BBQ Do’s and Don’t’s

It’s BBQ time – so what do you eat and what don’t you eat? Here are a few tips to keep you fit and fabulous all summer long!

The Do’s

1.     Hit the gym before your BBQ – movement will help to burn off calories and make room for the yummy BBQ you are about to eat.

2.     Enjoy your lean proteins! Steak, chicken, burgers and hot dogs. Always make sure one of these is on your plate…they will keep you feeling full longer and stop the need for so many trips back to the buffet table.

3.     Fill up on veggies for your appetizers and in between meats!

4.     Bring a healthy dish with you.  Be this a dessert or an amazing salad.  It should be a food that you know you love and you can fill up on, if all the other choices are too fatty, too loaded with sodium or just something you know isn’t ideal for you. Secret tip: if you don’t tell anyone the dish you brought is healthy, chances are they will never know.

5.     Drink wisely – you can easily has hundreds of calories with alcoholic beverages.  One easy tip…have a full 8-10 ounces of water in between each drink and it will slow down your consumption of alcohol

The Dont’s

1.     Go to the BBQ starving or having skipped meals earlier in the day.  This will for sure lead you to over eat.

2.     Fill up on chips.  Hello unnecessary extra calories.  If you do want to indulge in some…have one severing and then walk away from them.

3.     Drown your veggies in dip.  If you have a choice of hummus, guacamole, ranch or onion dip, always opt for the hummus and guacamole.

4.     Have a bun with your protein – instead, enjoy a side dish with carbs – potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob and wrap you protein in lettuce.

5.     Fill up on liquid calories.  You can have them, just follow the do tips above.  This goes for soda as well…between every soda have equal amounts of water!