Everyone knows it’s not easy to follow a strict diet and exercise regime especially if the weight loss you are targeting is anything over 5 pounds. The harder you try to control yourself, the more tempted and frustrated you are likely to feel. So, to enjoy while still losing weight, you need to take a break every once in a while. If you are strict the rest of the time, you can enjoy the break sans the guilt. The best way to do this would be to use your cravings to motivate yourself.

As a general rule, it doesn’t matter what time of the day you workout, as long as you dedicate some time for it. Read Exercising - When is the Right Time? for more details. But on a day you know you are in for a treat especially earlier in the day, it will be a good idea to postpone your workout to later in the day. Leave a gap of 3-4 hours between eating and exercising. This not only helps in burning the calories obtained from the heavy meal but also prevents appetite build-up before that meal. After a workout session, your appetite is at the peak coz your body has burnt a lot of calories and is looking forward to getting some food. So, if you workout before the meal, chances are you will end up eating more than usual and this is definitely not desirable especially when your meal is out of the ordinary. This will only leave you with a heavy stomach for the rest of the day and the other activities may not be enough to utilize the energy obtained from this meal, which in turn results in more fat getting stored in your body. By simply choosing to exercise later in the day you will avoid boosting your appetite and burn a significant portion of the calories obtained from the heavy meal. You will be feeling a lot lighter at the end of the day and your body will not store all the energy obtained as fat!

When You Don’t Have a Choice

You can follow the ‘eat early - work out late’ routine only if things are in your control. But, there are situations when you really don’t have a say – like a family event that’s scheduled for the evening or an office dinner. With food, the key strategy here is to stick to smaller servings. This way you will be able to try different varieties and yet not go overboard. Trust me the craving can be well satiated with a small portion and you will be amazed to find that a second serving almost always doesn’t taste as good as the first one. It’s our greed that makes us stuff ourselves. But, now that you know treats aren’t a rare occurrence, you should feel happy sticking to smaller portions. Also, when you take only a little at a time on your plate, you don’t feel guilty about wasting food (coz there is not much to waste) and even if you are the kind who feels compelled to finish everything on your plate, it’s not a cause for concern. As for exercise, do it early in the day not just before you get ready for the event. That way the appetite that gets worked up can be satisfied by a regular meal at home and you don’t end up reaching the event feeling famished.

- Take a break from strict dieting every once in a while

- When it comes to eating calorie-rich food, have it as early in the day as possible

- If you are going to have a heavy meal during the day then exercise later in the day after a gap of at least 3 hours.

- If you are going for an event in the evening, exercise early in the day before your at-home lunch and stick to small portions at the dinner party

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