Enjoy weekends more with healthy eating!

The weekends tend to be tough when it comes to eating healthy. You're not on your weekday schedule, and even if you've been eating healthy all week, the second your brain switches off on Friday night, your momentum goes with it. Sure, you want to indulge because you deserve to, but you don't want to go completely off the rails.

It is important to eat healthy, but you also need to to allow yourself to enjoy foods you are craving.  Today I would like to share some of the most effective tips I have found to help you enjoy your weekend and continue to practice healthy habits.

First, let’s start with breakfast. Starting the day with a meal you truly enjoy can set you up for success, like a homemade hash of scrambled eggs with veggies, which is both balanced and filling. This will prevent you from constantly searching for snacks, or sabotaging your next meal to fill a craving. And if you prepare your breakfast at home because there's more time on weekend mornings, you can choose which ingredients are going into it, making it as healthy and nourishing as possible.

Drink water. This is one of the first habits I encourage any person to start with. It's such an easy one to commit to and it doesn't affect your weekend plans whatsoever.  Make sure you fill up a water bottle and keep it with you all day. Making one, small healthy choice often sets you up to make other choices. Plus, staying hydrated may help you avoid overeating on weekends. It’s easy to say yes to going out to eat at a nice restaurant, and that’s a good thing! However, that doesn’t mean you have to fall into the trap of overeating with a high-calorie meal. Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger.  So, hydration is very important.

Allow yourself to enjoy the foods you are craving. Psychologically, if we allow ourselves to enjoy “unhealthy” foods in moderation, and they’re no longer “off limits”, they seem less enticing. So, tell yourself it is OK to enjoy a treat. You won't feel deprived of indulgences, which often leads us to binge on the “unhealthy” foods. What we see in the long run is that once you see progress from eating healthy, you will naturally want to eat less of the unhealthy foods anyway and will begin to crave balance in your meals.

Cook something new. As we all know, it can be challenging to meal prep on the weekdays. The weekends usually give us the time to cook or try something new. Instead of going out to eat all the time on the weekend, cook a new recipe you find interesting. Try to incorporate a seasonal vegetable or a cultural flair. Get your kids involved or invite a friend to cook with you!

Keep yourself active. One way to ensure that you don’t miss out on exercise is to incorporate it into your weekend plans. If you like to take a break on the weekends, that’s fine. There are plenty of lower-intensity activities that involve moving without feeling like exercise. Try taking a walk into town, going on a bike ride with your family, or walk to the farmer’s market with a friend and get your grocery shopping off of the to-do list. It’s active and it’s social which is a boost for your mood.

Make sure you practice intuitive eating. The weekends can vary a lot from busy to relaxed. This weekend, try to practice some intuitive eating by being present and honoring your cravings.