fbpx

Recovering From a Holiday Weekend…#3 is KEY!

Ok, summer is pretty much here and in full swing in Wisconsin.

This past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. First, I would like to take a moment to pause and think about those we have lost in our armed forces. Both my grandfathers served in the military, and put their lives on the line so all of this could be possible. Thank you to them and everyone else who we have lost.

How did I celebrate the weekend? With a less than stellar diet, lots of hiking, some golf, and putting on an awesome Brat Fest Bootcamp (yes, we love brats in Wisconsin and have a full festival devoted to them, and it’s awesome)

IMG_2957

 

So how do we go about getting back on track after a less than healthy weekend?

***The best thing you can do is to not let a bad weekend happen, but let’s be honest, they do.***

1. Get right back to your normal routine.

The sooner you get back on track, the sooner you start getting back towards your goals. You don’t need to do anything too crazy. I recommend starting the first day with a smaller breakfast, high in protein, low in carbs and fat. Try one egg, and lots of egg whites a veggies. This will fill you up, without being super high in calories.

2. Hydrate

Drink tons of water. More than you normally should. This will help flush out water by up regulating your kidneys, and yes cause you to pee more. This is important to help get out the excess salt and alcohol you consumed.

3. Hit the weights, hard!

You just finished loading up your body with excess food, you need to put that stored food (bodyfat) to work. Lift weights, and lift heavy. Stay in the 6-10 rep range, and use multi-joint lifts like deadlifts, squats, bench press, rows, and shoulder presses. The smaller isolation exercises won’t stimulate as many muscle fibers, won’t give you as big of a metabolic effect, and not give you big bang for your buck.

 

4. Be active, outside of the gym.

Get out for walks, play sports, just move more. Up your movement, and take every chance you can to burn a few more calories. Every little bit can add up. If you try to burn an extra 200 calories per day, that will give you an additional 1400 after a week, which is a huge boost to your burn.

5. Reduce your junk calories for the week.

Try tightening up your diet a little tighter for just the week. It will help you get back on track faster. After a weekend of fun, I like cutting out any sweets for the week. This will also help you create a larger deficit than you normally have, and should get you back to your pre-party weekend weight.

Greek Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/3 cup red-wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup sliced ripe kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

 

Preparation

  1. Whisk vinegar, oil, dill (or oregano), garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and feta; toss to coat.

Screen Shot 2016-05-30 at 7.49.15 PM

Like what you read? Want to get up to date blog posts sent directly to your email? Sign up below!

[blog_subscription_form]

Stay healthy my friends,

Published by Mike Gorski

Registered Dietitian and Fitness Coach OWNER OF MG FIT LIFE LLC

2 thoughts on “Recovering From a Holiday Weekend…#3 is KEY!

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: