3 Quick Tips to Make the Most of Your Weekend

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Most of us spend the entire week looking forward to the weekend (#TGIF) but much of the time we actually end up not making the best of those precious 48 hours. I say it’s time we take a stand and say we will take no more of these counterproductive weekends. Are you ready to reclaim your weekends? 

I’ve compiled a list of top weekend offenders and a few suggestions to help you create more balance and make the most of each and every weekend.

1. Eating too much on the weekends. 

The weekend typically comes with more opportunities for eating out, enjoying a few drinks or indulging in dessert, and your waistline may suffer as a result. Taking the weekends “off” from a healthy lifestyle may sabotage weight loss efforts and your health.  One Washington University study, published in the journal Obesity in 2008, found that dieters who maintained a strict routine of restricting calories and exercising during the week tended to eat more on the weekends, thereby slowing their weight loss. Now, you know I’m not a fan of counting calories, and I love helping my clients to achieve an 80/20 balance (80% of what we do builds our health, the other 20% we can be more lenient with) so it’s imperative we understand that to maintain healthy balance and lose the weight, we can’t check out of our healthy lifestyles from Friday night until Monday morning.

Keep your weekend healthier by upgrading your favorite foods (we’ve got a ton of great recipes here on the RNL blog) and eating only when you really are hungry (it’s really easy to eat mindlessly at weekend activities just because it’s there!). If you eat out, pick just one splurge out of the following: 1 drink, dessert (sharing is best), or starch, like sweet potato fries or a slice of sourdough.

2. Staying plugged in. 

Being constantly plugged in can have a number of negative health impacts, from decreased focus and productivity to trouble sleeping and higher stress levels. Taking some time to unplug can be a great way to minimize stress and maximize relaxation.

If this sounds scary to you, start small. Try to leave your phone at home when you head out to dinner Friday night or during your Saturday morning workout (both great substitutions for tech time). Work up to one whole day of being technology free or shelf the electronics by a certain time each day and plan a fun family activity, take a detox bath or have lunch with your bestie instead! This can be a tough one, but I encourage you to give it a shot because the reward you will reap is incredible.

3. Not planning your weekend. 

This may sound counter-intuitive but often if we don’t make a conscious effort to pick a couple of the most important things we’d like to do in a weekend and plan them, the weekend can slide by and we didn’t get that special time with the family, or whatever is most important to you.

We suggest picking the top three things you’d like to do over the weekend and plan them so you’re never left feeling as though the weekend went to waste. Just be sure you are not planning every minute. Note: if you’re a really busy person planning a block of time for rest can be a wonderful idea!

Just like when we coach our clients, I recommend choosing one of these to work on. When you’ve got it mastered, add the next and so on. Before you know it, your weekends are going to feel so much more rewarding.

Do you have a weekend strategy that works well for you? Share the love and comment below!

Melissa Schollaert is a Holistic Health & Nutrition Counselor and founder of Real Nutritious Living. Helping others achieve their health goals to attain their healthiest, happiest life is her greatest ambition.

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Author: Melissa Schollaert

I'm Melissa—Holistic Health Coach & loving mama. My passion is to help others thrive through strategic eating (not dieting), living a toxic free life & creating healthier families.

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