Lighten Up: plan for Memorial Day with a printable summer holiday cheat sheet

With Memorial Day a little over a week away, I feel the need to plant a seed in your brain.  For so many of us in the U.S., next Monday, really the entire weekend, marks the kick off for summer, and the kick off party often times includes a lot of booze & food.  How does all of the celebrating fit into your life? 

• Does it fit into your life at all? 
• Maybe if you pick and choose?  
• Will you be the one to bring a veggie tray & drool over what everyone else is eating while you take on the martyr role & tell everyone how much you want to eat what they're eating but you can't because you're a Weight Watcher now & all you can eat are the veggies off the tray you ate so everyone better back away from those veggies or else! [all done and said with a wild, crazy look in your eye]
• Maybe you're really thankful your family does not celebrate Memorial Day?   
• Will you save up all of your Activity Points and Weekly Points to cover what you plan on spending? 
• Are you going to hide in your basement & never be social again simply because you're trying to lose weight or maintain?

I'm not opposed to any of the ideas I just rattled off.  At different times & points throughout my journey, I've had to pick what's best for me at the time.  Sometimes hiding is the best option! lmao  Other times, it just makes sense to drag a veggie or turkey burger along with me & slap it on the grill when no one is looking (I'm sooooo sneaky!).  I can honestly look at each and every one of the options above and say, "Been there, done that....time after time!".  (Except for the crazy, wild-eyed food martyr example.  I've never felt the need to go there.  PS...nobody wants to be around a weight watchin' Debby Downer!  Nothing wrong with bringing a veggie tray, though.)  It's time to come up with a plan of action for all of the summer celebrations that lurk around the corner.  In order to pull it off for realzies, you'll need an end of summer goal.  So start thinkin' of one.  I have two goals.  #1) I want to maintain my weight through this cross country move & #2) I would like to have my base running mileage back up to 8 by the end of the summer.  With all of that in mind....

A hot dog, is a hot dog, is a hot dog. You've probably eaten them all your life. Nothing new to you, right? How much of what you eat certain days of the year is consumed simply because it's habit for you to eat _____________ (go ahead and fill in the blank with whatever it is you usually eat on Memorial Day)? Eating the same old foods over and over and over just because it's Memorial Day...or the 4th of July...or another graduation party....or Aunt Sally's birthday? Come on, guys! It's time to start deciding what will work best for you and your journey. If the same old, same old foods listed below fit into your plan & you want to eat them, go for it! However, you might decide it's time for lighter options. For your viewing (& printing) pleasure, I've come up with a eye opening cheat sheet of commonly consumed summer foods & their lighter counterparts. If the alternate options don't work for you tomorrow....4th of July celebrations are right around the corner. Plan ahead NOW for next week's festivities. You have the ability to make changes in what seamingly seems very routine. So do it.

The foods listed under the "before" column are regular fat, regular sugar. The "afters" are a lightened up version. These Points values were taken out of the 2008 Complete Food Companion.

BEFORE	AFTER
1 c. lemonade (2 pts)	1 c. Crystal Light lemonade (0 pts)
1 bottle of beer (3 pts)	1 bottle of MGD 64 (1 pts)
1 (4 oz) margarita (5 pts)	1 (4 oz) sugar free margarita (2 pts)
1 KFC fried chicken breast (12 pts)	1 (3 oz) grilled chicken breast (3 pts)*
1/2 c. homemade ice cream (7 pts)	1/2 c. fat free frozen yogurt (3 pts)
3 c. ceasar salad (7 pts)	3 c. green salad mix (0 pts)*
2 tbsp ranch dressing (4 pts)	2 tbsp light ranch dressing (2 pts)
1/2 c corn casserole (8 pts)	1 (8") corn on the cob (2 pts)*
1/2 c potato salad (7 pts)	1 (7 oz) baked potato (3 pts)*
14 potato chips (4 pts)	14 baked potato chips (2 pts)
fruit salad with marshmallows (4 pts)	1 (2") slice of watermelon (1 pts)*
cheeseburger with bun (10 pts)	Boca burger* with lite bun (3 pts)
hot dog with bun (8 pts)	fat free hot dog with lite bun (2 pts)
1/2 c baked beans (5 pts)	1/2 c. vegetarian baked beans (2 pts)

Click here to print the cheat sheet!

* indicates a fabulous & healthy Filling Food

{Side Note: Unless I'm intentionally going out for a big splurge meal, I lighten up certain parts of my day to day consumption.  That's how I'm able to squeeze in the stuff I really want, and maintain my weight loss.  I've found a healthy balance for me.....it fits my life.  My thinking goes a little something like this: "If a food is being offered that I can have any time, why would I blow a bunch of calories on it at a BBQ?".  Seriously.  Think about it.  There are so many things served at most functions that aren't even worth eating.  We could have them ANY time.  They're not so special.  Another thought, I burn approximately 100 calories per mile I run.  If I have a meal that's equivalent to or more than the amount of calories I should have in day, say 1,400 to 1,600 calories, I'm gonna have to run a hell of a lot of miles to burn off that meal!  Between 14 & 16 miles if I gobble down a bunch of high calorie junk at a family BBQ.  Quite frankly, my IT band (knee) can't take that many miles quite yet.  So I better stick with my plan of lightening up my meal a bit. lol}