4th of July Holiday Tips - How to Keep Your Figure, Your Sanity and Not Blow off all Your Fingers.
July 3, 2008
photo by TimothyHamilton
Well another holiday is upon us known as the 4th of July, a time for cookouts, friends, sunshine and playing with tiny explosives. Just because it’s the holiday it doesn’t mean that we can’t go enjoy ourselves, but we should make wise choices and stay in control of what we put in our bodies. There will always be temptations out there, and consider this just another test in which you have total control on what to say “No” to and what to say “Yes” to. Remember, you are the one in control…and only you. So here’s some tips on how to enjoy the holidays and still be able to still keep getting results for health and weight loss.
- Keep Active - Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean your body wants to sit on a couch all day and eat high calorie junk food. So get out there with friends and family whether it be taking a walk, hiking, playing frisbee, running on the beach/trail, playing with the kids in the yard, taking the mountain bike out, go out dancing, unplug the TV and Computer for the weekend and get Out….whatever you enjoy! It’s a lifestyle choice afterall.
- Eat Small Before You Go To a Cookout - I know what you are going to say. “Are you insane? I want to go eat good food at the cookout!”. Well there is no reason that you shouldn’t, just have something light to start you off before you go. Most cookouts say they start at say 1pm and then the food is ready at 3pm….all the while you are surrounded by tables of cookies, cakes, snacks, etc….not a good thing if you show up hungry. So just have something light….some protein…vegetables…small fruit. Keep your cravings in check and don’t put yourself in a situation where you may end up diving onto the dessert table.
- See and Limit Hidden Sugars - Remember that we want to try and keep our insulin levels stable, so eating sugar at the wrong times can be disasterous. Try to stay with healthy fruits, avoid drinks made with punch/fruit juices (including anything you may be mixing in with it), choose meats not covered in sauces (usually sugar loaded), use toppings like mustard instead of ketchup (high in sugar), etc.
- Eat Vegetables and Small Fruit First - Always start with some good fruits and vegetables to fill up on, especially the kinds that are higher in water and fiber content. This will help you down the road as you will not be caving into hunger sensations and over eating on high calorie foods.
- Eat Meat/Protein Next - Get your protein in (although not sure how much real meat or protein is in a hot dog!). It will help you feel full, reduce any cravings and also keep your muscles happy.
- Enjoy Dessert on a Small Plate - If you want to have some of Aunt Mary’s infamous apple pie or lemon squares…..go ahead and enjoy some. Just do it after you have eaten your main course so you feel more full and are less likely to pig out. Make smaller portions of whatever is in front of you, as just because it comes in one big square on the platter doesn’t mean you can’t go find a knife and make it into smaller sizes. Also use the smallest little tiny plate you can and only use it once (no 13 trips back to the desert table)….the less room on the plate the less you will be tempted to fill it up (big plate=big disaster). Enjoy in moderation…and stay in control.
- Do a Quick Body-Weight Workout Before You Go Out - What do I mean by this? Well do a quick 10 min workout with pushups, pullups, squats, lunges and add in any resistance you can (bands, dumbbells). Have fun with a quick resistive based workout and you also can help improve your insulin sensitivity for hours afterwards (helps to shuttle in glucose to muscles and not fat). For example, do a full body circuit of 5 exercises (pushups, pullups, squat, lunge, overhead press…for example or add in something like snatches and cleans with DB/KB for more advanced) for 10 reps (we want to exercise in the glycolitic range with 10 reps, vary resistance as needed…as it should be challenging…not easy. Stay in control of your reps.). Do the full circuit with little to no rest in between exercises. Take a 1-2 min break at the end of every full circuit when completed. Repeat the circuit 3-5 times. That’s a pretty good workout for anyone!
- Use IF as a Recovery Tool - Have too much the day before? Feel bloated? Well use a day of IF to give your digestive system a chance to clean up the mess you left behind from yesterday. Drinking things like water with lemon or apple cider vinegar on an empty stomach can also help with the process. Use as needed, as you can always recover from a high calorie day with a lower calorie one. Just be smart and don’t starve yourself thinking it will keep you thin…remember that is not what IF is about! Eat healthy and get your nutrients in, as that is what the body wants….natural vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids and minerals from real foods.
- Drink in Moderation - From a fitness point of view, excess alcohol will just lower testosterone and increase estrogen and fat storing. Enjoy your weekend holiday celebrations just do so in moderation. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a nice cold beer on a hot summers day (I know I will)….but drinking to excess is not enjoyment and is usually signaling some deeper issue inside that alcohol is used to hide or keep quiet for a while. Enjoy your company, enjoy your beverages, be safe and have fun.
