Tips for Surviving the Long Weekend

How to enjoy the three-day weekend without shocking your system.

We love long weekends. An extra day off of work? Yes, please. But despite the extra day of rest, long weekends can have long-lasting side effects on our bodies, if we don’t treat them with care. Amid the food and drink, the great outdoors and the time with friends and family, we should be mindful of what—and how—we feel, inside and out.

Here are four easy things you can do to avoid feeling run down, bloated and tired after a long weekend.

Eat before drinking

It’s not exactly rocket science that you get tipsier faster when your stomach is empty and you’re hungry. Avoid an easily preventable hangover by filling up your stomach with healthy fats and protein before you chug a few cervesas or suck down the homemade sangria. [via elitedaily.com]

But avoid overeating

Social gatherings can be difficult for maintaining a healthy diet. Food is plentiful (and usually calorie-filled), drinks are flowing and you’re probably not paying attention to the number of chips you’ve consumed or cookies you’ve snagged from the dessert tray. Here are six tips to help you avoid overdoing it. [via 24Life]

Relieve the bloating

We’ve all been there: The apple pie was just too good to resist, even though you were stuffed from the massive hamburger you consumed. If you were unable to avoid tip number two and find that you’ve outdone yourself yet again by eating just a little too much, fight bloating with these seven foods, including yogurt and bananas. [via womenshealthmag.com]

Don’t skip your sweat session

Even with an extra day of rest, you may not have the time to get to the gym before heading to the beach with your family, or making that lunchtime barbecue. (Especially if you still have to make the fruit salad!) If you have some equipment at home (jump rope, medicine ball), try one of these 24-minute circuit workouts for a quick sweat. If you have no equipment and even less time, this 12-minute bodyweight circuit ought to do the trick. Or, tone it up with this 15-minute leg workout. (This one is great if it’s warm enough to wear shorts to that barbecue, or if you’re looking to show off a little at the beach.) [via 24Life]

Photo credit: monkeybusinessimages, Thinkstock