Weekend binges wiping out weekly deficit
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Good advice so far. I guess really what I'm in need of are some coping mechanisms to help me stay in control, when I'm faced with trigger foods (foods that I cannot seem to help over eating) like baked goods, or potato chips. I have very little trouble maintaining discipline throughout the week, but it seems like every weekend lately has been some sort of special occasion where I wind up surrounded by food that I would normally not keep in the house precisely because I KNOW I have trouble resisting it.
This may sound stupid, but it works for some people in some situations: Mental rehearsal.
By now, you know some trigger situations for you. During the week, think about your upcoming weekend and brainstorm some ways you could handle that weekend's probable challenges. Pick one or two to focus on.
Let's just pretend that one is your friend ordering onion rings and wanting to share them with you, and further pretend that one of your ideas is to order a side salad to eat while friend eats the rings. Imagine what your friend will say and do. Think of responses ("I had such a heavy lunch, I know I'd pay for it if I eat something greasy" (which doesn't have to be true, BTW
), think of feeling good about your choice, imagine the nice crispy romaine lettuce, think about whatever aspect(s) makes your idea a good choice for you.
(Note: Your script could also be "eat one ring, then stop". There, you want to image how good the first bite tastes, but how you've kind of milked the good out of it at that point, and the greasiness is becoming just a bit much, so you don't want another. Knowing yourself, you know whether it would be better to eat one right away when urged, or wait until they're dwindling. The point is, there are lots of possible alternative "better" ways of handling any situation - you have to decide how to handle it in a way that works for you, but better meets your goals. It's a tradeoff between making current self happy, or making future self happy. Figure out how to pick future self more often.)
Whatever you decide, just sit quietly and visualize the whole scenario a few times, focusing on how you want to behave, and the parts of the situation that will feel good to you. Make it as vivid an imaginary exercise as you can. Repeat this a couple of times during the week, maybe with slight variations for flexibility, but same basic idea. Rehearse your script.
Come the weekend, the crucial point is the start of the scenario. Right then, cue your script. Then follow it.
Like I said, it helps some people, sometimes.4 -
Eat less during the week
Be more active, walk more, etc.
Stay busy so you don't really think about eating. Some weekends I'm just so busy I forget to eat and by the time dinner comes around I have all these calories left for the day it's like a jackpot.
An answer that may not sound very helpful... Just stop overeating. If you really want to lose weight/be healthy/ whatever your goals are, you will make better choices. It depends how bad you want it.0 -
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DapperDassie wrote: »
If you read her posts, we have no reason to think she has a binge ED. She is overdoing it a bit on the weekend. Obviously, there's a difference.1 -
I'm on a 1,200 calorie a day regimen, so I can blow through that in one restaurant meal. On weekends, I have my normal breakfast a little later than normal and then I eat a combination of lunch and dinner about 3 - 4 pm. That way, I can have a 900-calorie meal in a restaurant and then I'm done for the day. It's tough, but at the restaurant, if I order a sandwich, I'll only eat a small portion of the bread and then instead of fries or chips, I'll order a side salad or fruit. Most restaurants publish their nutrition information online, so I "Google" the restaurant website and their nutritional information so I know what I'm choosing before I order. A lot of times, that big pile of chips and cheese dip looks great until you see that calorie count staring you in the face.0
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Honestly, increasing you calorie deficit during the week might be more helpful because it'll give you more wiggle room at the weekend.0
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I'm having this problem where I keep bingeing on the weekends. My daily calorie deficit is only 250, so these weekend binges are not only wiping out my entire weekly deficit, they may even be putting me over my maintenance calories. Normally I would suggest to myself that I increase my daily calorie limit to reduce the feeling of deprivation and maybe stop the weekend binges, but with only a 250 calorie deficit, there's really no room for that. Other than avoiding all social situations revolving around food, I'm really not sure what to do. Would appreciate any advice/tips!
Are you depriving yourself so much during the week that you're going crazy on the weekends?1 -
I was up 7 lbs today from my last weeks low0
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Islander4Life wrote: »My life in a nutshell. Loose 1-2 lbs during the week, gain 2-3 over the weekend.......... repeat......
Now that would be a binge. Eating 10,500 calories over maintenance a weekend. So that would mean you are actually up 1lb every week?
A little less but fairly close: I started MFP at 153 and was 158 this morning. I've been doing it for about 2 months. So far..... I'm sucking. Its all from eating out on weekends. Chinese food, nachos at the pub, blizzards with the kids. With these foods I find it easy to go 2000-2500 over my calorie goal.0 -
It's like this, if you want to lose weight then you have to curb the excess eating
there is no easy solution but to be more mindful and aim to keep eating out to a minimum on weekends - e.g have one biggish meal sure but make it just one. It all depends how badly you want to lose.
I'll enjoy one takeout a week but I share it with my husband to half the calories - the portions are too big for one imo.0 -
I have the same issue OP. The only way I can keep a decent deficit is to increase my deficit during the week (400 usually).0
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Good advice so far. I guess really what I'm in need of are some coping mechanisms to help me stay in control, when I'm faced with trigger foods (foods that I cannot seem to help over eating) like baked goods, or potato chips. I have very little trouble maintaining discipline throughout the week, but it seems like every weekend lately has been some sort of special occasion where I wind up surrounded by food that I would normally not keep in the house precisely because I KNOW I have trouble resisting it.
Maybe taking out ur phone at this getherings once a while check what a 2000 calorie will do to ur daily n weekly limit. Think abt all the hard work that uve done during the week n r u willing to give it all back. I m not saint n I eat out n I drink but now I plan for it n leave a room for around 800 to 1000 calorie for that event n I never eat the whole dish of food by myself. But if u keep sticking 2000 or more calories in ur stomach every chance u get then not even god can help. U must take the ultimate responsibility.
Good luck n be strong!0
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