Help!! Messing up diet every weekend :(

brb_2013

I'm the same so far, I have about 4 weeks of good weekday behavior then it's all out by Saturday afternoon. Saturday AM is good most of the time, but then we get busy.

My plan for this weekend is to write a meal plan for the weekend and shop for it (we usually shop Sundays and my plan stops Friday night... why? No idea but that's a problem). So I either need to do a mid week shop or do a bigger trip for the week ahead.

Another strategy is a calendar reminder for Saturday morning to prompt me to snap out of mindless relaxing and remind myself to keep my eye on my goals in addition to enjoying my weekend with my husband.

The suggestion: pre plan all foods for the weekend. We don't eat out much, but from now on all my heavy dishes are home cooked so I have to order something light. So I go for salads. Or perhaps a steak with veggies, but I don't order pastas or anything that easily will go way over my limit.

lseed87

Chances are that you aren't eating enough during the week so kind of binge later on. Probably need more water too?

Unknown

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rosebarnalice

I plan for it! I focus on weekly averages rather than daily goals. From a practical standpoint, I typically go under my calorie goal by 100 - 400 calories a day during the week (depending on how much I exercise), and then I eat 'em on the weekends! Lost 50 lbs and have been maintaining!

diannethegeek

vegankid1990 wrote: »

Thanks, to be honest I usually forget to log on the weekends or I purposely don't because I know it's gonna go over haha. Maybe that's my downfall
I'm usually very good during the week at weighing and logging. Xx

Whether you think you will or you think you won't, you're right. If you think that you'll go over on the weekends, then yes you'll go over. It can be helpful to recognize that's a choice you're making rather than something that's out of your control. Make a different choice. You may still go a bit over your goals, but I'd bet it's by a much smaller margin.

shadowfax_c11

Log what you eat. Pretending it didn't happen won't fool your body into losing weight. At least if you log it you can look back and see exactly what results you got from your choices. Make them conscious choices, take responsibility for them, OWN THEM.

If I am going to eat it. I am going to do it because I chose to do it, knowing full well exactly how it will fit with my goals. Since I chose to do it with full awareness of those things I can enjoy my meal without guilt.

I actually usually plan my high calorie meals to happen on days I know I am going to be extra active.

Also eat out less. Find other things to do on the weekend that don't revolve around food. Or plan activities that burn lots of calories so you can enjoy the meal. If you are going to eat out and spend the money at least make it worth it and eat something you actually like.

vegankid1990

kshama2001 wrote: »

vegankid1990 wrote: »

I'm vegan so all of that is out of the question haha! But yeah I do need to walk more on the weekends, I can be lazy.
My sweet tooth is usually my downfall, although I rarely have fizzy drinks and juices I can fall in to cake and sweets frenzy sometimes!

I know I'm going to eat more on the weekends so I exercise more those days.

I can have sweet tooth frenzy if I don't get enough protein, which is much easier for me, as an omnivore. Are you diligently working on getting enough protein? My healthy vegan friends make legumes and seitan the base of their diets.

I usually exceed my daily protein goal. I think it's a bit of a myth that vegans don't get enough protein. Plant foods are packed full of it.

I wouldn't say I really crave anything it's more "oh I know that tastes good so I'll have it" haha so. Lack of discipline on my part.

Thanks

Orphia

JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »

Orphia wrote: »

Scroll up to see my post you missed.

I doubt she missed it look at the size of it.

She posted a few seconds after my post, so she wouldn't have refreshed the page and seen it.

JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »

Orphia wrote: »

ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »

Order a green salad starter, no dressing. By the time your entree arrives, you will feel less hungry and eat less of your entree.

Why do you even need a starter or an entree?

You advocate daily wine and chocolate on a previous post and question why someone would have a green salad as a starter or an entree? Maybe the same reason as you because they enjoy/choose too.

I seem to have a fan club.

It's called "making room for the things you love".

Wanting everything on the restaurant menu (starter, entree, main course, dessert) isn't quite what to do if you're aiming to reduce calories.

Sure, have a green salad if you need the vitamins and carbs. That wasn't my query. But assuming you need a starter per se and entree as well as your usual dinner is why the environment is obesogenic.

Kind regards.

vegankid1990

Thanks everyone for the help and tips so this weekend I will test run logging absolutely everything I eat and I will try and hold back on junk if I can haha! The struggle is real! I'll also try not to eat back all my exercise calories so I've got some banked

Thanks again! You're all lovely! Xx

leahkathleen13

Sorry if this was mentioned: pre log your food but figure in some things you are looking forward to. That way it's still special and fun!

allenpriest

vegankid1990 wrote: »

Thanks, to be honest I usually forget to log on the weekends or I purposely don't because I know it's gonna go over haha. Maybe that's my downfall
I'm usually very good during the week at weighing and logging. Xx

That's the heart of your problem. Not to be harsh but it is basically lying to yourself. So stop. Log it all and deal with any ugly truth. You can do it!

