Indulgence

I would like to start off with - I believe in all things in moderation. As Nigella Lawson said 'I can't live on 1000 calories a day' and neither can I. To me to fully be able to enjoy food you have to be able to eat. Living off low fat, low calorie foods only can deplete you palate and make food boring. You have to indulge every once in awhile, have a slice of chocolate cake with real cream ice cream, have a hamburger with all the fixins including actual cheese, have tuna salad with (gasp) full fat mayo, or maybe even a sour apple martini. All these things taste great, they are comfort food, and they bring you a level of pleasure that you should not deny yourself. I am not saying have them all the time, but do have them. Indulgence helps to keep us mental sane at times.

With that being said it is possible to over-indulge. And those of us that have been to an all you can eat dessert buffet know all about that. So below I have posted some tips from RealAge that can help you deal with the times when you have taken things just a little bit too far.

Eat less/sweat more the day before and after. "If you know you're heading for a weekend of excess," says Hall, "squeeze in a workout and eat 300 fewer calories the day before the partying begins." Same goes for the day after. But don't punish yourself by skipping a meal -- it'll just make you cranky and hungry. Limit portions or forgo a snack," like a blueberry muffin or small bag of potato chips (about 300 calories each).

Curb carbs at lunch and dinner. Hall is known throughout the UK for her Carb Curfew diet, which "means no starchy carbs -- bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or cereal -- after 5 pm." And for food-filled weekends, she says turn the carb alarm back to noon. Why? "Chances are your fat intake will be higher on these days, pushing up your calorie intake, and with party food, it's often easier to avoid carbs than fatty foods."

Drink up! Lots of water, that is. A boozy weekend can leave you dehydrated and too hung over to stomach your usual workout. Hall's advice: Drink plenty of water during and after endless cocktail hours or a wild weekend. As for post-party exercise, go for a walk instead of a full workout, "especially if you have a sore head!"
Eat a big bowl of veggie soup. "Foods with a high water content help stave off hunger and make you feel full. Studies show that dieters who follow this advice tend to stick to their plan without feeling unsatisfied or deprived." So before you leave home, slurp up a big bowl of vegetable soup.
Shake your booty. "Sometimes you just have to go out and burn a little more energy," says Hall. But here's the good news: One of the all-time best calorie-burners is the dance floor. So get out there and cut yourself a big old slice of rug. You'll wind up boogieing away a few hundred calories before the night is through.