First of all, there is an amazing giveaway opportunity for someone to win a beautiful, wooden Jord watch in today’s post! I am wearing the Ebony & Sable watch from the Cassia collection. It was fun to swap my Apple watch for something a little fancier for the weekend! (I also have world’s puniest wrists and Drew loves to make fun of them and say he could snap them like twigs….thankfully he hasn’t tested the theory) I think the men’s and women’s options would make unique Valentine’s gifts.
Some topics are disputable, but I think we can all agree that weekends are welcomed by everyone and never seem to stay long enough. This particular weekend is was extra special because Drew and I celebrated Valentine’s by staying at a downtown hotel and just spending uninterrupted time together (and if you’ve read this post, you know that’s my love language). I know you aren’t here for all those details, so let’s talk about some practical takeaways that might help you balance all the memories and life-giving experiences that the weekends bring without sacrificing your health and fitness goals.
As a macro coach, I get insight into the daily eating habits of girls from all over the country on a week my week basis through their check-ins.It’s so fun to hear about how they are learning personally the way that food can be used to accelerate their specific goals, but also not miss out on things like Super Bowl treats, birthday dinners and Valentine’s chocolate. BUT one common theme with with almost all of them is that it’s HARD TO STAY ON TRACK OVER THE WEEKEND. Whether you track macros or not, there are just more opportunities for you to be eating away from home and that typically lends itself to more calories than you need, but there are ways to minimize the excess for sure:
BALANCE YOUR PLATE
This may seem simple, but if you are going out to eat then you should enjoy the experience and not be over-thinking the menu, but you can still be mindful of general rules. This is where having a basis of macros can be valuable, but if nothing else--choose a balance of protein, carbs and fats. What does that even mean? Well, a pancake brunch with syrup, fruit and orange juice is almost 100% carbs. Not only that, but simple carbs that are quickly digested and not the best for insulin and blood sugar. Instead, choose something more balanced. For example at the brunch we enjoyed at the Westin, I chose:
Egg White Omelet (PROTEIN, no fat, no carbs)
Fruit ( CARBS, no fat, no protein)
Broccolini (low CARB)
Mini Pecan Cinnamon Roll ( CARBS + FAT)
Choose the “FUN” Foods as an Appetizer to Share, Not Your Main Course
Drew picked a dinner place he knew I would love-- Pomegranate which features lots of fresh Persian food. We ordered hummus and a roasted garlic eggplant spread for an appetizer served with pita bread and it was delicious! Knowing that those were predominately carbs/fats, I chose a saffron citrus chicken kabob and substituted the rice for a salad. The flavors of the meal were delicious, the company couldn’t have been better, and I left satisfied in every way.
View Excess Calories as Excess FUEL
After dinner, I was pretty full and I estimated that my daily macros were pretty well spent. We walked around downtown for a while and Drew got some ice cream (that he let me test) and then headed back to our hotel. After a while, I decided that few bites of ice cream didn’t really fill my Valentine’s treat quota and I remembered the Quest Cookie I had thrown in my bag. I ate it and it was AMAZING. That would have put me generously over my macros by quite a bit more than the 5-10g of carbs and protein/ 2-3g fat that I recommend, but I didn’t care. My thoughts this morning weren’t anywhere close to regretting it--in fact, I had more energy in the gym this morning and I’m just going to attribute it to a great hotel bed and those extra carbs.
Your muscles will use extra carbs to your advantage to provide energy for a tough workout if you USE them (so you can’t sit around and expect them to help you). I chose to put together a killer full-body circuit with lower weights, but plenty of reps and I think my cookie was what got me through!
My hope is that posts like this allow you to be a little more strategic about your weekends and that you fully enjoy the company and experiences that they bring without feeling as though Monday is going to be a huge transition back into your healthy routine. Balanced living and creating something that is sustainable for you is the best chance you have at making it long-term. Don’t get me wrong, I love having goals and sometimes those goals mean temporarily making more dramatic changes to weekends (packing your own foods, choosing healthier options, saying no to birthday cake, ordering the salad when you want the burger) in order to achieve them, but extremes should not be the norm.
Thank you for the support with this blog-- it truly means so much that you come and read!
I hope you enjoy the GIVEAWAY opportunities that I have to give back to you in ways other than just information and take full advantage of your chance to win:
Simply follow this link to enter!