Bachelor party in Vegas, golf outing with friends, exclusive box seats at a baseball game that includes all you can eat and drink, weekend getaway, the holidays. Just a few potential predicaments you could find yourself in throughout the year that will challenge your decision making when it comes to living in the moment while at the same time, sticking to your fitness goals. By the way, these were all challenges that I had this past year, just to name a few.
Situations like these will happen, that’s life. I encourage you to take full advantage of these opportunities to have fun, enjoy life, and live in the moment. The tough part is doing so while sticking to your health and fitness goals. Although you may not always be able to control the situations you’re in, you can always control the decisions you make. Even if you do deviate to some extent from your health goals, you can still do some damage control by the decisions you make.
I’m going to take the situations I mentioned above that I found myself in and give you examples for each of what I did that allowed me to still enjoy the moments while keeping my fitness goals in mind and the damage control decisions I made.
Moment #1
Bachelor Party In Vegas
Let’s be honest, it was a friends bachelor party and we were in Vegas so yes it’s fair to say I had my fair share of cocktails. Knowing that I had this event coming up, I made it a point to work extra hard the entire week working up to the weekend we left for Vegas. In addition, when I got to Vegas I made it a point to drink lots of water throughout the day. I committed to getting my workouts done in the morning so that they were done regardless of what the day had in store for me. They weren’t my finest workouts but they were done (some is always better than none). I also stayed away from all the big, great, greasy buffets Vegas has to offer. Certainly not an easy task but I made it happen.
Moment #2
Golf Outing With Friends
Golfing with friends always seems to include having some beers and eating greasy food during and after golfing, whether it’s pizza, hot dogs, or burgers. I limited my beers to just a few and again made it a point to drink lots of water throughout the day. When it came time to eat afterwards, I opted for a chicken sandwich on wheat, no fries. In addition, I still managed to get in a run that morning before our tee time.
Moment #3
Baseball Box Seats With All You Can Eat & Drink
I made it a point to eat before showing up for the game therefore minimizing the chances of being extra hungry and eating everything and anything there. I did snack on fresh shrimp they had there and fruit. I had a few drinks but also drank lots of water before and while at the game. Once again, I made it a point to get in my workout earlier in the day before the game.
Moment #4
Weekend Getaway
It was a weekend getaway to Santa Barbara. Getaways are meant to be relaxing and fun, at least I think so. Just because it’s a Getaway doesn’t mean you have to get away from your fitness goals. I started each day with a workout, whether it was in the hotel gym or going for a run. I kept my breakfast to fresh fruit provided by the hotel. After breakfast I rented a bike, a beach cruiser, and rode for miles up and down the beach boardwalk. I had a salad and a glass of wine for lunch, followed by lots of water throughout the day. Damage control at dinner was done by staying away from the complimentary bread usually served at restaurants, splitting a meal (therefore splitting the calories), everything from the appetizer, to the entree, to yes, even dessert. I then took an after dinner walk to burn off some of the calories I had just consumed.
Moment #5
The Holidays
Nothing different here than what I have mentioned above. For Thanksgiving, I registered and ran a 5K run Thanksgiving morning, drank lots of water leading up to the Thanksgiving meal so that I wasn’t very hungry therefore decreasing how much I ate. I won the food coma battle by not laying down afterwards but instead, staying active, helping with clean up, and taking a walk afterwards to help burn off some of the calories I had just consumed. Although there was a smorgasbord of deserts, I chose two different ones and had very small portions of both. Same idea for Christmas, but no 5K Run Christmas eve or day, got in a gym workout one day and a run, a very cold outside run the other day.
Life is meant to be enjoyed and we should make it a point to always enjoy every moment and not have to sacrifice all the small pleasures along the way. It’s a balancing act. Next time you’re placed in a position that you know will compromise your fitness goals, make it a point to plan ahead (if you have the opportunity to do so) or on the fly, create your own damage control plan, and more than anything….enjoy yourself.
