Weekend! The name’s enough to light up your face!
Similar to a cool breeze on a sunny afternoon, the weekend is a welcome break after a crazy week of projects, deadlines, and presentations. Dining out, movies, shopping, and partying all night – that’s your definition of Saturday and Sunday.
While you are riding on a happy high for these two days, your weight takes a maximum beating. Because on Monday morning when you weigh yourself, you see you’ve gained a kilo or two!
Missing breakfast, lavish dinners, skipping workouts, glugging down alcohol, sleeping and waking up at odd hours- two days of partying and an erratic lifestyle become the stumbling block to your dream figure.
So immediately after getting off the weighing scale, you decide to embark on a soup-and-salad diet and engage in a super grueling gym session to get your weight on track. But by Monday evening, all your determination dissipates like bubbles in thin air.
Sadly, punishing yourself for messing the weekend makes you feel deprived and eventually leads to more bingeing. Now that’s a vicious trap! But before you get overwhelmed with the ‘I can never lose weight’ feeling, there’s a simple plan that will make you enjoy the weekend without piling on extra weight.
Without beating around the bush, let’s get to the point right away:
Accept and Move On
The first thing you should do on a Monday morning is to acknowledge that you had an unhealthy weekend and now it’s time to return to the healthy groove. Bash all negative thoughts and start the new week on a happy note.
Eat Right
Obviously, you’ve chomped on greasy and sugary food over the weekend and not the healthy whole grains, veggies, fruits, and sprouts. As a result, your body hasn’t got its dose of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
So with a smile on your face, savor a power-packed breakfast to nourish your body and to kick-start your metabolism.
A mix vegetable parantha with curd, an egg white bhurji with multi-grain bread or a vegetable and sprouts cheela are smart breakfast choices. A fruit along with a handful of nuts make an ideal mid-morning meal. Carry a home-cooked lunch such as low oil paneer parantha or a moong daal khichdi with curd from home.
These wholesome meals will rev up your body’s fat burning and maintain an optimum nutrient balance.
With an evening snack of pita with hummus or khakhra with roasted chana followed by idli-sambhar or daal chawal for dinner - you’ve pressed the correct nutrition notes.
Get Active
Mondays can get super hectic with the mountain of work your boss has assigned. But no matter how chaotic it gets, set aside 20-30 minutes for exercise.
Go for a brisk walk, jog, swim or simply dance to some peppy numbers. You’ll notice all your stress magically disappear courtesy the endorphins.
Remember your focus is to make exercise a part of your daily routine and not burning off the excess calories.
Once you’ve made exercise fit in your schedule, shedding the pounds will be an easy-peasy task.
Hydrate Well
Set a target to guzzle a minimum of 12 glasses of water. Adequate hydration will set the tone for body’s natural detox process and proper bowel movements.
Hit the Snooze Button on Time
After a hectic day at work, the internet and television are your saviors; they’re the perfect way to unwind. But with a plethora of channels to surf and social media, time flies and before you realize it’s past midnight.
So set up a target to sleep before midnight and catch up on minimum seven-eight hours every night.
Sleeping for less than five hours a night disturbs the hormones especially leptin-ghrelin balance, increases cravings for junk food and sweets, and messes with your metabolism.
All these factors contribute to weight gain. Even if you eat healthy and exercise daily, an erratic sleep cycle makes your weight loss a distant reality.
Stay Sober
With 7 calories per gram and making you snack on fried munchies, alcohol spells double trouble for weight loss.
Drinking excess alcohol over the weekend jolts fat loss and increases your appetite post 24 hours. So during the week, stay away from the bottle of bubbly. However, if you must drink during the week, restrict yourself to maximum two drinks.
Nibble on boiled, steamed, roasted or grilled munchies such as steamed momos, boiled chana, paneer/chicken tikka, and baked potato wedges instead of the fat-laden chips, fries or bar nuts.
By following these habits, you can recover from an unhealthy weekend in no time and get your weight loss back on track.
(As a nutritionist for Dish Hospitality, Vishruta has chalked out menus for Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Morgan Stanley. As a blogger, she focuses on teaching the art of eating smart. Love food, love life - that's her mantra.)
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