The Key To Enjoying Your Weekends Without Restriction & Still Lose Fat

My wife & I have only gone on 2 vacations in our 7 years of marriage. Once for a week (before we had kids). Once for 4 days (before we had our twins). It’s not that we don’t like vacations. We do. But we prefer going out to eat, so we have a date night at least every two weeks. We have a fixed amount of money to spend on experiences, so we choose to double down on the thing we enjoy most. We go to nice restaurants, order whatever we want and have a blast. We'll have drinks, apps, & dessert. We’re also fortunate to live in an area with a ton of extraordinary restaurants.

Some people would look at how much we spend on going out to eat in a year and be alarmed. But we spend less on our bi-weekly date nights for the year than most people spend on a week-long vacation. There’s nothing wrong with having a great vacation - I’m looking forward to going on more (particularly when our kids get older), but we’d rather have our date nights.

This is the key to enjoying your weekends guilt-free.

Figure out what you love the most - the thing that gets you as excited as my 3 year old does with a balloon - and double down on it. Then, cut mercilessly down on everything else. My wife and I don’t have unlimited funds. We can’t go out to eat whenever we want to and go on vacations and drive fancy cars and have the best clothes. We have to pick what matters to us and, as a result, some things need to be sacrificed.

But, if we pick the right things, those sacrifices don’t feel as hard.

I like chips. I basically never eat them (unless I’m at a specific Mexican restaurant where they are addicting). Why? Because I want to drink margaritas without guilt. So make your “go list.” What are the treats that you are going to intentionally put into your diet?

Then actually find a way to eat them - plan on it and enjoy them. They aren’t guilty-pleasures; they’re intentional treats. Now it’s on purpose; it’s not an accident. That’s how we start to get away from feeling guilty about food. With that, this weekend I’m going to have pizza, ice cream, & a couple margaritas. I won’t feel guilty. It won’t destroy my progress. The scale may go up, but that doesn’t mean I gained body fat.

Here’s my roadmap for how to enjoy your weekends guilt-free:​

1. Eat a high quality breakfast centered on protein

You still want to hit your protein goal every day, but it will be harder to come by later in the day. So be intentional about getting it in early along with fruits & veggies which won’t be as available throughout the day. Start strong.

2. Go lighter on carbs & fats throughout the day

These will be easy to come by throughout the day. So, where you can, cut back so that you can “bank” some for later. Instead of a chicken sandwich for lunch, have a salad with chicken. It adds up.

3. Move your body

This doesn’t have to be a crazy workout - a walk works great. This isn’t “earning your meal.” Just getting your body moving will help with digestion & remind you that you take care of your body. And, if you do lift, your body is primed to use the extra calories to build muscle.

4. Plan ahead

Look at the restaurant menu & pick your dish ahead of time. Don’t even open the menu. Pick a meal that has some protein in it and that looks good to you. Is there a dessert or app that you want? Will you drink? Make those decisions ahead of time with a clear head.

5. Drink a protein shake a couple hours before you go

This helps curb your hunger so you don’t go into the meal starving. It’s the same reason you don’t go to the grocery store when you’re hungry - your judgment is impaired by the fact that you’re starving and you just end up devouring 1000 calories of the bread bowl.

6. Be selective

I don’t care about bread. It’s good, but if I never ate dipping bread again, I’d be fine. But I love cheesecake. So I skip the bread & devour the cheesecake. Cut out some things so you can double down on the things you love guilt-free.​

7. Get back on track with the next meal

Not Monday. Now. One piece of pizza doesn’t make you fat just like one salad doesn’t make you fit. One meal doesn’t make or break your progress. You’re the product of what you do most of the time.

Most importantly, have fun. Nutrition should fit around your life - not the other way around.