Going away for the weekend? Here’s how you can avoid sabotaging your healthy efforts with these easy to implement strategies (that won’t isolate you from your friends!)

Going to stay with friends is one of life’s joys. Unfortunately, many whom are looking to make healthier changes to their lifestyle don’t see it that way! They may see it as an obstacle they end up dreading, for fear all their efforts will come undone in one weekend if their friends don’t eat great!

Many of our Boot camp attendees have also reported that as soon as they started to make healthier changes, they then noticed just how poorly some of their friends ate and were worried this would prevent them spending time together!

There is, however a way of ensuring your time away with friends won’t sabotage your healthy efforts. In fact, many of my personal trainer clients have found it has only enhanced their fat-loss results! Spending time doing things we enjoy, that make us laugh and feel peaceful is a great fat-burner as it actually lowers our stress hormones!

So socialising certainly does NOT have to be put on hold, while you are making lifestyle changes. Here’s three ways to making weekends away work for you, tried and tested by both me and my personal trainer clients.

Ask…

Knowledge is power and will remove a ton of any anxiety. Asking your friends what the plans are for dinner/breakfast/eating out etc, in advance of your stay gives you an idea of what to expect. If there are no plans, you might even offer to cook as a way of saying thank you for having us over! It certainly pays off to have a plan, as you may well have already found.

Suggest…

If there is no plan to eat out, takeaways may end up being ordered. You always have the choice of either suggesting a place that does options that suit your dietary requirements, and if you’re going to eat out then why not suggest somewhere you know you can get a decent healthy meal at? Most restaurants have their menus available online (my friends always send them to me in advance of making a booking!) so you’ll be able to see for yourself.

Bring…

You might find your friends ask you if there’s anything you’d like them to get for you. Mine usually do, but I ALWAYS bring a couple of bits, purely to make it easier for them. These usually include a loaf of my homemade bread (who doesn’t love to receive that as a gift?!) that we enjoy together for breakfast, as well as my own plant milk and some fruit.

So try these the next time you spend the weekend with friends and see how much more relaxed and peaceful your time away ends up being!