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Summer is a great time to be social and spend time with family and friends – time usually spent enjoying not just each other’s company, but also good food and drink. The question for those wanting to get fit or maintain their fitness is: How have you coped with the social pressure to indulge?
If you’ve fallen off tracks, don’t worry. Here are some tips to get back on the fitness train, avoid the peer pressure traps, continue enjoying social get-togethers and, most importantly, maintain at least some of your hard-earned health and fitness:
1. Stay true to self and embrace the uncomfortable. Remember; you are who you are and you value what you value. You have no obligation to join in on the extravagance just because everyone else is. Learn how to embrace uncomfortable situations, stay true to yourself and politely decline unhealthy offerings (make up a tactful excuse if you’re worried about hurting feelings). Believe it or not, showing the mental fortitude to make healthier choices will gain you a lot of respect and admiration and may even motivate others to follow suit.
2. Eat mindfully: Eat slowly and mindfully. Be aware of the taste, texture and smell of every mouthful. Savor it. It takes 20 minutes to realise we’re full. By eating mindfully and giving yourself time to digest, you are less likely to overeat or feel like you’re missing out.
3. Choose the lesser of evils: Even though you may be surrounded by a lot of fat, sugar and salt, you’ll also notice there are some options that are healthier than others. Always choose the best of what’s available. For instance, choose healthy protein like nuts or hummus over the “empty carbs” like potato chips and cake – your waistline and energy levels will thank you for it.
4. Stay hydrated: Try to drink as much water or herbal tea as you can rather than knocking back beer after beer. Drinking water between meals and drinks helps to fill you up and bypass temptation to fill up on junk.
5. Plan your treats. Rather than going out of your way to avoid parties or social events out of fear you’ll eat and drink too much, plan the rest of your little summer “treats”. Permit yourself a day of no rules as a reward for a hard week of training, knowing that the next day you will go back to your fitness and healthy eating schedule. Should you overeat, promise you will compensate with more exercise the next day.
6. Practice self-compassion. If you do slip up (let’s be honest, few people get away unscathed), don’t beat yourself up. A guilt trip is counter-productive to a healthy mindset and one of the quickest ways to spiral out of control. We know how it goes. You say, “Well, I ate like a pig last night so my diet’s over. May as well indulge.” Then you end up going to all the parties and eating like there’s no tomorrow. You gain weight and feel too fat to work out so you skip the gym. And before you know it, you’re back into old bad habits. Don’t let this happen. Instead, accept that you indulged and get back into your healthy lifestyle the very next meal – then pat yourself on the back for a quick recovery.
Remember, you don’t need to have been perfect this summer. You are only human after all. Do your best to follow the above tips to nudge yourself back on track and you’ll get through looking and feeling better than you have in years!
About Ultimate You
Ultimate You and its three pillars of change methodology, mindset, nutrition and training, has helped thousands of people to transform their mind, body and life outlook and become lean, energetic and healthy. Ultimate You’s philosophy is that weight loss and fitness can’t be achieved just with a physical training program, mindset and nutritional habits also need to be addressed to achieve long term change in a positive way.