With the weather warming and the excitement for summer starting, Bank Holidays in Britain normally mean two things: booze, and BBQs.
Despite the fun and festivities around Bank Holidays, it can be difficult to navigate the nutritional side of things and make the best choices for yourself through this period. A fine balance between enjoyment and awareness – without it being all you can think about.
To help with this, we’ve come up with some simple tips to see you through the bank holiday weekend.
How to Have a Healthy Bank Holiday
1. Pay attention to what your body needs.
Relating back to our previous post on improving your relationship with food, check in with yourself and ask what looks good, and what you think will make you feel good – and that doesn’t mean “What won’t I feel guilty for eating later”.
Pay attention to your hunger cues, and what you think your body needs (this is not something that can be mastered overnight!), and use that to help inform your choices. Sometimes this might be the salad option, sometimes it might be a burger and ice cream! Learn to trust your body to know what you need and what will feel good.
2. Be mindful of what you’re eating
Relating back to our previous post on improving your relationship with food, check in with yourself and ask what looks good, and what you think will make you feel good, and that doesn’t mean “what won’t I feel guilty for eating later”.
Pay attention to your hunger cues, and what you think your body needs (this is not something that can be mastered overnight!), and make a choice based on that. Sometimes this might be the salad option, sometimes it might be a burger and ice cream! Learn to trust your body to know what you need and what will feel good.
3. Be mindful of your alcohol intake
While most are partial to a drink over a bank holiday weekend (especially if it’s sunny), t’s important to acknowledge the calories you’re consuming from alcohol.
It’s well known that a clear spirit and diet drink is a lower calorie option (if measured and not free-poured), but also consider how long it takes you to drink these drinks, too. Your gin and slimline tonic may have fewer calories per drink, but if you’re consuming two or three of these in this space of time you’d normally have a beer or glass of wine, and if you would prefer the latter, you’re not benefiting from the change of drink at all.
Drink sensibly, and make sure you’re staying hydrated with some water on the side.
4. Don’t skip meals!
How many times have you skipped a meal to ‘save room for later’? To then go on and eat far more than a usual portion size as a result? Although it may be tempting to ‘save’ calories in this way, this sort of behaviour is far more likely to lead to binge-like behaviour.
Doing this will mean you are ravenous when it comes to eating, and therefore eat a lot more in a shorter period of time. Eating so quickly means your stomach can’t signal to your brain that you’re feeling full as efficiently, then leading to the sudden onset of uncomfortable fullness, where you have likely consumed more than you otherwise would have.
You can often negate this by having balanced meals at the times you normally would, in the lead-up to your plans. For example, if you are attending a BBQ at 1pm, make sure you have a balanced breakfast beforehand.
5. BYO
With the various dietary preferences, and the cost of food nowadays, bringing your own dishes to contribute to a BBQ or picnic is now a social norm (a win for everyone, really). If you are wanting to have more control over what you’re eating, this is the perfect way – prepare something within your calories/macros, and bring it with you.
We’ve got plenty of picnic-appropriate dishes on our blog here, which are as good for you as they are delicious.
6. Pay attention to your plate
If you’re unsure of what to eat but want to make sure it’s balanced, aim for at least two sources of veggies (or fruit as well, if available), a lean protein, a source of carbs (whether that’s a grain salad or a burger bun), and a healthy source of fat (avocado in your burger, some nuts in a salad, etc).
Using a simple formula like that can take the stress and obsessing away from knowing what to eat. If you’re still hungry, go for more – trust your body!
7. Don’t give yourself a hard time
Much like one salad won’t make you ‘healthy’, one big night in a pub garden won’t make you ‘unhealthy’. All fitness journeys are an up-and-down path of progress, and if it’s not, you’re probably not prioritising the right things!
Don’t be afraid of events like these over the summer; you don’t need to turn down social occasions to hit your goals. It’s all about prioritising and being mindful. Start driving to more events, or pre-booking Ubers to leave if you’re concerned things might get out of hand.
If you want more peace of mind throughout the week, you can always give a Fresh Fitness Food plan a go. Get £50 off a 5-day trial with code: BLOG50. Start your trial here! We also have lots of tasty recipes to try for yourself here.
Fresh Fitness Food provides personalised meal plans delivered straight to your door, ensuring not only that you have the nutrients you need to keep you energised, but also that you have the time usually spent shopping, cooking and washing up, to engage in your favourite activities. Order today and start smashing your goals with personalised nutrition!
Fresh Fitness Food provides personalised meal plans delivered straight to your door, ensuring not only that you have the nutrients you need to manage your stress levels, but also that you have the time usually spent shopping, cooking and washing up, to engage in your favourite stress-reducing activity.
Order today and start smashing your goals with personalised nutrition!
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