How do I stop the weekend binge eating cycle?

jnananamaste

I don't have a total grip on this either, but I have been working on it. I find on the especially challenging weekends and/or I get to a Friday night and for whatever reason I am just HANGRY, this is particularly helpful: I let myself eat the things I would like to eat, and eat until I am full, but I weigh and measure everything. Popcorn, wine, ice cream, chocolate...it all goes on the scale before it goes in my mouth. I find this allows me to eat until I am full and satisfied without the guilt, because I make choices about whether to keep eating or not, and how much, instead of just putting myself on autopilot. I may go over my calories a bit with this technique, but it's way less than if I just said screw it and washed a bag of chips down with a pint of ice cream! Lol It also seems to put the brakes on my urge to binge away the rest of the weekend.

I second the don't eat the kids' leftovers. I always do better when I stick to this religiously & it always does me in when I don't follow it.

For girls nights I try to plan what I'm going to eat ahead of time and pace myself throughout the event - try to estimate however much alcohol or food you think you'll be comfortable with ahead of time and pre-log it. Then while you are out, you can enjoy that stuff guilt free because you've already planned for it.

You can do this. Keep working at it.

ninerbuff

cartersmom06 wrote: »

Hi everyone! I'm an active myfitnesspal user that is pretty quiet, but I frequently visit the forums for inspirational stories and advice! I am at awe at some of the progress of people on here and how dedicated they are on their way to living healthy fulfilling lives!

My problem is that I do pretty well during the week staying within my calorie range and eating healthy, but come the weekend my mind tells me that its okay to "treat myself", and then I end up binge eating on junk and booze for two days straight. This has become a vicious cycle, and one that I want to desperately end. Its a huge roller coaster ride that I want off!

Has anyone else ever broke this cycle? How did you do it? Any tips?

Every Sunday I feel like a failure...please help!

You treat the weekend like the weekdays. That's just a behavior you have to adopt or you'll keep doing what you're doing.
This also happens in just about all gyms. Monday and Tuesday are crowded, Wednesday it tapers down a bit and by Friday, only the SERIOUS ones show up. You'll get a busy Saturday morning, but the rest of the weekend, gyms are pretty sparsely populated. That's just how people treat their week to week ritual. So change it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

raisingchelle

Another little tip would be if you are going to gave a splurge meal, do it at breakfast or lunch so you're not going to bed with a heavy meal in your stomach and you can adjust your meals for the rest of the day to help stay in your limits.

tarothelp

Maybe treat yourself on the weekends a bit but earn the calories by working out

ClosetBayesian

1. Are you restricting too much during the week?
2. Food is neither good nir bad. Weight loss is not moralistic. You are not "good" during the week and "bad" when you eat more than you need to.
3. Try this: for a week, pre-log everything you eat in a day, either that morning or the night before. Start your log with a piece of chocolate - a square of Dove, for example; you don't need to eat it for breakfast (unless you want to, I suppose), then build tbe rest of your calories (or macros, whichever) around that one piece of chocolate. When you do eat it - and this is important - enjoy every second of it, and acknowledge that you're going to have another piece tomorrow .

It takes time to get out of the "I can't have that because it's bad" mindset; eating it on a regular basis helps get rid of the "forbidden food " aspect. Additionally, pre-logging and planning your day around something makes you conscious of the fact that you have control over what you eat.

elisa123gal

Make yourself work off the calories. So, get to the gym and do extra cardio for an hour each day until you make up the calories you ate. As you work them off .. your mind makes the connection that over doing it means more work later. You'll either rethink the overeating.. or if you do.. you will know you can work off the calories and stay on track.

beerfoamy

I'd back the pre-logging as well. I always feel really prepared during the week, know what I am going to eat when, and then Fri evening turns up and suddenly I have no plan for saturday/sunday. Getting better now I have smoothies for breakfasts at the weekend before going to to the gym. But even though Sunday is food prep day for the week, Saturday lunch and tea can still turn into a 'binge'. I try and look back on the week and realise that I have 'spare' calories and it isn't a 'bad' thing to eat more food.

kenyonhaff

You need to re-think what the weekend should mean to you.

I think you're regarding the weekends as a time to do the opposite of the work week. If the work week is full of structure (planned eating, activity, etc.), then the opposite is not thinking about what you are eating, sitting around, etc.

You may have to re-think what "treating yourself" means. Apparently it to you it means eating in an unhealthy way. Time to re-think that.

Weekends are the downfall of many people here. The lack of structure and the tendency towards treating through food can be a killer combo.

My advice: start structuring your weekend more. No, wait--don't panic, this can be fun! Decide ahead of time what sort of activities you'll be doing. Figure out what workouts will be involved...take a walk, do your 30 on the elliptical, go biking with friends, etc. Weekends are a great time to get more movement in.

