast.
For healthy weight loss, I can't stress this enough. Eating a healthy breakfast is by far the best thing you can do when you’re focused on losing weight. Eating a nutritious breakfast such as whole grain cereal with low-fat milk and a banana will help you restart from last night’s cookout. Sit down and enjoy your breakfast too, take some time to think about what your eating and how you feel after you eat...part of dieting is understanding your relationship with the food you eat.

Eat extra fruits, veggies and drink water.
Fruits and vegetables are high in fiber, which helps in your digestive process. These foods help you feel full, and keep your system moving. Complement these foods by drinking more water the day after a big meal. Water and fiber are the best things to eat which will supercharge your digestive process and keep your diet moving forward.

Don’t starve yourself!
It’s okay to indulge! It happens to all of us once in a while. Do not punish yourself by starving yourself the day after a big meal. Continue to eat as you would and introduce some of the above-mentioned weight loss tips into your day and into your meals. Keep your system running on its optimal level by eating foods that are easy to process, help you feel full and are most helpful in the digestive process.