Over eating on Shabbat. Suggestions?

josephka

To the Jewish MFPers out there (or anyone, actually) I'd like to get your thoughts on this.

I do a decent job during the week of watching what I eat, but on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath, which runs Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) I'm a mess.

Friday night is usually the best and largest meal of the week, and when the whole family is together. And Saturday afternoon, after services, our synagogue usually has a very nice kiddush (sit-down lunch.)

Both of those times, I'll eat more than I normally would - and sometimes a LOT more! I think part of it is celebrating/observing Shabbat, part of it the "freedom" of not working, and part of it is spending time with family and friends.

Anyone else have this issue or am I alone? And...any suggestions on how to "control" myself. It should be easy, but it's not.

Thanks! Oh, and if you want to add me as a friend, please do! Always looking for additional MFP friends!

Derf_Smeggle

I'm not Jewish so no Shabbat, but I would imagine it comparable to other weekly gatherings with family or friends.

There are a few of options to these types of scenarios.
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1. You can budget for it by eating at a slightly higher deficit the other 5 days.
2. You can log it faithfully and just accept your weight loss will be slower.
3. You can, and I know how hard it can be with family, choose to eat a smaller portion of each item.

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I personally like a little combination of all 3. My goal is set at 1.5 lbs loss per week. This is a 5250 calorie deficit for the week. If I'm at a 3000 cal deficit because I went over Friday and Saturday by 2250, I don't sweat it.

tomatosoup3

i keep shabbat too, and this is hard. (especially because you can't use a computer or even a pen to log anything!)
i eat at a higher deficit from sunday-friday. that way i "bank" calories for shabbat.
i'm losing a half pound to a pound a week, so so far it is working (just gotta have patience!)

LernRach

I also eat at a higher deficit sunday - thursday, weigh in on a Friday morning, push myself harder in gym on Saturday night and Sunday to ensure that it doesn't matter that much, and tbh it works! I don't let myself absolutely binge, or completely let go. Also, I make sure I only eat one piece of Challa at each meal - I once worked out the calorie count of my homemade challa and it was ridiculous... With all that, I don't think I gain excessively... I still seem to have lost these past few weeks

zoeysasha37

When I know I am going to have a celebration, sometimes I will eat a tiny bit less during the week to free up some calories for my celebration. I also add in a few extra mins of a workout too sometimes.

Then I sometimes will just try to make reasonable choices during the celebration. I keep my mind on my goals and decide not to over indulge.

OyGeeBiv

What others have suggested - eating at a bigger deficit the rest of the week - sounds like it makes the most sense. Shabbat is going to be part of your week, every week, forever. So make a good plan that includes the extras and the restrictions of Shabbat, and then do your best to stick with it. You may not have stopped to think about it, but you already have within you the self-discipline to do this - because you already use self-discipline to follow your religious beliefs even when it's hard.

Something that helped me was to take pictures of my food before I ate it, and keep note of how many calories were on the plate. It helped me to see what was a "good" plate and what wasn't. You can do that on the other days and gain a lot of knowledge.

I think as you get more used to counting calories and seeing what a "reasonable" meal is for yourself, you'll probably start eating more reasonably on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, too. It starts to be what feels right, and it's less of a struggle. You'll be paying more attention to which foods are "better" to eat in quantity, and fill your plate with those so there's less room for the other things you want to eat less of.

Another thing that helps is to pre-log your meals to the best of your ability, since you can't log during Shabbat.

This week is a bit of a bigger struggle, with all the fried foods. It's so hard to resist eating just one more latke, and just one more donut! HAPPY HANUKKAH.

josephka

All good suggestion guys, thank you! Isn't it funny (at least I think so) that I have self-control to only eat kosher foods and would never think of, for example, eating milk and meat together. That wasn't always the case for me, but I made the decision to keep kosher over 20 years ago, and it's not part of my life. However, that same self-control, when it comes to eating reasonably, and not over doing it, is a challenge. I guess it's a work in progress! Thanks again for the guidance...and feel free to add me as a friend!

raizelchaya

I am Jewish and Kosher. Any of you still on MFP? Friend me.

daworley

josephka wrote: »

All good suggestion guys, thank you! Isn't it funny (at least I think so) that I have self-control to only eat kosher foods and would never think of, for example, eating milk and meat together. That wasn't always the case for me, but I made the decision to keep kosher over 20 years ago, and it's not part of my life. However, that same self-control, when it comes to eating reasonably, and not over doing it, is a challenge. I guess it's a work in progress! Thanks again for the guidance...and feel free to add me as a friend!

Although I am Catholic, I can relate. During lent when we fast and abstain from meat on Fridays, I have absolutely no problem, yet day to day during the remainder of the year it is a challenge. Is shows the power of our mind (and maybe our faith!).