Maintaining healthy habits both in terms of nutrition and exercise means finding balance. Sometimes you may get a hankering for something juicy and smokey and search for “burger take-out near me.” It doesn’t immediately sound like the healthiest choice, but when you decide to prioritize your health, eating things like burger take-out in moderation doesn’t need to have a negative impact on your waistline.

Moderation and balance are keywords that some people struggle with. When you’re spending more time than necessary worrying about what eating one fast food meal or a little junk food is going to do to your dietary regimen, than you’re going to be less likely to enjoy the treat on your plate. Feeling guilty about what you’re eating is not what life is about. It’s important to really enjoy the treats and “junk” you wouldn’t eat for every meal. When you approach diet and weight loss as a lifestyle versus “going on a diet” for three or four months, you’re more inclined to include occasional “unhealthy” food in moderation and be able to actually enjoy the flavors.

Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers offers dine-in or burger take-out menu items with only the freshest ingredients. Find a location near you.

If you’re still not convinced that balance can be found and that you’re not going to be able to maintain your weight or continue losing, read on for five tips on how you can eat burger take-out and still stay healthy.

Try a New Addition to the Traditional Burger

As more and more people begin to opt for healthier versions of traditional foods, restaurants and venues have taken notice. There are simple things that you can do when opting to indulge in foods like a burger and fries. You can request no mayo to forego some of the “bad” fats and opt for guacamole or avocado to get a little bit more of the “healthy” fats. Ask for a small fries instead of the normal larger size you would order or skip them altogether and get a side salad or fruit. Instead of having a double or triple cheeseburger, have a single patty.

You’re still consciously choosing to have a cheeseburger, but you’re saving yourself calories that would mean extra working out or very conscientious eating during the rest of the day. That’s not to say you shouldn’t pay attention to what you’re eating over the course of the day, but if you know you’re meeting friends for cold beers and cheeseburgers for lunch, opting for oatmeal with a side of berries and preparing a colorful, plant-based salad for dinner means that you’re still reaching your nutritional goals and enjoying the lunchtime burger and fries.

Consider Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting seems to be a buzzword on the internet and among dieting circles right now, but when you consider that the word “breakfast” is literally about breaking the nighttime fast, you will see that we’re not meant to eat around the clock. Giving your body time to process the food you’ve eaten and giving it the “extra” time to regenerate cells means that your body has the opportunity to process the nutrients and then take its downtime to revitalize on a cellular level.

There are many types of intermittent fasting, including 5:2 (alternating 5 hours of fasting with 2 hours of eating) and eat, stop, eat, but starting with a 12:12 schedule and working towards an 8:16 can be the easier way to be successful. Let’s say you eat breakfast at 8:00 a.m., have a moderate lunch at 12:00 p.m., grab a piece of fruit and 8 almonds for a snack, and then have dinner at 6:30 p.m. This still gives you time to have a light dessert around 7:30 p.m., and you’re done eating by 8:00 p.m. As you find what sort of eating schedule works for your body and daily schedule, you can add a day or two of 10:14 eating schedules.

With the off time that your body has from constantly having to rev up and process the food eaten, the natural processes of body preservation can transpire. For example, your cells can repair themselves and insulin levels will drop, which makes it so your body can more easily access and use fat stores for energy.

There are other benefits to intermittent fasting that can provide benefits to both brain and body, including altering the levels of human growth hormone (HGH) in your system which, can mean more fat loss and muscle gain. Additionally, gene expression can change, which is a process of your genes protecting themselves, and this ultimately affects longevity.

Keep on Keepin’ On

Whether your goal is 6,000 steps a day or 10,000, the important thing is that you keep moving your body. Establishing a workout routine that is both realistic and not too strenuous (unless you’re a pro athlete in training, of course) is going to be pivotal in maintaining healthy exercise habits that leave a little wiggle room for your food intake.

When you decide to prioritize your health, one of the first things experts recommend is getting on an exercise schedule with low-impact workouts to start. Find a cardio activity that you enjoy. Walking for example is both low-impact and can be done indoors and outdoors. There are multiple ways to enjoy your walks, and just a few of these could include mindful walking, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, or seeking immersion in a natural setting, such as a park or forest trail.

The main point of exercise is to be consistent. When you’re consistent with your exercise and physical fitness, there’s no harm in having a treat now and then.

Schedule Your “Free Day”

For some, eating healthfully and exercising consistently throughout the week is easier when they know their “free day” is coming up. The goal of a free day isn’t to go overboard and shock your system but to mindfully enjoy—and not feel guilty—about the foods consumed throughout the day.

Be Kind To Yourself

No one ever decided to take care of themselves and pay more attention to their health and wellness only to mentally beat themselves up after every slip-up. Building new habits takes time, and that includes changing up your diet and exercise lifestyle. It’s immensely important to find the balance and to do so with the utmost kindness to yourself.