Motivation Monday: How to get your diet back on track After an Indulgent Weekend

This WILL be happening today.

I hope you had a great July 4th weekend. I was supposed to be on a Mediterranean cruise right now but had to postpone it to a later date. Instead I spent a relaxing weekend at a friend's lake house. It was a weekend of indulgence for which I am trying to balance out today with diet and exercise.

I had a green smoothie for breakfast the last two days made of simply kale, a banana, fresh peaches from Ham's Orchard, water and a splash of coconut water. It's delicious. Here are more smoothie recipes. I like to eat fiber-rich foods like watermelon or cauliflower after an indulgent weekend. It's filling without providing too many calories. Try this Buffalo Cauliflower Bites recipe from Mind Over Munch. Amazeballs!

Here's some diet and fitness news to help kickstart your week and get you back on track if you overdid it this weekend.

 Diet And Fitness News You Need To Know 
If you ate or drank too much this weekend don't worry. Eat a produce-heavy diet, drink plenty of water and exercise the next few days. Consume too much salt? Again, load up on water. Drink too much booze? Drink coconut water, Emergen-C (I love both of these) or some other electrolyte replacement beverage and eat a potassium-rich food like a banana. Here are more ways to help you fix bad diet decisions.

It's scientifically proven that exercise improves your life. It sharpens your memory, speeds your metabolism, helps you sleep better and reduces stress. Need more evidence? Read the rest from a recent study by Cleveland State University here.

Heading to the beach this summer? A) Don't forget sunscreen! B) Take a few minutes to exercise. From sand lunges and beach crawling to simple jogging or skipping, here are the best exercises to do at the beach.

SO, it turns there is such a thing as a negative calorie food. Sorta. It's ice. Think about it. Ice requires heat from your body AKA calories to warm it and burn it. Of course, there's a diet book to go with this.

You should drink coffee before you workout. It improves circulation and increases muscle fuel. Find out the other reasons why coffee is the BOMB here.

 Shop This Story 

Diet Tricks You SHOULDN'T Do

There are all sorts of diet tricks out there.   I shared 25 of the best diet tricks of all time last year plus a few of my own faves:

• Putting your fork down between bites.  It works, promise.
• Leaving two bites on every plate when you dine in a restaurant.  Another winner.

What about so-called diet tricks that don't work?  The Huffington Post's Anna Almendrala offers "7 Diet Habits You Should Drop Now" and the suggestions are pretty logical:

• Don't skip breakfast - good advice but if you're not hungry, don't stress over it.  Do what works for you.  I love breakfast.  If I'm not hungry, I will at least try to get something in my system like my green smoothie. 
• Cutting out entire food groups - I mean really.  Who can live without bread or cheese fries the rest of their lives?  It's ridiculous.  It's about moderation and occasional indulgences. 
• Filling up on diet soda drinks - this is a game changer.  From a pure hydration standpoint, you will feel so much better if you avoid diet soda (as well as regular) and quench your thirst with plain water, sparkling water, water infused with fresh fruit or cucumber slices or iced tea.  
• Thinking about it as a "diet" in the first place - TRUTH!  

Your "diet" is your overall approach to eating.  If you think about a "quick fix" it won't work.  You will fall right back into those bad habits once your calorie-reduced diet ends.  Sure, you can jumpstart your weight loss by restricting calories and dropping a few pounds quickly but you must consider how you will MAINTAIN that weight loss once you resume "normal" eating.

The "Diet" That Works For Me

I've said it repeatedly and will say it again: that Mediterranean "diet" is the BOMB.  Fish, veggies, fruits, nuts, olive oil, feta cheese, red wine and chocolate.  There is nothing "diet" or restrictive about it.  It's abundant in its bounties.

The Great Green Smoothie Recipe

Looking for a great way to get some fruit and veggies in your system first thing in the morning?  Try my great green smoothie.  This one features Almond Breeze almond milk, a banana, frozen berries, spinach and chia seeds.

Kids love it, too.  You can hear my daughter, Jordan, saying "Yummy! Smoothie!" in this video.  Or at least a 2-year old's version of those words. 

  

The Best Green Smoothie Recipe Ever

The amazing green smoothie recipe keeps getting better.

It's a perfect "kitchen sink" recipe because you throw whatever you have on hand in the blender for a fabulous breakfast, snack or quick lunch when paired with a few nuts or some string cheese.

The double bonus: your kids will love it.  My daughter, Jordan, has a spinach smoothie almost every day at breakfast.

My original green smoothie recipe  featured berries, bananas and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.  Easy, delicious and only about 220 calories.

Add two handfuls of spinach to make the smoothie a nutritional game changer.  It packs a powerful antioxidant punch with few additional calories.  The crazy thing is you can't even taste the spinach.

I've started added frozen kale to the mix, too.  It offers the amazing nutritional green boost while thickening the consistency.  The kale does add more of a "green" flavor, though but it's not overwhelming.

Here's the basic base recipe:

• Eight ounces almond milk (again, I love Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla)
• One big handful of berries
• One banana
• Two handfuls of spinach
• Optional: chia seed or flax seeds

Another view

The finished product

You can use any fruit combination with a few greens.  Pictured below is another version with the Almond Breeze, half a mango, half a banana, a few strawberries and two handfuls of frozen kale.  Delicious!

Mango Kale Smoothie

These are so good that they can be served as a frozen dessert treat.  Just use less milk and add more frozen ingredients for a thicker, soft-serve consistency.

*Almond milk is not safe for those with nut allergies and should not be used as a substitute for infant formula or breast milk.