Regardless of if you’re working on a Kadooment body, carnival body or just want to look your best year round, during the carnival seasons or Christmas season it usually feels like your body and mind are torn. After training for months, a season arrives bringing all of its fetes and temptations with it and suddenly you feel like you’ve been thrown right at the top of a crossroad. There are ways to both enjoy yourself and keep your body in shape without feeling like you’re sacrificing one for the other. Making the smartest, but still enjoyable, choices on local menus, choosing low calorie alcohol (cause let’s face it, nuhbody ain’t giving it up completely!), eating grilled options instead of fried and skipping unnecessary sauces and dressings are a few of the many ways to enjoy all those all-inclusives and late nights without feeling guilty the next day and apologizing to your body. As simple as these choices may seem, they help in keeping your calorie count down and therefore leaving less for you to fret over and burn off.

Eat Smart
A cheat day or two a week actually boosts the metabolism and helps you to burn those calories faster. Take advantage of those cheat days and use them at the most indulging events so you can fully enjoy them without feeling restricted or being afraid of the food. For quick stop food options, fast food stops like Chefette and Burger King both offer grilled instead of fried chicken sandwich alternatives, that scale calories down by almost half. Skipping the mayo and dressings will make it a stop that you don’t have to run in the gym first thing the next morning and repent for. Subway is also a head quick stop contender, with salads and subs, like the 6-inch turkey breast on wheat bread with veggies and mustard, carrying only 360 calories. Forget the fries at KFC and have a side of mashed potatoes instead, without the gravy, for a healthier snack that you can grab while yuh on the move. Baxter’s Road and Oistins venders also offer grilled fish and side options rather than fried that make for a guilt free after fete snack that you don’t have to compromise your beloved belly and taste buds for. For those on the south, Il Forno in Sheraton Center offers build your own salad options for a clean but tasty meal on the run. Forget the soft drinks that generally accompany these meals and grab a bottle of water or natural juice instead to keep them Kadooment abs from disappearing.

At De Bar
Gravitate towards the wine and champagne bars for under half the calories of cocktails like Cosmopolitans or Martinis. For the cooler fetes, pack yuh cooler with low calorie chasers like light cranberry juice, tonic water, orange juice and coconut water and plenty water. These mixers are smarter choices than the usual soft drinks that pack large amounts of sugars and calories. Hydrating between and after drinking is also important in keeping the calorie count low (this is where the plenty water comes in handy). Clear liquids are usually lower in calories, so infused vodkas, gins and white rum are a few of the options lower in sugars that you could also pack in your cooler. Dandelion tea is great to stock up on and drink throughout the days that yuh know REAL drinks going to beat, as it helps to detoxify the liver.

Keeping Active
Above all, it is important to keep yourself active. Dancing is a great form of cardio so DO NOT play stush! Pelt as much waist as possible to burn off the night’s intake for less to stress about the following day. Although your schedule will tighten up, it is important that you still allocate some time to your workout to burn off the gap burgers and shell bulldogs that you just could not resist. Gyms around the island offer “wukkup workouts” and carnival themed spin classes that make it way more fun and easy to stay in shape. Themed Zumba classes are also open to the public during the Crop Over season, which is a great way to burn calories without feeling like you’re working out.

All in all, you don’t have to sacrifice enjoying yuhself for your dream bod. Smarter, yet enjoyable, choices can be made to ensure that you enjoy the season, without losing all that you worked for. Being minding of the alcohol and food consumed can make a huge difference without sacrificing all that you enjoy