Fall in Ascension Parish just feels right
There’s a certain kind of weekend that reminds you why you love living here. This is one of them.
The St. Mark Fall Market & Festival takes over St. Mark Catholic Church at 42021 Highway 621 in Gonzales this Friday and Saturday, October 16–17. Friday kicks off with the vendor market from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and trunk-or-treat starting at 5:30. Saturday brings the car show and the silent auction. Good food, good people, kids in costumes, and half the parish in one place.
The Regymen and Xtreme crew will be out there with our neighbors — come say hi. We’d love to see y’all.
Now, let’s talk about the question we hear every festival season: “Coach, I’m doing so good… is this weekend going to wreck everything?”
Short answer: no. One weekend doesn’t wreck anything — as long as you walk in with a simple plan and walk out without the guilt spiral. Here’s the exact game plan we give our members.
Before the festival: set yourself up
Eat before you go. This sounds backward, but it’s the oldest trick that works. Show up starving and you’ll buy the first fried thing you smell — and the second one too. Eat a normal meal with protein before you head out: grilled chicken, eggs, a protein shake, whatever fits your day. Protein keeps you full and steady, so at the festival you’re choosing treats instead of chasing them.
Get your workout in first. If Friday or Saturday is a training day, knock it out in the morning. You’ll feel better, you’ll have more energy for walking the grounds, and you won’t spend the festival thinking about the workout you skipped. Our class schedule and how training works is on the workouts page if you’re not a member yet and want to see what a session looks like.
Drink water before, during, and after. Louisiana “fall” still means warm afternoons. A bottle of water in hand does double duty — you stay hydrated, and you’re less likely to mistake thirst for hunger at the food booths.
During the festival: enjoy it — on purpose
Here’s our honest philosophy: festival food is part of the festival. The gumbo, the sweets from the bake sale, whatever your kids beg you to try — that’s memory food, not failure food. The goal was never to stand in the middle of the St. Mark festival eating a plain chicken breast out of a container.
So enjoy it — with two light guardrails:
- Pick your favorites, skip the filler. You don’t need a little of everything. Walk the booths first, pick the two or three things you actually love, and enjoy every bite. The stuff you’d rate a 6 out of 10? Leave it for somebody who’d rate it a 10.
- Keep moving. Festivals are sneaky exercise. Between the vendor rows, the trunk-or-treat line, and chasing kids, you’ll stack up thousands of steps without trying. That’s real activity — it counts.
That’s it. No calorie counting in the parking lot. No “starting over Monday” speech. Just choose on purpose, enjoy fully, and keep your feet moving.
After the festival: the Monday rule
This is the part that actually decides whether a fun weekend matters or not — and it’s simple:
Just go back to normal.
Not “punishment mode.” Not skipping meals to make up for it. Not a juice cleanse. Just your regular routine: your next workout, your normal protein, your water, your sleep. The people who stay in shape long-term aren’t the ones who never have a festival weekend. They’re the ones whose fun weekend ends and whose routine quietly picks back up — because the routine was never built on guilt in the first place.
One more thing: don’t weigh yourself Monday morning and panic. A salty, fun weekend can hold water weight for a day or two. It settles. This is exactly why our members track with Fit3D scans instead of daily scale drama — the scan shows body fat and muscle, not weekend water. If you’re curious how that works, our FAQ page explains it in plain English.
Come see us at the festival — or start free at the gym
If you spot the Regymen and Xtreme crew at St. Mark this weekend, stop by and say hello. If you’ve been thinking about getting started, that’s a perfect time to ask us anything — no appointment needed for a conversation.
And whenever you’re ready, the door is open the same way for everybody in Ascension Parish: a free workout at Regymen Fitness Ascension + a FREE Fit3D scan + a FREE personalized nutrition program from Coach L at Xtreme Performance Nutrition, by appointment. Try the training, see your real numbers, and get a plan built for you — all before you spend a dime.
Start free here or call (225) 744-6495. See y’all at the festival, Gonzales.
