Posted on July 25, 2018 by Emily Forbes

I have a lot of clients coming to me saying that they didn’t eat well over the weekend. They “confess” that they went to a BBQ and had a good time. A lot of my dietary advice is to “base meals around lean protein and eat plenty of vegetables”; the BBQ is a great way to do this. Of course there are ways the innocent BBQ can easily sabotage your current diet plan and therefore be bad for you! But with all this amazing weather we are having, here are the reasons and ways for you to enjoy that summer BBQ.

Don’t feel guilty about that BBQ

  • Plenty of grilled, lean protein. Higher protein diets support weight loss and/or help to build muscle. Chicken, fish, tofu, you can cater for all dietary requirements. Try to avoid meats like sausages which are more calorific.
  • Vegetables and salads galore. Including salads and vegetables increases your intake of micro nutrients and fibre. Fibre can help you feel fuller for longer so can also benefit weight loss. BBQ favourites potato salad and coleslaw, covered in mayo are a sure way to add in extra calories so are best avoided. Swap them for baked sweet potato and Asian slaw instead. And don’t forget to put the veg skewers and corn-on-the-cobs on the grill.
  • Swap the crisps and and cheese and chive dip for crudites and hummus. Or if you are putting on the BBQ avoid crisps completely and provide salty snacks like roasted chickpeas.
  • Socialising is good for mental health and de-stressing. Stress can hinder diet adherence and weight loss progression. Not only thinking about weight loss, our overall well being is just as important.
  • You can still enjoy alcohol. Opt for lower calorie options like gin and slim, vodka and soda or a light beer. If you know you have a social event coming up you can prepare for this in the week by cutting calories elsewhere; reduce portion sizes, take out some meals/snacks in the week before. It might help to set yourself a limit to how  much you will drink. Becoming intoxicated can completely affect our judgement on food portions and options (not to mention the take away pizza the following day).
  • Sunshine increases our vitamin D levels which can improve immunity, bone health, reduce depressive symptoms and potentially improve strength and fat loss. Sunscreen does block the effects of vitamin D synthesis in the body though. About 20 min sun exposure on 18% exposed skin should give us a low boost.

I conclude, BBQ’s can be good for health. Make the right choices and there is no reason not to enjoy that summer BBQ.

Check out our blog archive for BBQ recipes.