It can be easy to explain away your unhealthy eating habits when you live an active lifestyle. You’re going to burn off the calories anyway, right? But continually eating junk food, drinking beer, and dining out can hurt your waistline, fitness goals, and bank account. Of course, enjoying time at the pub with your pals after a long day outside isn’t out of the question; instead, there are ways to have your (healthy) cake and eat it, too.
1) Bake your own snacks
There is no shortage of protein bars, gels, and energy drinks to choose from when it comes to getting ready for your outdoor activities. While there are definitely healthier choices to pick from, they are expensive, with some costing up to $10 (or more!). When you’re exercising daily, that kind of expenditure can add up.
Here are some great recipes to choose from:
- Five Ingredient Energy Bars
- Runner’s Magazine’s 10 best homemade energy bars
- Modern Honey’s Six Homemade Granola bars
Don’t have the time to make some delicious snacks? It’s pretty fast to grab a couple of bananas and stick them in your jersey.
2) Plan ahead for longer trips
Overnighters are prime for all seasons (as long as you have the right gear), but it can be tough to choose what food to bring. You have to find items that will carry well and aren’t too heavy in your pack. Packing only candy may not be the most nutritious option. And both dining out and buying freeze-dried food packs are costly.
If you’re planning several trips or multiple days, it could be useful to buy your own dehydrator. There are tons of recipes online to choose from, such as:
If it’s only a quick overnighter, pre-mixing meals, such as seasoned potatoes in tinfoil or sausages, can be easy-to-prep meals, as well as healthy.
3) Try some non-alcoholic options
Cracking a beer in the parking lot after a long mountain bike ride or sweet climbing session is intrinsic to the outdoor adventure community. We’re not saying you should give it up completely, but if you find yourself going through three tall cans daily, it may be time to cut back.
Besides the obvious, i.e. just not drinking, you could change up your beer with some non-alcoholic choices. More craft breweries are focusing on this new market with delicious results. Take Libra non-alcoholic craft beer, for example. It's full of flavour and smells amazing, and is only 30 calories and 0.4%.
4) Prepare for your post-work-out hunger in advance
We’ve all been there: after a long work-out, you just want to relax and stuff your face with food. If you aren’t prepared, it can be the easiest time to indulge in some bad choices. Filling your house with (mostly) healthy eats can prevent you from certain temptations.
In the morning, prep a meal in the slow cooker so that by the time you come home, you have dinner ready to go. When you have more time, make more than one serving of your dinner and freeze the rest. And when it comes to snacks, opt for healthier choices when you’re in the grocery aisle.
5) Find a balance
At the end of the day, it’s just about finding a balance in your routine. Not many people past their mid-20s can live only on sour candy and ciders and not feel a bit nauseated. And it’s not like saying no to everything. But by choosing specific moments when you want to indulge, it’ll make those times even more special. By eating healthier, you may enjoy your outdoor activities even more, with more sustained energy for longer days and more money to buy new equipment.
