It all begins with the one person at the table that requests the seemingly innocuous dessert menu. Within moments, you find yourself salivating over several dishes from the likes of sanctifying soufflés to saccharine scones, and before you know it, the damage is done. You may be thinking “yolo,” as you impetuously spoon down the satisfying sweets, only to find yourself falling off the healthy eating bandwagon you have been faithfully following for weeks.
Whether it is a slice of cake that quickly turns into two or three, or a friend’s celebratory birthday dinner, we’ve all been there. Big Sean’s lead single perfectly depicts the feeling of that questionable late night bite , as the lyrics read, “Last night took a L, but tonight I bounce back.” A worthy maxim to live by, the prolific American rapper waxes poetic on the importance of recuperation and making a comeback following any great loss or defeat- as any person reading this should. Your cheat does not define you, the way you handle it does!
Refrain From Any Meal Skipping, As Tempting As It May Be. After any great dietary cheat, you may feel the need to do some immediate damage control by skipping breakfast and fasting for a meal or two for the duration of the next day. While you may automatically assume that you have gained several pounds from your little slip-up (and the scale may reflect this on the day after), chances are that your body is simply retaining extra water weight due to the carbo-o-load from the night prior. Do yourself a favor- stay away from the scale like it’s the plague, at least for the time being.
Keeping Hydrated Water is the be all, end all natural elixir of life. This goes without saying, you should consciously be drinking a large amount of water to help flush out the salt from your system. In doing so, you are more likely to feel less bloated and lethargic throughout your day.
Stay Active You may feel depleted after a long night of drinking and overindulging in your “yolo” decisions. In no means is this a proper excuse to skip out on working out because you’re feeling sluggish and admittedly a little disappointed in yourself. Cheats happen from time to time, we’re only human. Use your remorse as a reason to get yourself to the gym and use the extra energy you have stored from the night before. Light activity will also boost your mood and concentration levels to where they need to be to get you back on track.
Forgive Yourself and Move On As human beings, we all make mistakes and when we do, we tend to be the most hard on ourselves. Remind yourself that a single cheat will not set you back or outdo all the hard work and dedication you have been putting in. All you have to do is refocus this energy toward making your body feel good again. Rather than dwelling on the donut you downed after one too many daiquiris, do not stress. Give your body a break, you deserve just that.
