4th of July Fitness Survival Guide

4th of July is a wonderful time of year for many Americans, but unfortunately can lead to excess calorie consumption of food and drinks.

To get you out of the all or nothing mindset and allow you to minimize the damage, here are 9 steps to enjoy your day (and food) without sabotaging your results.

Don’t worry - I’m not going to tell you to “earn” your food, or cut out dessert.

These strategies are great options for any holiday, weekend, or vacation where you aren’t going to be perfect. By the way - you don’t have to be, you just need to be consistent.

Some Perspective on Weight Gain

Before we get into the tactics - I want you to understand this.

Many people step on the scale and see it up 3-5 lbs and FREAK out…

Truthfully, this is pretty much all hydration and digestion dependent.

In order to gain 1 lb of ACTUAL TISSUE you need a 3,500 calorie surplus.

That means you have to eat 3,500 calories MORE than you burned to gain 1 lb.

You probably burn around 2,500 per day - meaning for 1 lb of gain in a day, you’d need to eat 6,000 calories!

You’re not wrecking progress in one day - but if you let it turn into a week, you absolutely can gain significant weight.

So above all else, whenever you have an imperfect day, get right back to your plan the next day.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

This quote is important to remember every single time you fall off the wagon.

Whether it’s a Sunday from a weekend or coming back from vacation…

What’s done is done. You did it. You can’t change it.

But what you can change is how you handle it going forward.

Stop letting a bad day turn into a sob story that turns it into a week. Accept it and plan better for next time.

These aren’t all required - pick and choose what works best for you and your lifestyle.

1. Eat a high protein breakfast

This will fill you up and lead you to eat less later.

Keep it low-calorie - this gives you flexibility for a bigger dinner.

A high protein breakfast has been shown to decrease activation in reward brain centers later in the day when looking at savory snack.

2. Drink Water

Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate.

This will keep your stomach full and stop you from mistaking thirst for hunger.

Especially if you’re drinking alcohol (more on this later), add electrolyte powders to stay ahead of hydration.

3. Caffeine

Caffeine is a powerful appetite suppressant.

Add an extra coffee or two to keep hunger down throughout the morning and afternoon.

Just cut it off early to make sure it doesn’t wreck your sleep.

Bonus - decaf coffee is also an appetite suppressant.

4. Load Up on Protein & Veggies

This is CRUCIAL to keeping intake down without saying to no sweets.

Load your first plate with a sh*t ton of protein & veggies.

This will fill you up and guarantee you get the essential macros & micros that matter most for body composition.

When you head back for more, you’ll have less of an appetite and will end up eating less overall.

5. Slow Down

Give your gut time to send a signal to your brain that you have eaten.

This allows your brain time to turn down your hunger hormones before you inhale 1,000 calories in 2 minutes.

Luckily, with the first plate full of protein & veggies, this will take longer to eat and make it easier to do this. A few other useful tips:

• Focus on each bite instead of looking for your next one.
• Chew each bite 20-30x before swallowing.
• Take a deep breath between bites.
• Put the fork down between bites.
• Turn off the phone & TV.

These are excellent practices ALL THE TIME.

The same meal can be exponentially more satisfying by actually enjoying the food and getting the most out of it - plus it will stimulate digestion better.

6. Limit Snacking

Similar to the practices above, walking around and throwing food in your mouth is a low-ROI way to eat.

I’m not saying don’t eat the good stuff - just make it a meal instead of gulping it down in passing.

With each food item, ask “Is this worth it?”

I don’t mean don’t eat anything - just make the indulgence worth it!

If you only have Grandma’s special dessert twice a year, hell yes it’s worth it.

But if it’s just some random thing you don’t love maybe it’s worth saving room for the good stuff.

7. Exercise

No, don’t “earn” your day with a brutal workout.

That won’t work and isn’t healthy.

Get your step count up - ideally 10,000 or more.

Organize weight training to make sure you get it done early/later in the week (or go on the morning of if you enjoy it).

8. Booze Strategically

These are empty calories and lead you to make worse food decisions.

Here are the best ways to combat it:

• Choose low calorie mixers or light beer.
• Drink water in between each drink.
• Add electrolyte powders to water a couple times per day.
• Get Cheers Restore supplement - it helps metabolize the hangover causing byproducts and you take it after your last drink of the night.

Anything you can do to minimize a hangover will help you get moving and making optimal food choices the next day

9. Chill Out

Remember - gaining even just ONE POUND in a day is tough to do.

But letting July 4th - 9th turn into one long binge can absolutely lead to a loss of significant progress.

So enjoy time with family, eat your favorite foods, and get right back at it after.

TLDR:

• One day isn’t going to set you back, but letting it turn into a week can.
• Use the 9 steps above to minimize the impact while enjoying time with family.
• Get right back to your plan Wednesday and forget about it! Happy 4th!