Staying in shape while enjoying your social life is a major concern. This is a valid question because food and drinks are often the centerpiece when connecting and bonding with family and friends.
You have decided to live a healthy lifestyle. When you are alone, it is easy to exercise, eat healthy foods, and sleep early. It is easier to get disciplined and remain focused when you are alone. It is a different scenario when family and friends get in the picture.
You cannot live a hermit life just because you want to lead a healthy lifestyle. Your social life is an integral part of your overall lifestyle.
How can you make your health goals fit in with having a great social life? Achieving your fitness goals does not mean turning down a dinner invitation from family and friends or not enjoying a cocktail with them. Being healthy and fit does not revolve around perfection.
You need to adopt a mindset that will empower you instead of making you feel like a loser. There are many ways you can lead a healthy lifestyle while still having an active social life. The key is to find the right balance and strategies.
1. Have cheat days
All fitness and diet programs have cheat days and it will not hamper your goals if you have a couple of cheat meals a week. One or two is perfectly alright.
Schedule your cheat meals on the days when you typically go out and eat with friends. you can have your cheat meals on Friday and Saturday nights. Social dinners are planned, so you can plot your cheat in your calendar. Avoid having your cheat meals when you are home and alone.
You can also fast several hours before your scheduled social meals and take mints while fasting so you can limit your calorie intake for the day.
2. Fill up on healthy foods
Have a snack before leaving home for your social meal. You can have some carrot sticks and beef to fill you up. Have a glass of water before your meal so being thirsty will not tempt you into overeating. It will also help to have an appetizer (a vegetable tray, or side salad perhaps that is low in calories) before your main course.
Do these and by the time the cheat foods are served, you will not have to struggle to eat just a few servings. You will enjoy the company of your friends while not being hungry enough to indulge in the foods and overeat.
If you feel you cannot control eating more, take thcv mints to control your hunger pangs.
3. Follow healthy drinking strategies
You do not have to be a killjoy and not have a drink when you are out with friends in a bar. Pick a cocktail that does not contain a bunch of calories such as beer or drinks mixed with a lot of sugar. Go for unsweetened liquors or dry wines instead.
Have your first cocktail on an empty stomach. Your first drink will hit you hard and you will tend to ease up on your drinking for the remainder of the night.
If you are into counting calories, remember that one gram of alcohol comes with 7 calories. This is way higher than the 4 calories per gram of carbohydrates. So, a shot of whiskey can have 105 calories.
4. Exercise after your cheat meals
When you could not help but eat a lot when out with friends, make sure those calories will go to your muscle and will not be stored as fat. Exercising after your cheat meals to ensure the calories will go to your muscles.
Eating one meal a day and working out can also help you enjoy your social life while on a fitness program. Reserve your one meal for the day for your social meal.
5. Get into intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting will give you some leeway for your social meals. Intermittent fasting allows you to eat whatever you want during your eating periods. So you can eat foods during your out that have more calories without getting in the way of your diet.
You do not have to sacrifice your social life to stick to your healthy lifestyle. Make your social life work around your health and fitness goals.