Tip The Odds In Your Favour This Melbourne Cup

How tempting is Melbourne Cup? Everyone’s dressed to the nines. The snacks are on point. Beers are being bought in rounds. Trouble is, if you’re a Man Shaker, that one day of fun end up undoing weeks of good work.

So here’s our guide to enjoying Cup Day, while sticking to the program (and without being a wowser).

Shake before you go

The Cup doesn’t start until 3pm. That means you can still have a normal morning. Have a shake for breakfast and another for lunch. That way you’ll still be full when the festivities start – and less likely to snack.
 

Don’t scratch your exercise

If you usually exercise in the morning, make sure you don’t skip it on November 5th. If you prefer an afternoon sweat, then bring it forward just for the ‘one day of the year.’
 

Dress to impress

If you’ve already lost weight on The Man Shake, make sure you dress to show it off. The more people notice the more they’ll tell you and the more inspired you’ll be to keep going.

Be a late starter

Some Melbourne Cup lunches start at breakfast – that’s a long day and a lot of calories. To limit the damage, have a think about the group you’re celebrating with. Would they notice if you were 30min late? Or an hour? You might even like making a big entrance.

Don’t graze with the field

If there’s a table full of snacks there’s usually a healthier choice. So, avoid the sausage roll, party pies and mini franks. Instead, grab a handful of nuts, olives or popcorn. Choose the salsa dip (even better if there’s veggies with it).

Handicap your portions

If you just can’t resist a high fat snack, then the key is only having one. When you limit your portions, you limit the damage. Remember, you will need to work it off tomorrow.

Keep well watered

Stick to the plan of drinking at least 2L of water a day – that doesn’t include anything alcoholic as that’s dehydrating. By drinking water throughout Race Day you’ll stay fuller for longer.

Talk more, eat less

It’s physically impossible to talk while eating (we’ve tried). So, on Cup Day, focus on talking to mates not feeding your face. Talk about the form guide. Talk about the odds. Talk about the jockeys. You can find the day flies by.

Celebrate with a few beers

One of the joys of being on The Man Shake is you can lose the beer gut without losing all the beers. Our best advice is to not drink beer the weekend before – that way you can have a couple on the big day. Even smarter, choose a low-calorie beer.

Most of all remember, the Melbourne Cup is supposed to be fun. Enjoy the day, you’ve earned it.