- Practice Saying “No” - Holidays are a perfect example to practice the art of saying “No”. Say “No” to desert, chips, sitting on the couch…..anything you don’t really want to do or eat. Don’t do anything just to make someone else happy or to not hurt their feelings, that’s no way to live YOUR life. You don’t have to explain to anyone why you are saying “No” to something, you don’t have to be left out of the group, you don’t have to worry about what others think (chances are they really don’t care anyways). Just practice smiling and saying “No Thank You” to things you really don’t want to do or eat and don’t worry about what others are going to say or think. You and only you have total control of your life and what you do, no one else. The more you start saying “No” to things/people, the better you get at it…..so practice makes perfect.
- Don’t Blow Your Fingers Off - I think this tip is self explanatory….or at least I hope so…..
These are just some tips to help you make it through the weekend…or any holiday/family gathering. If readers also have some good tips please share them in the comments section for everyone to read. Have fun and be safe this long weekend!
I just want to second what you said about BBQ sauces. I’m a waitress at a BBQ restaurant that has 5 different types of sauces, all of which are delicious; I found out why the other day. Either high fructose corn syrup or regular corn syrup is the first ingredient in ALL of them.
That was a sad discovery for me, though my coworkers didn’t understand why that was a big deal. It’s like eating soda!
Hi Mike! It’s been a while since I’ve posted and I was doing a lot of damage meanwhile. After I read your response to my post, I tried to give up sugar, especially the two tablespoons in my coffee! (Don’t have a heart attack, I know it’s bad). But I didn’t succeed. I don’t know what it was but I actually ended up eating more sugar and more and eating my way up to 128 pounds from 122 in about a month. So today, i quit cold turkey. I even gave up my cereal which “healthy” as it was, it had 8gms of sugar. I’d like to try the IF again too with a healthier approach, say 10am-6pm eating. Yet there is so many things that i eat that i didn’t realize had, gulp, sugar!! like english muffins and salad dressings. How much of that do i need to avoid? i know my yogurt has sugar but i don’t know how much of it is added and how much is naturally occuring.
so for someone like me, what is the best way to burn the most amount of fat? i run 4 days a week training for a half marathon. i do circuits similar to the abs diet ones but i add in 30 seconds of elliptical between sets, 2 days a week also.
my biggest regret is not listening to your advice sooner, maybe i wouldn’t have an additional 6 pounds to lose now.
thanks for the advice!
eleni
All good advice Mike, we can and should enjoy the good things in Life, but without ruining everything.
Just recently found your site through Dr. Eades’ site. Love your posts and no-nonsense writing, advice, etc.
Keep it up - really enjoy the reading and I’m learning a lot.
AMEN ON THE NO.
for all facets of our lives!
Melanie - WOW. Yes we would be surprised where it pops up….to make everything taste good. Thanks for the insider story. Yikes!
Eleni - If going “cold turkey” is not something you can stick with without reverting back (and in a bad way), then try to find a way to limit. Many people may eat more of what they call “cheat” foods on the wekeend only (although I don’t like the word cheat, as it implies you are depriving yourself of something otherwise). Don’t worry about the past….it happened and is long gone. Just focus on what you need to do now to keep your body healthy and move forward one step at a time. The fact that you are getting increasing awareness of what is in food is the best thing you can do….as once you really know what you are putting in your body you can have full control and make the healthy choices. Enjoy the daily journey, forget the past.
Hi Mike,
You talk about ACV (apple cid vinegar) a lot and that it is excellent for health.
I tried to take it with water has say and I don’t if the portions were right or wrong, but it tasted NO good.Almost gave me nausea.
Strange thing is that I’ve always loved vinegar so I tried to take it solo and I love the taste of a tablespoon of vinegar. Is it too aggressive to take it this way? I’m taking a glass of water after each tablespoon of vinegar. Is it better to try to take it water? Feeling the taste of vinegar only a bit addictive as I like it so much. Should I try to switch it to water+vinegar or am I “allowed” to do it this way?
Thanks for your time and knowledge
I’m feeling it’s changing my life and health for a lot better=)
dingas
(cheers from Portugal)
Just remembered another question.
Can I take water + acv + lemon drops or better to separate and take water with acv or water with lemon?
How can I explain that acv is good for health? And for googling, good for a LOT of things.
Thanx
dingas
ps : gettin’ addicted to acv
Dingas - Yes search on the net and you will find 1001 uses for ACV…including it probably polishes your silverware! Anyways….DO NOT take it alone, you will burn your esophagus and give yourself an ulcer. Ideally start with like 1-2 teaspoons in about 8-12oz of warm/room temp water. (not cold) The taste….well you get used to it but if you want to add in a little lemon to make it easier to go down I can’t see any harm. You can move into 1-2 tablespoon in 8-12oz (or more if needed) of water but wouldn’t go over it. It’s best to take on empty stomach first thing in AM and last thing PM, as if you take it will meals it will just go into the digestive process (which actually does help people with GERD). Also make sure you are getting the right kind of ACV, the RAW ORGANIC UNFILTERED WITH THE MOTHER kind. (not the clear kind found with other white vinegars…it should be cloudy with something floating in it, that’s the mother which keeps the beneficial enzymes/bacteria alive)