It’s Saturday night. The girls want to go out for a night on the town…
You REALLY want to go! You know you’ll have a blast if you do.
There’s just one thing holding you back…
You don’t want to kill your diet.
This was your first week of eating healthy and exercising regularly. You’ve been feeling more energetic than you have in years.
You want to keep that momentum going, but you also know what’s going down on Saturday night. The girls want to hit up a new Mexican restaurant for some chilaquiles, taquitos, tacos, and chips. Plus, your squad ALWAYS tops the night off with a trip to the most popular bakery around.
That could set you back BIG TIME…
Look, no one should have to sacrifice time with their friends just to get healthy. What fun would that be?
There’s a way you can enjoy a night out WITHOUT having to worry about losing your progress!
Want to know the juicy details?
Let’s get to it!
Stick with Water
The fastest way to gain back those calories you worked SO hard to keep off is to avoid the drinks while you’re out.
A soda or beer isn’t going to kill you. Just be mindful that it’s easy to keep drinking and drinking and drinking once you’ve indulged in a little bit of soda or alcohol…
So…keep chugging that water all night long!
Not only does water flush out your system, but it keeps your stomach full so you won’t crave other foods or drinks as much.
Make sure you keep a water bottle with you when you go out. Whether you’re coming off the dance floor or you’re at a movie, it’s always good to have water on hand. You’re more likely to overindulge in beverages when there isn’t water that’s easily accessible to you.
Exercise Beforehand
You KNOW you’re going out. You KNOW you’re about to consume some unhealthy calories.
Why not balance it out with some exercise?
Exercise isn’t going to wipe away ALL of those bad calories. But something powerful happens when you exercise over and over again, especially before you eat…
You stop wanting to eat unhealthy.
Wait, whaaaat?
After a good, hard workout, how do you usually feel? Like a boss? Like you just slashed away fat with a katana?
Point blank, you feel pretty amazing—even if you’re a little tired, too.
Why would you want to kill that feeling by eating something your body really doesn’t need?
A lot of the battle to get in shape is about establishing momentum. When you get momentum on your side, you start to develop daily habits, which eventually become your lifestyle!
That all can start with ONE workout—and it doesn’t have to end when you go out with your friends!
Choose an Appetizer
Hopefully this sounds APPETIZING enough to you (har-har).
In recent years, restaurants have started to give customers more food for their money. If you’ve ever sat down at an Italian restaurant, those entrées they give you are usually stuffed with pasta practically crawling off the sides of the plate…
That’s a LOT of carbs you don’t need…
That’s why you’ve gotta stick with the appetizers!
That whole “more food for your dollar” thing? Yeah, that applies to appetizers too. Don’t worry about not having enough food.
Also, you’ll find some “healthier” options in the appetizers section; we say that in quotes because, well, you ARE still at a restaurant, so freshness/nutrition isn’t always guaranteed…
What CAN you find in the appetizers section? Get some spinach and artichoke dip, and ask for unsalted chips. Find an appetizer with grilled chicken and shrimp. Hey, you could even get sliders and ask to have them made protein style!
Do Something Active!
Let me get it out of the way: no, this doesn’t mean that the gym is the only place you and your friends should hang out…
Remember that a healthy lifestyle is about living healthy all the time. It’s about TRANSFORMING your life. Everything you do—even outside of boot camp—should move you closer and closer to a healthy, vibrant new life.
So how does that apply to your night out with the girls?
It’s easy actually, and it only requires a few tweaks to your plans…
What about walking from the restaurant to the ballgame instead of taking a taxi?
What about dancing your heart out at a club or night festival?
What about a trip around the mall?
All of the above are ways you can have fun and burn calories without having to put on your best workout clothes. Whenever you fix yourself on any goal, if you make the process fun and engaging, you’re going to see amazing results.
Keep Yourself Full…and Stave Off the Dessert
Ok, some of you might REALLY hate this part of the post…
You know this deep down, but eating dessert isn’t the greatest for you. Eating it late at night is much, much worse.
When you pack on those calories THEN go to bed, you’re missing the chance to burn off 
what you just ate!
Alright, take a deep breath. You can do this!
The trick is to keep some small and healthy snacks with you at all times.
You need to do everything you can to make yourself feel full before you reach that end-of-the-night dessert decision. See, the brain does this weird thing where it fiends for dessert…even if you’re stuffed from dinner.
Munch on some snacks throughout the night—and I’d like to say, something sweet and healthy is probably the trick here—because you want to give your cravings as little opportunity as they can get to ruin your momentum.
Eating throughout the day is also a healthy habit to build, so you’re really doing yourself a big favor by spreading out your food intake.
If you ABSOLUTELY can’t help but indulge in some late night desserts, cut down on as much as you can. One great dessert option is 팥빙수—also known as patbingsu! This is essentially the Korean take on shaved ice, but the cool thing is that it usually includes a lot of fruit AND is light. It feels like you’re eating some sweet, flaky clouds!
