HI FRIENDS!Long time, no blog, eh?

I hope you had a great weekend. Shane and I had some friends over on Friday night for pizza and wii and then Saturday we met up with some friends for a whiskey tour, and then hit up the town. Then on Sunday, we spent the majority of the day shopping for bedroom furniture.

Fun times! And then basically any minute I wasn’t doing the above, I was working. Because, I’ve been ya’ll. This week I have several new clients in my VIP 1-on-1 training program, and then I also have my November boot camp that starts TODAY! 🙂 And since I’m pretty obsessed with all of my clients, I tend to over-work a little bit. It’s totally fine though, because I enjoy it.

Anyway, last week was filled with consultations for the said boot camp, and I chatted with each of the ladies starting about their goals, potential hurdles, training, and nutrition. It’s a really crazy phenomenon (or coincidence, but I’m going with the idea that it’s a universal preference,) but with each boot camp, there’s a handful of ladies that have very similar ‘potential hurdles.’ This month, it’s the hurdle that we’re able to stick with our nutrition goals 100% ON POINT through the week, but then when the weekend comes, all bets are off.

You know what I’m talking about. We follow a specific nutrition plan very rigidly all week long, and then come Friday night we feel so deprived that we just toss any inkling of that plan to the side, and eat ALL THE THINGS. Then on Sunday evening, we feel crappy about our weekend eating habits, and start the week off by restricting. It’s a vicious cycle, and not only is it not productive, but it wastes precious mental and emotional energy.

This isn’t a super uncommon hurdle. In fact, maybe you’ve even dealt with this at some point or another; I know I had before. While this hurdle tends to affect primarily those who are “All-or-Nothing” type of people, it can also happen to those of us who tend to be more moderate.

Now, here I could just start listing tips to avoid the “weekend bender” but it’s not that easy. Those who consider themselves all-or-nothing types wouldn’t be successful doing the same things that a moderate type of person would do.

How to NOT Start Back Over on Monday Anymore

Now I consider myself to be a more moderate type of person. I’m not one to set big new years’ goals, nor am I one to do any sort of ‘challenge’ where I give up something for 30 days. I’m NOT saying that’s the better approach, it’s just my approach. And I work with both camps of people.

1. Determine whether a moderate approach or a more set-in-stone approach is better for you (moderation vs. all or nothing)

2. IF moderate – Of course, everyone is different and not all ladies who take a more moderate approach would do the exact same tactic, but I like to brainstorm with my clients ways that they can make their work week nutrition a little less restrictive. There are a handful of ways to do this, and the way that works best for you is completely dependent on your habits and tendencies, but one way is to build in “indulgences” into your daily diet. Whether it’s a piece of dark chocolate after lunch or dinner or some cream in your coffee, sometimes it helps to sprinkle in nutritional additions that feel decadent. Again, what you do specifically depends on your history, habits, goals, and tendencies.

2a. If All-or-Nothing. For my clients who are more all-or-nothing type of people, we take more of a decision-based approach, meaning we make a decision or goal that will positively impact the restrict-binge cycle and then start making it part of their daily routine, habits, or lifestyle. Again – there are many changes we could implement, depending on your history, habits, goals, and tendencies, but one way is to plan a “treat meal” each week. Knowing that you have a meal to enjoy on a special occasion (out with friends, on a date, etc.) that doesn’t follow your typical way of eating, works really well for some to not feel deprived with their nutrition on an ongoing basis.

3. If it does happen – if you do end up feeling bad about your nutritional choices come Sunday night-

• Don’t start off the week on a restrictive note. Instead, return to your normal eating habits. If you start off trying to skimp on calories, it’s likely that by the weekend or sooner the feelings of deprivation will return.
• SWEAT! Getting in a good sweat sesh will release endorphins, start the week off on a healthy and positive note, and get you feeling back on track. Sometimes when I eat a super carb-heavy meal the night before, I like to “put the carbs to work” (read: NOT ‘burn them off’) by deadlifting or squatting 🙂
• Sip lots of water. Chances are, you’ll likely feel bloated, and while you probably didn’t actually gain any body fat, you might feel like it because of some additional water weight you’re hanging on to.. Sipping on water consistently through the day will help that dissipate as the week goes on.
• Most importantly, FORGIVE yourself. It’s happened to all of it, and just focus on your next choice as a healthy one. We can’t go back in time, but we can help ourselves to feel better by continuing to make choices that support our health and nutrition goals moving forward. Feeling shame will only decrease self-efficacy, which is the opposite of what’s needed right now.

After the holiday weekened, I hope this helped a bit if you happen to feel a wee bit crashed out from a Halloween sugar high. XO!

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