LivingtheLeanDream

I think most of us find this a real problem too.... I still do, but how I tackle it is to eat at deficit during the week to allow for extra 500 cals on Saturdays/Sundays. Even at maintenance I still do this. It works perfectly

(I maintain my goal range by eating Mon - Fri 1800-1900 cals and at the weekend 2300-2400 calories.)

So shave of 100-200 cals or even more if you have to (as long as you're not eating less than 1200 cals to do that!) on week days to make up for weekend excess e.g

brb_2013

vegankid1990 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the help and tips so this weekend I will test run logging absolutely everything I eat and I will try and hold back on junk if I can haha! The struggle is real! I'll also try not to eat back all my exercise calories so I've got some banked

Thanks again! You're all lovely! Xx

Want me to add you and check in on Saturday? Reminding you to log will help me log too! Even if you can't resist something tasty, logging it is a good habit that will help us all see how our choices add up.

Francl27

Logging everything helps because it's a huge eye opener.

But yeah... eat out less. It's just much harder to stay on track when you eat out because there's more temptation.

Jayz395

Yea we struggle now n then on weekends too, problem is it undoes all my hard work thu week
I think it's because my weekends have no routine like my weekdays

kshama2001

vegankid1990 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

vegankid1990 wrote: »

I'm vegan so all of that is out of the question haha! But yeah I do need to walk more on the weekends, I can be lazy.
My sweet tooth is usually my downfall, although I rarely have fizzy drinks and juices I can fall in to cake and sweets frenzy sometimes!

I know I'm going to eat more on the weekends so I exercise more those days.

I can have sweet tooth frenzy if I don't get enough protein, which is much easier for me, as an omnivore. Are you diligently working on getting enough protein? My healthy vegan friends make legumes and seitan the base of their diets.

I usually exceed my daily protein goal. I think it's a bit of a myth that vegans don't get enough protein. Plant foods are packed full of it.

I wouldn't say I really crave anything it's more "oh I know that tastes good so I'll have it" haha so. Lack of discipline on my part.

Thanks

What's your daily protein goal?

Moxie42

I struggle with this too. I do intentionally plan one "cheat meal" but the problem is this seems to turn into cheat meals all weekend. For my husband and I, I think it's partially a problem of wanting to treat ourselves during the weekend (because we hate our jobs during the week), not knowing what we want to do when we have free time (so we end up going out to eat by default), and being so busy that by the time it's time to make dinner it's the last thing we want to do!

The first issue is still a major one and that's mostly a mental battle, but to avoid eating out just because we don't know what else to do, we put together a jar of cheap/free things to do that don't involve food or drinks so we can go to that when we're out of ideas instead of defaulting to food and alcohol. I also have started choosing one brand new healthy recipe to try each week- something that sounds really good and is relatively unique- something I wouldn't spend the time making from scratch during the week. It makes cooking more fun and feel like less of a chore because you're still treating yourself to something different, just in a way that's healthier and cheaper!

AnnPT77

Even as a vegan, it's important to get enough protein - and it's possible. Legumes, peanut butter, nuts, soy foods (edamame, tempeh, tofu, dry-roasted soybean snacks, edamame pasta), seitan, etc. And choose veggies and even fruit that have a little bit of protein, instead of those that have none (asparagus, spinach, broccoli, guavas, many more).

And +1 to logging the weekends, even if you have to estimate portions and meals. Just be as honest as possible with yourself, and don't pick the lowball entries in the MFP database when you estimate. If you log, you can see the impact. Then you can think about whether it's worth it to you, whether there are specific behaviors you can change to get an improvement while still enjoying the weekend, etc.

You can do this.

vegankid1990

Medical professionals advice getting 0.5g of protein per kg of body weight so I try to stick to that rule.

Please don't make me have the protein debate with you guys that not what I'm here for. I just needed some tips on staying on track on the weekends when my routine is out of whack. I can assure you that's in no way linked to the amount of protein I eat.

I base my macro nutrients on medical studies and doctors advice so you don't need to worry about me!

Thanks again everyone! Xx

zachatta

Just implement cardio during the week, or more cardio, to account for the excess cals you will consume during the weekend. Or do it on the weekend whatever works.

MelodyandBarbells

vegankid1990 wrote: »

Medical professionals advice getting 0.5g of protein per kg of body weight so I try to stick to that rule.

Please don't make me have the protein debate with you guys that not what I'm here for. I just needed some tips on staying on track on the weekends when my routine is out of whack. I can assure you that's in no way linked to the amount of protein I eat.

I base my macro nutrients on medical studies and doctors advice so you don't need to worry about me!

