6 ways to avoid a weekend blowout

By Casey O’Dell, Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD)

So, during the working week you’ve been on point with your eating and exercise routine. Well done, but don’t undo all your hard work with two days of overindulging or an ‘all or nothing’ approach! You can still treat yourself and relax while maintaining your weekday efforts with a few simple steps:

1. Start the day well – After you’ve slept in enough to catch up on missed sleep, head for a walk or take yourself to the gym. Starting the weekend with exercise makes you feel great and puts you in the right head space for the rest of the day.
2. Be productive – If you need to clean the house or sort some laundry, you’ll feel better once it’s done. It is also great exercise. Knocking it out on Saturday will give you Sunday to truly relax, knowing that your chores are done!
3. Sensible ordering – When eating out, have a strategy! Choose wisely 80% of the time. Perhaps you can go without the entree, skip the bread or share a dessert? Ordering a sparkling mineral water with your meal is a refreshing option without the calorie price tag of an alcoholic drink. Think to yourself “I am a healthy person and I chose to order….”.
4. Avoid binge drinking – drinking a lot of alcohol is the quickest way to undo hard work. Have a glass of mineral water between each drink and slow it up when having a night out. Stick to clear spirits with low calorie mixers as they won’t contribute as much to your waistline.
5. Relax – Every couple of weekends try and book nothing so you can relax and recharge. Do a meditation, yoga or Pilates class or treat yourself to a massage. Is there a book you’ve been wanting to read or a Netflix series you need to catch up on? Give yourself the permission to read/watch and relax. This is imperative to ensuring you are well rested and ready to take on the work week again.
6. DIY Takeaway – Make some homemade burgers or pizza on Lebanese bread instead of Uber Eats! It’s mostly easier, quicker, healthier, cheaper and tastier.