The 4th of July weekend is upon us and for many of us our healthy habits go south. It really doesn't matter if it's the 4th of July, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas.  We tend to give into social pressure and indulge.  Think about it that's all it is... SOCIAL PRESSURE. Imagine spending all those holidays completely by yourself, would you still eat as bad?!? Probably not... but I'll leave that for another blog.

Okay so Jimmie's Top 5 Tips for maintaining healthy habits during a holiday weekend...

1. Eat before you go
Don't show up to these event starving looking to dig in. Get a healthy meal in before you go and you'll be much less tempted to dive into gobs and gobs of empty calories.


2. Fill up on the healthy options

Okay so you didn't listen to step ONE... don't start off with the deserts, fried crap and chips. Almost all parties have veggie trays and some sort of healthy options. Sneak an entire plate of the good stuff early on so you'll be less likely to dive into the bad stuff later on.

3. Load up on water
Not only will this fill you up, you'll be less likely to dive into the junk food later on. It will also help keep you from that nasty hangover if you decide to partake in too much of the liquid fun.

4. Try smaller portions
I get it, you want to indulge a bit. Instead of eating an entire bag of potato chips by yourself try smaller portions of everything. This will allow you to taste a little of everything everyone has to offer and keep you from over indulging on any one thing.

5. Plan Plan Plan
Don't like the first 4 tips? FINE CHEAT. Enjoy yourself, eat and drink whatever you want. It's your life you should enjoy it but... PLAN. If you're going to go nuts on Friday, plan for Saturday and Sunday to be healthy. Don't allow an entire weekend of unhealthy habits, just allow yourself a day. Plan hikes, fruits, veggies and healthy habits to clean out your system from the day before. This might also be a good time to try out the new 3 Day Refresh program by Beachbody [shameless plug].

Hope this helps and I hope everyone enjoys a safe and healthy holiday weekend!

- Jimmie