Thanks again everyone! Xx

Please be explicit: Are you saying that if, say, doubling that amount could help you easily stay on track, you do not want to hear any more about it?

vegankid1990

JaneiR36 wrote: »

vegankid1990 wrote: »

Medical professionals advice getting 0.5g of protein per kg of body weight so I try to stick to that rule.

Please don't make me have the protein debate with you guys that not what I'm here for. I just needed some tips on staying on track on the weekends when my routine is out of whack. I can assure you that's in no way linked to the amount of protein I eat.

I base my macro nutrients on medical studies and doctors advice so you don't need to worry about me!

Thanks again everyone! Xx

Please be explicit: Are you saying that if, say, doubling that amount could help you easily stay on track, you do not want to hear any more about it?

By all means fire away! And help is appreciated! I just don't want to board the "vegans don't get enough protein" train.

diwijo13

ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »

My tips for eating out:
Ask for a take-out box up front and box half your meal for leftovers later in the week.

I always do this and I eat slowly so that I'm not tempted to eat the other half.

ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »

I also like to store up some exercise calories during the week so that I have some extra calories 'banked' in case I go over.

I also do this and make sure to exercise that day for more calories.

AnnPT77

vegankid1990 wrote: »

JaneiR36 wrote: »

vegankid1990 wrote: »

Medical professionals advice getting 0.5g of protein per kg of body weight so I try to stick to that rule.

Please don't make me have the protein debate with you guys that not what I'm here for. I just needed some tips on staying on track on the weekends when my routine is out of whack. I can assure you that's in no way linked to the amount of protein I eat.

I base my macro nutrients on medical studies and doctors advice so you don't need to worry about me!

Thanks again everyone! Xx

Please be explicit: Are you saying that if, say, doubling that amount could help you easily stay on track, you do not want to hear any more about it?

By all means fire away! And help is appreciated! I just don't want to board the "vegans don't get enough protein" train.

I'm one of the people who mentioned protein. I was completely saying that because extra protein has helped me stay on track - so, SO not saying that vegans as a group lack protein (or even that you do in a general nutritional sense) - it's just that I've found it satiating/sustaining, and there is some scientific evidence that extra protein may be helpful (for lean body mass preservation) when in a calorie deficit, especially if working out regularly.

I'm an ovo-lacto veg. I don't diss vegans as a group (though I do encourage some who I think are individually getting too little protein to get more). I did better while losing after I made a conscious effort to increase my protein into the range .6-.9g per pound of goal weight.

Your mileage may vary, but I really was targeting your original question.

As an afterthought, it may help to think about what activities (or lack) are your triggers on the weekend. I scrolled/skimmed back through the thread and didn't see where you were specific about whether it was a social thing - going out to eat/drink with friends, etc. - or an issue of grazing on yummy stuff at home, or something else entirely. We might have more focused advice if given a little more info.

Folks have already made some suggestions for the eating out scenario. If it's more grazing at home that's the problem, it may help to put a bit of focus on getting out of the house, especially if you can think of fun activities that aren't near food (your idea of walks, if outdoors, would be one example). Other active hobbies could help - hiking, biking touring houses or gardens or museums if that sort of things appeals to you. One thing that helped me with bored/habitual eating was focusing on hobbies (new ones if necessary) as a pastime. Ones that require clean hands (like crafts - embroidery, knitting, etc.; or arts - drawing, etc.) or keep your hands busy and require focus (like learning to play a musical instrument) are some options.

bking779

lml852014 wrote: »

I eat at maintenance level on Saturdays, I also bank calories throughout the week for the weekend. I've still been losing consistently at .5 lb a week for the last 3 months so I figure I'm doing something right!

What do you mean when you say you eat at maintenance level? -- thanks in advanced

vegankid1990

Thanks, I know nobody was 'dissing' I just didn't want to prompt that debate.
I've tried diet high in protein in the past and although I did lose weight, my digestion was terrible and my eczema came out. Since eating high carb low fat vegan I've cleared a host of ailments (no eczema, no period pains, amazing digestion, no heart burn) and I feel great so I don't really want to throw that out of balance because it is working well for me so far.

It's really just a lack of planning on my part. Last weekend for example, I went to a vegan festival where there was a tonne of vegan junk food and not much else so of course I had to try the chocolate peanut butter slice and a vegan hotdog. Then the next day my boyfriend wanted to go out for pizza so I had the only vegan pizza (probably could of had salad) and then I went to my friends sons birthday party and she had made me a vegan cake especially so I had to have some and then she made me take a slice home haha!
I could have made better choices that weekend or I could have just planned for it a little more but instead I just went with the flow and ate a ridiculous amount of calories!

I don't keep any junk food in the house so if I'm at home I'm usually pretty good and my healthy meals and snacks keep me satisfied.

Think I just need to think ahead a bit more and if I know I'll be somewhere where I might had to eat junk stuff I could bank some calories that week or do more cardio or whatever.

Thanks for your help!! xx