Five Tips on Reaching Fitness Goals While Having a Social Life

You want to get into shape or stay on track to reach your fitness goals, but life gets in the way. There can be many obstacles to hinder progress when social events come up and you want to take part but not ruin all the work you have put in to succeed. It’s very easy to make excuses that will set you back at the gym or your diet plan. Here are five smart tips that can alleviate the stress and help balance your lifestyle to fit both fitness and social events into your schedule:

Plan your daily fitness and nutrition around your social plans. If you know you are in for a night of social drinking with your friends, you may want to consider hitting the turbo button at the gym. That means working a little harder knowing you may take in more calories in the evening, or also adjusting your meal schedule/content. In terms of nutrition, think about decreasing your carbohydrate intake by a specific amount of grams to put you in a deficit that you will later make up for in liquid carbs. Although you will be missing out on essential nutrition from your whole foods, the caloric balance can still be maintained.
Meal prep for the night. If the night allows for it, try and bring a prepped meal with you that you can easily consume at your friend’s house or in the car before the night begins. This will help reduce your late night cravings and avoid that dollar slice at 2am.
Increase your fat intake towards the later part of your day. Consuming foods higher in healthy fats on nights you will be going out will keep you full throughout the evening, which will help keep 2 am cravings at bay.
If you choose to drink, pick your drinks wisely. Avoid mixed drinks with high sugar content that have a high glycemic index. Stay away from mixers like juice, energy drinks, and soda (diet soda included). Try to stick to drinks on the rocks or mixed with sparkling water, or other liquids without calories.
Volunteer to be the sober driver more often. This will limit your temptation to take in extra calories in alcohol when you are out with your friends since you are the responsible one that night.

Remember, at the end of the day you cannot out train a poor nutrition plan so make smart choices and maintain consistency for best results. Make sure to consult with your PCP and or Nutritionist before making any significant change to your diet.

-Live to achieve!

Dr. G