Summer is the time for vacations, day trips, nighttime beach strolls, sports games, visiting amusement parks, and grilling and hanging out with friends. It’s when everyone’s spirits are at their highest, and when people are ready to gather for an outdoor hang out or barbeque – especially as COVID restrictions lift and friends can see each other again.
However, with summer fun comes temptation in the form of party snacks, ice cream, festival foods, and junk food backyard meals. There’s no shame in allowing yourself to have treats, snacks, or something unhealthy on occasion, but if you’re trying to stick to your healthy diet or eating habits, it’s important to try to curb and manage temptation as it arises so you don’t end up restricting yourself only to break and overeat.
One way to curb temptation is to fill up on healthy meal options like those offered by Fitness Kitchen LA. Having a breakfast, lunch, or dinner of clean, filling, and healthy foods will make you less likely to grab at snacks that will way you down and leave your body not feeling its best. Check out our meal plan options and recipes here. Other than this easy solution, read below for some more ways to manage temptations while allowing yourself to have fun this summer.
Avoid Crash Dieting
As summer comes around every year, a lot of people tend to gravitate toward resorting to crash dieting to try and get that ‘beach-body’ or to slim down for the warmer weather. However, these diets almost never work, and end up making people develop an unhealthy relationship with food, in addition to binge eating and gaining weight after inevitably breaking their diet.
Instead of crash-dieting, cultivate a mentality that allows you to gradually tweak your eating habits while maintaining a lifestyle that encourages a healthy relationship with food and with yourself. Talk to your doctor or a dietitian to determine what is healthy for you, and be mindful of eating out of stress or boredom. Stay active and prioritize your mental and emotional health. Don’t stop yourself from enjoying ice cream or that burger from the grill – healthy choices and curbing temptations start from your mind, not from crash-dieting.
Manage Vacation Temptations
It’s easy to be on a healthy diet or routine, and then throw it all to the wind as soon as you go on vacation. Then once you get back, it’s hard to pick up that routine where you left off. Instead of abandoning your routine completely on your vacation and messing up your diet at large, try to maintain your diet plan and routine, while planning on indulgences that you’ll come across on vacation.
Navigating Temptations at Summer Events
If you’re at a summer party or barbeque every weekend, it can be hard to manage your routine or diet plan due to the temptation presented in the form of a rack of ribs or bags and bags of potato chips. However, don’t decline any invitations or skip any parties just because of your diet – enjoying yourself is the most important thing you can do!
Stick to Your Routine
What’s most important is to not change your routine leading up to an event or party – skipping meals to prepare for eating at parties will only end up in your overeating and overindulging. Pace yourself and only eat what you’re actually hungry for, especially at a buffet – don’t overstuff yourself just for the sake of doing so. Manage your drinking as well – beer and cocktails often contain many calories that people don’t consider when consuming them, and wake up feeling bloated and unwell. Be mindful, and keep everything in moderation.
The most important aspect of managing temptations this summer is not to deprive yourself of anything – make sure to enjoy yourself and spend lots of time with friends and family. Mentality is the most important aspect of managing a meal plan or routine.