So you’ve fallen off the diet wagon over the weekend, now what?!

Don’t panic!

Even though you might gain a kilo or two as a result, that doesn’t mean it’s fat.

First and foremost understand that most of this sudden weight gain is just water. Carbs and sodium draw water to the muscle. 

The chances are you went to town on carbs and salty foods without even realising it, as well as possibly alcohol. All these things will make you hold water for days after. 

No you didn’t just get fat over the weekend. But here are a few tips that you can follow to get back on track quickly and feel better. 

1. Plan a workout, don’t look at it as a punishment, look at it as you are utilising the extra energy you consumed to fuel your workout. So make it a good one and preferably sweaty one to reduce that water weight so you don’t feel as puffy and bloated. Combine some strength training with a short HIIT sess at the end. It’s a great time to do weights because you will feel stronger from all those extra carbs, and the HIIT sess will help you sweat out that extra sodium, but make sure to hydrate well so you can replenish. 

2. Don’t starve yourself the next day. But do eat more nutrient dense foods like fresh veggies and more lean protein to get your body back on track. If you are tracking calories try reducing your food intake by about 100 or 150 calories on that day just to balance it out. But don’t go hungry to punish yourself or trying to compensate for the weekend, just get right back on track, you will be ok. The worst thing is to continue binging for days to come, don’t let yourself fall off the wagon for too long. The longer you let it go the harder it is to get back on it. 

3. If your diet is too restrictive causing you to blow out on the weekends then may be its time to rethink your diet, perhaps you can meal prep foods that are healthy but you are actually enjoying throughout the week. If you don’t like chicken breast and broccoli, well then don’t eat it. I much prefer to make lean chicken/beef or turkey rissoles and wrap it in cos lettuce with loads of veggies, avocado and chilli sauce or if it’s my heavy training day I’ll add some carbs too like a wholegrain wrap. Figure out what healthy foods you actually like and get ingredients for them to meal prep for the week.

4. Be realistic on your weekend, don’t plan to strictly stick to your clean eating plan. Because if you go out with family or friends you will struggle. If you plan ahead you won’t feel bad about it, in fact it will probably motivate you to work harder on your goals throughout the week knowing you have a reward coming up for your hard work and dedication.

Hope this helps, now go and find a good workout from my Instagram or FB page and do it. Here is the link to one of my workouts on IG that I would recommend https://www.instagram.com/p/CB0RSpOhsvp/  or if you are more of an FB girl here a good all rounder that will get you sweating  https://www.facebook.com/flurofitnesssydney/videos/588388948454047

You will feel a million times better I promise.

Drop me a comment and let me know if this was helpful and you are feeling a little better after reading this.