Today is the Fourth of July, a big deal in the U.S. It’s a day we celebrate with friends, family, and our communities. Traditionally, we celebrate this holiday with barbecue foods, which is to say foods that are cooked outdoors on a grill. This includes hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, chicken, and ribs. Some folks may even go the extra mile and smoke some meats (we do this annually) for their barbecue. Then there are the sides: rolls, potato salads, coleslaw, baked beans, some kind of potatoes, and of course dessert.

When adhering to a Paleo lifestyle, barbecues are not very hard to do or to go to. Most hamburger meat is on the plan, as is most chicken, ribs, and meats. Sure, some hot dogs or sausages may have sugar in them, while some rubs and sauces or the chicken and ribs may contain some sugar, but honestly, not in large quantities. Eaten reasonably, you can have these foods without worry. It’s the bread of the buns that are the trouble spot. Also, potato salad and coleslaw may contain sugar and/or dairy, but again, in small quantities, I will have some.

I’ve talked about holidays and special occasions in previous blog entries: these are those times in life when it’s okay to go off plan a little. When you look at photographs from the past, the vast majority of the people in them were fit, which is to say not fat. These people at whole foods, worked hard, and they naturally stayed at their ideal weight for the most part. They also ate foods full of sugar, but they did so only at special occasions or as a rare treat.

A strategy I use is to eat reasonably at breakfast and maybe have a handful of nuts or a slice of Paleo bread made with almond flour before the barbecue. Then, since most barbecues are late afternoon/early evening, I eat anything there, but in reasonable amounts. Typically, this is enough to not cause my weight to spike or to  stop any progress in my weight loss until I introduce one ingredient: alcohol. Sticking to a single glass of wine has typically been okay and not too much sugar, but if I go past one glass, I can guarantee either a slight weight gain, a stop in weight loss progress for five days, or both. Again, this is my personal experience, and this is something I’ve paid close attention to over the past ten months. It’s predictable and repeatable.

In the end, as we say, “You gotta live.” Losing weight is not a race; take the holiday to enjoy that time with family and friends, and eat some foods that give you emotional comfort. Just don’t go overboard, and try to make good decisions when you can. Oh, and enjoy that slim slice of apple pie.