Try to choose different "treats"...it's better to treat yourself with a trip to the go-cart track, or beach, or whatever than getting out the Ben & Jerry's.

rnedwbt

I have recently changed my meal planning cycle. I used to grocery shop on the weekends and create a meal plan starting on Monday morning. Recently I started using online grocery ordering, so I order on Thursday, pick up on Friday, and my meal plan for the week starts on Saturday morning. This is been a huge help to me in managing how I eat on the weekends.

kamazza

I find if i log what i am going to eat before i eat then i am less likely to add stuff, particularly if its dinner and i have to complete my diary before i eat lol. I have trouble sometimes on weekends and do great all week too. It is really hard

animatorswearbras

This is me and I'm struggling too, I'm going to bookmark this thread, for the most part I still lose (slowly) overall I just try to "bank" extra cals for the weekend and basically go on to maintenance cals and hit my goals through the week, as long as it evens out as a deficit you should still lose. But I am terrible at logging at the weekend which is my downfall and means I'm not 100% honest with myself. x

Sunna_W

My motto is that if it's not in the house, I won't eat / drink it. I purged my freezer / pantry of anything "processed" and if I want something to eat, I actually have to prepare it from scratch. I control what comes into the house by making a menu plan for the week and I create a grocery list based on my menu plan. (I do a lot of my meal prep on the weekends). If it's not on the list, I don't usually buy it. I realized that part of my problem was that I was bored with eating the same food all of the time, so, I branched out into the Paleo realm. (I like Paleo Leap and Paleo Tribe for their weight loss recipes. Their weight loss recipes tend to be quite different than what I am used to eating, so, that helped me a lot.) These meals also tend to be lower in carbs, higher in good fats and protein and keep me feeling satiated longer. Bingeing is sometimes related to blood sugar issues. I found that when I deviate from my diet, my body loses its energy equilibrium, making me crave more sugar / alcohol and it's a vicious cycle. (For me, it was also be hormone related.) By being aware of my energy level after I ate something and avoiding those foods that spiked my blood sugar, I was able to try to stick to things that didn't affect my blood sugar as much. (When my blood sugar spikes, I actually feel euphoric, followed by a crash.) I found that if I paired a glass of wine with some cheese and / or a slice of turkey to slow absorption that I didn’t drink as much. If I am going to be “drinking all night” I mix wine with some ice / seltzer water so that I am drinking less wine overall. (This also works with liquor. I put it over ice and add some seltzer water.) I also found that taking a probiotic supplement (I like FiveLac) helped me with cyclic sugar cravings / binge eating because my gut flora seems to be affected by yeast overgrowth and the yeast will make me crave sugar. Finally, my go to snack is a teaspoon full of natural peanut butter mixed with a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder. It's full of healthy fat and scratches that chocolate itch. Hope this helps.

thelittlewoman_2000

Julianna here in historic southern Maryland. Today's plan includes weight training biceps and chest, and 25 minutes of cardio. Now it's out there! I could use help with accountability, please. Fueling-up with Fiber One and yogurt, 3 ounces of lean chopped sirloin, crisp salad, handful of black olives stuffed with cheese. Keeping hunger at bay and easing the soreness by sipping GAT "Muscle Martini" . God Bless Ya'll Real Good.

88meli88

do you keep tracking during the weekend? Does that not help?

UltimateTrashBae

Kick yourself in the butt. Find your willpower.

spicyginger2006

Plan and log in advance if you can. The only times I "treat" myself are when I've torched some cals and did a long workout that day. Even then, the treating has to be in moderation. One drink, a shared dessert, the healthiest-most vegetables- without a gravy- Chinese choice. Remember that when you eat out the calorie, sodium, and fat content are through the roof. Hang in there, it's hard. I would definitely find other ways to treat yourself aside from food so you still feel as though you are celebrating in a way. A new outfit? Pedicure? Coffee out with your girls? Choose something that feels rewarding.

cartersmom06

88meli88 wrote: »

do you keep tracking during the weekend? Does that not help?

I find I start the day tracking, then I fall off the wagon so to speak come evening! I go so off track that I am ashamed of myself and don't even want to think about what I had done to sabotage my weightloss efforts. Sometimes I have no control...I just binge until I'm sick to the stomach!

quietapathy

For me, I have to make sure I'm not over-restricting. I eat what I want through the week and it makes it easier to stay on track on the weekends (I do still try to balance out the "junk" with healthy, nutrition dense foods). I also try to stay active - hiking, biking, or walking around town - so that I don't lay in bed or on the computer, eating out of boredom or habit. And if I decide to break my calorie limit for a day, I don't beat myself up over it. But it takes time - I've been on this journey 3 years, give or take, lost 140 pounds, and I'm still working on it. It's going to be different for everyone.

cartersmom06

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful advice! I am gonna plan for the weekend and keep the junk out of the house! If its not in the house, I won't be tempted! I will let you know how it goes!

sunfastrose

elisa123gal wrote: »

Make yourself work off the calories. So, get to the gym and do extra cardio for an hour each day until you make up the calories you ate. As you work them off .. your mind makes the connection that over doing it means more work later. You'll either rethink the overeating.. or if you do.. you will know you can work off the calories and stay on track.

I disagree with this; it feels like exercise bulimia/punishment.