This weekend I enjoyed multiple slices of pizza and a sandwich. Full disclosure: I’m not trying to lose weight, but I do help a lot of people lose weight (and keep it off!) without giving up delicious things like pizza, sandwiches, and ice cream. Obviously, if your weight loss plan involves delicious things you enjoy, your weight loss plan is a lot more likely to last a lifetime!
Let’s talk about it for #NutritionTipTuesday
Both times I had pizza, I had a salad first. I also drank two glasses of water before the pizza came out. The salad tasted great and was a much healthier addition than say, breadsticks. It also gave me some nutrients that helped my body to digest the pizza better. The water and salad combined to fill me up a little, so I didn’t overeat the pizza.
I also had a side of fruit with my sandwich, a much better option than chips or fries. Again, I had two glasses of water before it came out. Like the aforementioned salad, the fruit had nutrients and fiber to help my body function and digest the sandwich better. The water and fruit combined to fill me up a little. In this case, I still finished the sandwich.
Alright, enough nutrition science! The real magic of this strategy is that it keeps me in a headspace where I’m allowing myself to enjoy delicious food, instead of feeling deprived, but I’m still considering my health. (Also, let’s not forget that fruit and salad taste awesome!) This is called “balance”. Balance is good for your health and your sanity.
I regularly eat like this on the weekends. Sometimes it’s burgers or wings, but I still try to get those fruits and veggies in wherever I can. Not just because they are “healthy”, but because they taste great too! I remind myself of this a lot through my choices during the week, where fruits and veggies (and protein, of course!) are staples that I enjoy regularly. They are just my habits.
That’s probably more important than the digestive/mental benefits of getting them in on the weekends, alongside delicious dietary delights of 2019 America: having healthy go-to’s that I enjoy and help me function my best amidst the 12-16 hour workdays days where I need to be on-point.
(Training 6+ people a day and doing an overnight radio show require me to be “on” pretty much all the time. If it was all burgers and pizza, chances are I’d feel pretty rundown and sluggish.)
Drink water before your meals, get fruits and veggies in when you’re going for the delicious less-healthy stuff, and experiment until you find healthier things that work for your lifestyle and taste buds during your weekly routine. Once you find those, ride them into the f***ing ground! (If you get tired of them, experiment to find more!)
If you truly enjoy your healthy staples, it won’t feel like a “chore” to eat them, and you won’t feel “guilty” when you’re out at a restaurant with friends. You’ll feel in control of what you’re putting into your body, which has a MASSIVE impact on how your body looks and feels.
It doesn’t have to look exactly like this for you, I’m just using my life as an example. There are a million ways you can apply it to your life! Every single one of my nutrition clients has different healthy staples, and different treats they decide to enjoy.
Don’t forget to eat those treats slowly so you truly enjoy them, savoring the explosion of flavor as the delicious deep-fried, sugary stuff makes sweet love to your taste buds. You will get more out of each bite: eating less while getting more satisfaction from them.
This stuff isn’t meant to help you lose 50 pounds by the end of summer. It’s meant to give you tools, tips, and tricks that will last a lifetime. The weight loss will come, but you won’t need to stress about it because you’ll just be enjoying your life and food more.
Have fun and do your best,
Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach (American Council on Exercise; Precision Nutrition)