Tips for Keeping Your Fitness Goals on Track During the Summer BBQ Season

DISCLAIMER: A huge "thank you" to Butterball for sponsoring today's post. All opinions are my own and yours may differ, because we're humans and whatnot. 

Even though there are still 24 days until the official start of Summer, the BBQ season is quickly creeping up on us, kicking off on Memorial day, next Monday. Since I am a Memorial Day baby, while most people are all like... "Woo-hoo...red white and blue", I'm all like... "Woo-hoo...red, white and cake". 

So, in an effort to keep myself on track and not blow all the hard work I put in over the Winter, I have put together a few tips I plan to use; hopefully, they will help you too.

Photo Credit

First things first, decide what your goals are for the upcoming months and decide how you plan to meet those goals.  Are you trying to lose weight, maintain your current weight or maybe you just need to tone up a little bit.

All of these goals are achievable, even during the Summer BBQ season, with a little bit of forethought and will-power, or in my case, "won't power"... I won't eat allll the cake... only a little.

What I feel might just be the most important tip:  Don't set yourself up for failure. If you know you will be attending a backyard function, plan ahead.

Ask the host(ess) what they will be serving and plan accordingly. If you know there won't be a side-dish you can eat, bring your own or bring your own low carb dessert. If your host(ess) is a friend, they are probably already aware of your diet and will not be the least bit offended by you bringing your own food.

If, for some odd reason, you find yourself at a "surprise BBQ" and you had no time to plan, no worries,  just adapt. For low carb'rs, this would be super easy, since most all BBQ fare is meat based, you're good. Ditch the hamburger bun, wrap that bad boy in lettuce and call it even.

BLT Turkey Burger

My next tip... Keep moving, even if you don't want to. For me, this is the hardest one to actually stick with.  If you have kids, Summer can seem a bit Groundhog's Day-esque. The same day being replayed over and over and over, for what seems like an eternity. Skipping workouts sounds more and more appealing with each passing, monotonous day, but don't do it, it's a trick! (don't ask me how I know this)

Instead of dreading your workout, try to make it something fun, something less "workout-y", more adventure-y.  Something you are more likely to actually do.

Make out a list of things you would normally find at a park or even in your back yard, then enlist the help of the kids to have an "eye spy" kind of adventure, looking for items on the list, like a scavenger hunt.

Click for tons of fun, Summery activities to do with your kids.

Or, you could pack all the kids up and head to the lake, the Y or even your (during the Summer) favorite cousin's house and go for a swim. Swimming is a great cardio workout and great for building and toning muscles and who doesn't like to play Marco Polo?!

Speaking of water... my next tip is: Stay hydrated!!! Yes, three exclamation points, three, because it is that important. Drinking water is super important for anyone, but especially those who will be outside during the next few months and especially kids and old folks. (like me)

Also, limit your alcohol intake while you're outside in the heat. Save that part of the partying until you're inside. Everyone knows, passing out on concrete hurts way more than passing out on carpet.

All that being said, if you still don't think you can do it on your own, ask for help. Find a support group on Facebook for the type of diet you are following. Read books. Do your research. Enlist the help of the Butterball Cookbook Plus app.

This app, available on iOS or Android is full of yummy recipes, informational videos, money saving coupons and lots of tips and tricks that will take all the stress and guesswork out of eating healthy. They even have a few vegetarian recipes in there too.

We love turkey, because it is a very lean protein, which is good for low carb'rs like myself, because too much protein can turn into sugar, which is highly counterproductive for this way of eating.

This BLT turkey burger would be great for a Memorial Day BBQ and can even be tweaked to fit a low carb plan too, by omitting the honey and wrapping in lettuce instead of the bun or you could just go all out and call it a "cheat", I won't tell.

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BLT Turkey Burger
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup fat-free mayonnaise
- 1-1/2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 BUTTERBALL® Original Seasoned Frozen Turkey Burgers
- 4 slices (1/2ounce each) reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
- 4 Kaiser rolls, split and toasted
- 1 cups shredded lettuce
- 4 slices red onion (about 1/8-inch thick)
- 4 slices tomato
- 1 avocado, cut into 8 slices
- 4 slices BUTTERBALL® Turkey Bacon, cooked and cut in half

Directions:
1. Combine mayonnaise, honey, chipotle pepper sauce and cilantro. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Prepare turkey burgers according to package directions for broiling or on pre-heated grill.

3. When burgers are cooked, top each with 1 slice cheese. Broil 1 minute or until cheese is melted.

4. Spread 1-1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise mixture on cut sides
of each roll. Layer each bottom half with 1/4 cup shredded lettuce, 1 slice onion and 1 slice tomato. Top each with cheese-topped burger, 2 slices avocado and 2 turkey bacon pieces. Cover each with top of roll.

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When all is said and done and the Summer is fading into Fall, all we really want to do is look back and know we had an amazing Summer, making new memories with our family. No one will remember how jiggly your legs were at the beach. No one will remember how many squats or reps or burpees (what the hell even is that?!) you did.

What they will remember is the fun times you had while digging for worms in the back yard, to go fishing. They will remember the water balloon fights and the marshmallow roasting and the impromptu cookouts for no reason whatsoever,  just to enjoy each other's company.

They will remember the bugs and critters you saw while wandering the woods and the stories of your childhood you relayed along the way, not the size of your jeans or the size of your batwings. (ladies, you know what I'm talking about)

A photo posted by Niki Stutts (@midlifemommyadventures) on Nov 5, 2015 at 10:04am PST

So get out there, enjoy your kids, enjoy the season and all the yummy deliciousness that goes along with it, because they won't be little forever and tomorrow is next year before you know it.