Hey, it's ok

 Hello! Happy weekend everyone! Today was the first Saturday I haven't had to work in months... Hooray for that. I can't tell you how much better the weekend is when it doesn't include the early shift on Saturday. I'm sure many of you already know the pleasure or can sympathize -- and for those of you who did have to work, yuck, sorry. But it's going to be Sunday now! For me that means a family brunch feast followed by a solid afternoon nap. For you it might mean a feast in front of the tv for the game. Go Bears! Or some kind of activity where you eat with less inhibitions than you would during the week. Everyone needs a break, right? I couldn't agree more. It's no fun to be completely health-obsessed every single day just like it's no fun to work every single day. So while no permission will be given to jump off the deep end, I'll gladly share with you my tips to indulge without derailing.

First understand the relationship between different aspects of your diet. For example, 'weekend' food is probably going to be a.) high in fat b.) high in salt c.) high in sugar or d.) all of the above. That's alright, we're going to pretend like there was no other option and you had to eat it. To balance the fat, eat fiber. Fiber. Soluble fiber attaches itself to excess fat and escorts it out of your body via... well, poop. It doesn't work like a magic eraser, but it will help get rid of some stuff your body won't use for fuel. So if you can't turn down that extra chicken wing doused in sauce or that pizza slice, also leave some room for an apple, a couple pieces of broccoli, those almonds, or my favorite - a FiberOne bar for desert**.

Second, if what you ate is high in salt, well, you'll be just like the rest of us. Americans have very high-sodium diets because of all the preservatives in our foods and our affinity for fast food. So chances are you went over the suggested daily value of salt without even trying. Whoops! To help with that, eat potassium. Potassium and salt are inverses, which means they can balance each other if one gets out of hand. Foods like bananas, potatoes, oranges, and orange juice are all great sources of potassium -- you're basically set with any fruit. Double bonus since most also have fiber.

Sugar, unfortunately, is still just something to minimize. You can't really offset it because your body needs so little of it even in it's most natural form. And although there are many negative side effects for too much sugar, I won't bring down your weekend by listing them. I'll just say that it does eventually turn to fat, and we already talked about how to help with that. Fiber. I also want to say that of course a somewhat consistent exercise routine will allow more wiggle room with calories... Now if that doesn't motivate you to get your body moving I don't know what will! And there's no substitute for a good exercise routine, but on the days you let your body rest you can still help maintain balance. Anyway I hope you make the most out of your Sunday and can put some of these tips to good use! More later...

~Sar



**Disclaimer: seriously, if you eat a FiberOne bar, you'll be on the pot in the next 3 hours