Happy 4th Weekend!!

TGIF guys! I hope you all are ready for your long weekends! I know I am.

I started off my 4-day weekend by waking up at the ungodly hour of 5:45am. I thought of 42 excuses why I didn’t want to get up! Then I thought about Tanya and how much I love her class and how great I feel after a morning workout … and I peeled my ass out of bed! I’m glad I did, I can see the differences in my stamina already (I can stand in relevé for more than 2 seconds!! I can’t believe it!). I feel amazing and I’m excited that each class is different! I never know what tortuous activity is coming next.

This weekend I have a lot of activities planned, but I’m making a concerted effort to incorporate healthy choices whenever possible. I’m heading to The Farm in Lexington to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies (might even try something crazy like a watermelon radish!). I’m constantly reminding myself of my looming self-inflicted deadline of July 8th – but not in a bad way…in a “do you REALLY need dessert? Will it help or hinder your progress? Did you have enough water today?”. I am encouraged and so so hopeful that I will see the number 2 9 9 staring back on that scale next week!! Thank you all for your encouraging notes and emails, it really makes my day knowing how many people are in my corner rooting for my success!

A few people mentioned how hard is to avoid over-eating (or drinking!) during the holidays. Here are some tricks I use to help me in social situations where I could be tempted to go crazy.

* Pick your battles. If you want a beer/wine/mixed drink at the event, then aim for eating as healthy as possible. Load up on veggies, salad (beware of the tasty but high-calorie items like dressing, croutons and bacon), eat lots of proteins and limit your starchy carbs (potatoes, white bread etc). If you’d rather have a decadent dessert (like berry, berry cheesecake or a brownie sundae) then you need to limit your alcohol intake. Everything is a balancing act! You can eat everything you want – but not at once.

* Get bouts of exercise where you can. Don’t want to gym? Take a walk, park further from the fireworks and enjoy the extra exercise.    (sidenote: I looove the gym during holiday weekends – it’s dead!).

* Last but not least, keep this one in mind: This isn’t your last day on Earth. You don’t need to have every crazy treat at the carnival or the BBQ…because there will be others. So often I have felt like I needed to eat EVERYTHING around me because “it’s a holiday!” or “I might never do this again!”…nah, I’m pretty sure 4th of July will happen again next year! No need to overdose on cotton candy, fried dough (mmmm…), hot dogs, french fries AND milk shakes in one day.

For some kickass healthy recipes check here and here. I highly recommend grilled corn, fresh fruit in any form and quinoa salad.

Oh I’ve also started reading “The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl” by Shauna Reed (thanks for the recommendation Amanda!) – I LOVE Shauna…we might be separated at birth we’re so alike! The book is hilarious, I’m really enjoying it. If you’re looking for a fun summer read, I highly recommend it!

Enjoy your long weekends everyone!!!