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Keep good habits in place on the weekend.

Staying on track with your healthy routine over the weekend doesn’t have to be difficult.

No matter where you are on your personal health journey, always think twice before overindulging the entire weekend.

It’s important to always try and keep your good habits in place and have cheat moments instead of entire cheat days. It’s amazing how easily you can gain excess weight in such a short amount of time. Although gaining weight is easy, weight loss takes time and dedication. One bad weekend of overindulging and sitting around may roll over in the week ahead and throw your entire healthy, active plan off track.

I’m a big believer that each day you need stay on track with your diet or your exercise routine, because letting both slide at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Although exercise can’t be used as a substitute for a poor diet, and balanced nutrition is important every day of the week, we know it’s okay to relax your plan every now and then. After a busy week of work, it’s nice to indulge in a little treat here and there. In that case, here are some tips to help you enjoy your weekends and keep your health and fitness goals on track at the same time.

No savings: Don’t cut down or starve all day to enjoy your meals at night. Skipping your breakfast and lunch is not a good way to avoid weight gain. There are many reasons why this is not a good tactic. A drop in blood sugar, lack of energy and lack of concentration are just a few of the downfalls of the starve-and-binge technique. Chances are that if you wait all day to enjoy your favorite foods, you’ll consume twice the amount because you’ll be so hungry.

Snacks: Have protein-rich snacks during the day. Filling up on healthy snacks that contain protein will help keep you full and stop you from eating large portions at meal times.

Stay active: Use your weekend as an opportunity to socialize with your friends while doing something active. Walking counts as exercise, so planning a nice afternoon hike or a window shopping trip is a perfect way to stay active. Consider taking a fun exercise class that you typically don’t have time to enjoy during the week.

Dancing: Letting loose on the dance floor is a great way to burn calories.

Keep your morning routine: Don’t skip your workouts. The best thing you can do is aim to keep your exercise and sleeping routine intact. Sleeping in for a long time in the morning may actually make you feel more lethargic throughout the day, and we all know that feeling tired makes us prone to reach for unhealthy snacks. Getting up at your regular time will help you to stay energized and maximize your weekend.

Watch your drinks: Try to avoid drinking too many sweet drinks. It’s amazing how many calories can be hiding in coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages. Staying hydrated with water will help you to avoid drinking too many sugary options.

Maximize your time with quick blast workouts: If you’re crunched for time, try to do a quick 10-minute routine in the morning and another before you go to bed. Simple exercises performed in an interval style will help you burn more calories and keep you active over the weekend.

Make every minute count: Think active all weekend long. Take the stairs, park in the furthest spot from the store or get outside and go for a walk. It’s too easy to just simply curl up inside the house and eat. The more active you are, the less time you have to snack on unhealthy treats.

Enjoy your weekends, relax and have fun, but stay as close to your healthy, active plan as you can and keep your good habits in place.