Labor Day weekend is here and we know many of you will be enjoying barbeques with family and friends.
If you read our 4th of July post, you’ll already know about our healthy twists on BBQ favorites.
Although it’s possible to eat healthier versions of traditional BBQ food, we understand that sometimes it’s hard to avoid and you may end up indulging a bit this weekend.
So in this post, we have 3 tips to help have a healthy Labor Day Weekend!
1. Water.
Staying hydrated, especially when you’re out in warm, sunny weather, is especially important. Drinking adequate amounts of water will help your body stay energized throughout the day and may prevent you from over eating (sometimes when we’re hungry, we’re actually just thirsty). Aim for drinking half your body weight in ounces of water. If you are drinking alcohol, we also recommend having a glass of water between each drink.
If you want to spice up your water a little bit, it’s always a little more festive and refreshing to add fresh produce. Infuse your water with things like lemon, lime, strawberries, raspberries, cucumber and mint.
2. Snacking on the healthy stuff.
As tempting as the chips, cookies, bread, cheese-laden dips and potato salad may be, they are very inflammatory and are difficult for your body to digest. Fill up first on fresh, healthy foods like veggies, fruit salad, homemade potato salad and dips that are made with lighter ingredients like guacamole, salsa and hummus.
3. Mindfulness
When you’re at a BBQ, it can be easy to focus on the food more than the company and event itself. In order to feel more in control of the situation and to help prevent yourself from over-eating, we recommend a more mindful approach. By “mindful,” we mean really being present with whatever you are doing, whether it’s talking with friends or enjoying the food. Mindfulness with eating comes when you’re savoring your food and eating slowly, chewing at least 20 times, putting your fork down between each bite and checking in with yourself about how full or hungry you are.
Be present when you socialize as well. Really focus on engaging in conversations and enjoying your surroundings. This will take any extra focus off the food and you’ll find you’re having such a good time socializing, that the food will almost become secondary.
Happy Labor Day!