So you kept to your eating plan the whole week, only to make it to the weekend to fall back into the spiral of unhealthy eating. We’ve all been there – sticking to a diet can be tough. This is especially true on weekends when you’re either bored at home or tempted by goodies when going out. As I know I’m not alone in this struggle, below I’ve compiled a list of 6 tips to help you stick to your diet over the weekend and stay healthy – hopefully they’ll be useful to you!

Plan Ahead

Failing to plan is planning to fail. If you know you are someone who gets tempted by those cookies in the pantry or the ice cream in the freezer, then simply make sure there is nothing in the house to tempt you. Make sure your fridge is stacked with healthy options, so that you can’t reach for those forbidden items when you feel the cravings coming on.

When Going Out

If you have plans to go out over the weekends, then try to eat before going out – this will decrease the chances of you grabbing something unhealthy later. If you have plans to go to a restaurant, look at the menu beforehand and decide on a healthy option in advance – this will make you less tempted to order something that isn’t part of your eating plan.

Drink lots of Water

Whether you’re at home or out and about, always make sure to keep a trusty bottle of water with you to help you drink enough water throughout the day. If you drink lots of soda, regular or diet, try to limit the amount of soda you drink by replacing some of it with water. I’m somewhat addicted to diet Pepsi and what I’ve found works great for me is to set a rule for myself that I’m only allowed a glass of Pepsi for every 500ml water that I drink. Needless to say, this rule has also lead me to cut down on the amount of Pepsi I consume each day.

Eat the Healthy Food First

When you’re at a family dinner or event where you are presented with multiple (and possibly free) yummy food options, don’t just dive straight in and fill your plate with the first thing you see. Instead, take your time to look at all of the available options and identify the healthier items. Make sure to fill up your plate with the healthy foods first, so there is less space on your plate for the higher calorie foods. Eating the healthier items first also means you’ll feel fuller by the time you want to sample some of the unhealthier options, making you less likely to go overboard and eat too much of it.

Meal Prep for the Week Ahead

Preparing your meals for the week ahead is a great way to make you feel more motivated over the weekend and also helps you stay on track during the week. I recommend looking for healthy recipes that will keep your diet fun and interesting so that you don’t get bored by eating the same food everyday.

Go Outside

If you’re someone who tends to reach for the fridge out of boredom over the weekends, make sure you plan a fun activity outside to feel the sunshine and connect with nature. Something like an early morning hike can be a great way to start your day off right while also providing you with some exercise – make it fun by inviting friends along.

These are just some of many useful tips to help you stick to your diet over weekends. Let me know if any of these work for you or if you have any other tips! I would love to hear from you!

Today I want to look at the things that happen when you finally decide to stop drinking diet soda. I’ll be honest, I’m a complete diet Pepsi addict. I can easily drink 6 or more glasses of the stuff per day. Lately however, I’ve been trying to cut back on the amount of Pepsi I consume in order to increase my water intake, with the aim of eventually giving up diet Pepsi completely. To help me with this, what I’ve done is set a rule for myself that I’m only allowed a glass of Pepsi for every 500ml water that I drink (briefly mentioned in my previous post where I talk about how you can stick to your diet over the weekend), and so far I’ve kept to this for a couple of weeks. The next step is to give up drinking Pepsi (and all soda) entirely. To motivate myself, and hopefully you as well, I’ve compiled a list of 5 amazing things that happen when you finally stop drinking diet soda.

You’ll Lose Weight

With a single soda bottle containing up to 44 grams of sugar, it’s a no brainer that drinking soda regularly can lead to the body storing it as fat. And while you may have been reaching for the soda’s diet counterpart to aid weight loss, it can actually have the opposite effect of causing you to gain weight. Even though diet sodas may contain zero calories, the artificial sweeteners in them are still sweet like sugar, and will cause insulin – the fat storing hormone – to be released, causing your body to hold on to all the extra fat it can.

Food Will Start To Taste Better

Once you give up diet soda, you may find that food suddenly starts to taste better – and it’s not your imagination. Diet soda can actually affect the way all foods taste, as it increases our threshold for sweetness. As artificial sweeteners in soda are much sweeter than table sugar, it can overwhelm your taste buds and desensitize it to sweetness. It’s no surprise then that once you give up drinking diet soda, your taste buds will recover and be more sensitive, making your food taste better and more flavorful.

You’ll Have Stronger Bones and Healthier Teeth

We all know sugar is bad for your teeth and eat away at your enamel, but it turns out that diet soda is just as bad. Dental researchers found that both regular as well as diet soda are damaging to our teeth and can increase our risk of cavities. Researchers also found that regular intake of soda decreases bone density and leads to a higher risk of bone fractures, so putting down that soda can not help you to get healthier, whiter teeth, but can also increase your bone strength and reduce your risk of fractures.

You’ll Lessen Your Cravings

The ingredients in diet soda actually increases cravings for sugary treats as it alters sweet receptors in the brain and extend the duration of cravings. When we drink diet soda and consume artificial sweeteners, our bodies prepare themselves for the incoming sugar, but when the sugar doesn’t come, it actually triggers hunger and cravings for all things sugary.

You’ll Decrease Your Risk of Getting Type 2 Diabetes

We know that regular consumption of junk food and sugar can increase our risk for Type 2 Diabetes. People who are prediabetic are often told to stay away from soda as it negatively impacts their blood sugar levels. However, according to studies, artificial sweeteners like the ones found in diet soda can be just as bad and can also increase one’s risk to develop diabetes. So it’s not just the sugary beverages that we need to be wary of, but their diet counterparts as well.

I hope some of these points have made you more aware of the health benefits you can look forward to should you decide to give up soda. I’ve written another post to aid you in this process that detail some of the things you can drink instead of soda, especially for those of you who aren’t too fond of only drinking water.

If you have anything to add to the list or any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a message below, I’d love to hear from you!