Nikki asks: “Do you often take a break from healthy living on the weekends? If so, why do you think that is? If not, how do you manage to make being healthy part of your life 24/7?”

The quick answer would be that my weekends are just as “healthy” as the rest of the week. But when I really look at my life, I have to admit that I don’t do the 5-days-on-2-days-off bit in any area of my life. I am a college-attending, homeschooling, mother of 2. I don’t do a 9-to-5 M-F schedule that makes the weekends seem like mini-vacations. (What is the deal with all of the hyphens?? –) So, with that said, I can honestly reiterate that I don’t take a break on weekends.

I do, however, behave differently depending upon my circumstances. i.e. I eat out after class, which can be tricky if I am not careful. I also take class days off from working out because I (1) need a day off, and (2) already have too much to do on Tuesdays. So, in a way, Tuesday could be considered my “weekend.”

So, I suppose I should answer how I manage to make being healthy part of my life on Tuesdays. Well, it came from the realization that going out to eat after class didn’t mean that I had to consume a week’s worth of calories at one sitting. I don’t have to avoid activities that are different from my daily routine. I just have to look ahead and make sure that I don’t undo my hard work because I am unprepared.

Case in point: I won’t go into a whole rant here, but I am not a fan of McDon@ld’s. Regardless, we ended up going there yesterday. I was dreading it until I went on their website and found a salad and a dressing that would total 300 calories if I left the croutons and crackers off. The sodium content was higher than I would like, but overall it was a decent choice. Without the information from the website, I could have easily picked nearly 1,000 calories worth of food – ie a double cheeseburger (460 cal) and fries (520 cal) – based on price ($1 each) and gone backwards.

So, part of it is vigilance in being aware of my options. Part of it is finding that balance (yes, there is that word, again) that allows me to continue losing weight without dreading life.