Breaking the cycle and motivating family and friends... at l

sweetheart03622

Good afternoon all! I feel like dieting has been a part of my life since I was 16. I remember my prom dress being taken in too much and eating nothing but pineapple and cottage cheese for a week in order to fit in to it! Since then, I've learned much healthier ways to eat and exercise, and for the most part I do okay. I want to be a motivator for my family, friends, boyfriend, and future children. There's one small problem though... the weekends. I just started a full-time job about 6 weeks ago (my first one since graduating college in September). While I'm happy for the opportunity, it's tiring! By the time Friday night rolls around I don't want to cook or go to the gym. I want to sit in my pajamas and eat cookies, pizza, pasta, and drink wine! So, basically, this has left me stuck. I eat a ton on the weekend, and lose it during the week. I'm hoping to gain a little support from this website (and I'm starting to love reading blogs, I'd love to hear about yours!) and figure out how to stop this weekend-binge so I can finally lose a few pounds!

kjensen15

Good afternoon all! I feel like dieting has been a part of my life since I was 16. I remember my prom dress being taken in too much and eating nothing but pineapple and cottage cheese for a week in order to fit in to it! Since then, I've learned much healthier ways to eat and exercise, and for the most part I do okay. I want to be a motivator for my family, friends, boyfriend, and future children. There's one small problem though... the weekends. I just started a full-time job about 6 weeks ago (my first one since graduating college in September). While I'm happy for the opportunity, it's tiring! By the time Friday night rolls around I don't want to cook or go to the gym. I want to sit in my pajamas and eat cookies, pizza, pasta, and drink wine! So, basically, this has left me stuck. I eat a ton on the weekend, and lose it during the week. I'm hoping to gain a little support from this website (and I'm starting to love reading blogs, I'd love to hear about yours!) and figure out how to stop this weekend-binge so I can finally lose a few pounds!

I am in the same vicious cycle as you! I do good for the most part during the week, then once the weekend come around I throw everything out the window!!

bigman300

good job

rosebarnalice

One thing I've found helpful is to think not so much in terms of daily calorie goals as in weekly ones. So, for example, if I've got a daily calorie budget of 1700, that's 11,900 for a 7-day week. If stay closer to 1500 Sun-Thurs, then that gives me 2200 for Fri and Sat, which tend to be my big splurge days.

I think it's the same idea behind the conventional weight watcher's plan, which had "extra points" built in that you could either "spend" each day a little at a time, or save up for weekends or special events.

bethvandenberg

It's hard to develop new cycles and patterns. Maybe start with Friday night being a so called "cheat night" and allow yourself to treat yourself how you want to. Then try to work out on Saturday/Sunday to cover the calories that you're going to go over.

Take it one day at a time and just try and stay afloat. Give yourself a break and enjoy your life and the changes you're making.

Hang in there. I try to work out extra hard during the week as my family likes to do stuff over the weekend. I try to do something out of the norm on the weekends like hiking, or boating or something outside that's family friendly and I try not to worry about it all.

It's a lifestyle not a diet. It's doing what's best for me most of the time.

sweetheart03622

Good call, I tend to think in terms of "if I exercise more, I can eat more" but I've never really looked at it from a weekly perspective in terms of caloric intake. I kind of like the idea... that way I can still have some more decadent things on the weekend without it unraveling the whole week!

Mindful_Trent

Welcome! From someone who is just a few years ahead of you (I graduated college and got my "real job" M-F 8-5 in 2006), I think it's great that you're trying to nip this in the bud now, rather than later. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. The only advice I can suggest, is to simply FORCE yourself to move on the weekends. Don't allow yourself to stay at home and eat/slack off the whole weekend. I don't feel guilty taking Fridays as my slack-off night (wine is commonly involved!) but when Saturday/Sunday rolls around, you will feel much better if you get busy. Take the hour to go to the gym each day on the weekends - you'll thank yourself once you get into the habit. Plus, weekend workouts give you more calories to "play with" on the weekends!!

Find activities to do - ex. bowling leagues, seasonal festivals/fairs/etc., ice skating, etc. Things that will get you out of the house so that you're NOT tempted to just munch away all day. I'm not saying you shouldn't ever slack off on the weekends, but there's a degree of reasonableness involved. If you're blowing you're whole week's work, then you're going a bit overboard. Maybe you and your boyfriend could make a list of activities you want to start doing on the weekends?? (Assuming he's available.)

Something else that may help is planning meals during the weekend - many people do this for the week, but leave the weekend open, which gets them into trouble. If I plan my meals for the WHOLE week, and buy groceries around that, then I'm much less tempted to order in that pizza or run to Burger King. Obviously I will sometimes change plans - last minute dinner plans with a friend, etc., but I still try to eat reasonably -look up meals ahead of time online if I can, etc.

sweetheart03622

Welcome! From someone who is just a few years ahead of you (I graduated college and got my "real job" M-F 8-5 in 2006), I think it's great that you're trying to nip this in the bud now, rather than later. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. The only advice I can suggest, is to simply FORCE yourself to move on the weekends. Don't allow yourself to stay at home and eat/slack off the whole weekend. I don't feel guilty taking Fridays as my slack-off night (wine is commonly involved!) but when Saturday/Sunday rolls around, you will feel much better if you get busy. Take the hour to go to the gym each day on the weekends - you'll thank yourself once you get into the habit. Plus, weekend workouts give you more calories to "play with" on the weekends!!

Find activities to do - ex. bowling leagues, seasonal festivals/fairs/etc., ice skating, etc. Things that will get you out of the house so that you're NOT tempted to just munch away all day. I'm not saying you shouldn't ever slack off on the weekends, but there's a degree of reasonableness involved. If you're blowing you're whole week's work, then you're going a bit overboard. Maybe you and your boyfriend could make a list of activities you want to start doing on the weekends?? (Assuming he's available.)

Something else that may help is planning meals during the weekend - many people do this for the week, but leave the weekend open, which gets them into trouble. If I plan my meals for the WHOLE week, and buy groceries around that, then I'm much less tempted to order in that pizza or run to Burger King. Obviously I will sometimes change plans - last minute dinner plans with a friend, etc., but I still try to eat reasonably -look up meals ahead of time online if I can, etc.

Everyone on here is so full of amazing advice! Unfortunately, BF is not available on the weekend *sigh* he's either at work or studying away. I usually don't sit around all weekend, just don't always make it to the gym. I'm starting to feel less exhausted on the weekends, so I'm hoping to make it to the gym more often. My issue is that I don't want to cook on the weekends! I'm trying to make extras so there's plenty of leftovers on the weekends, and I like the idea of getting out of the house. There's an ice rink right down the street! I'm thinking I might have to go check it out... Thanks for the advice!!

telcochik

Get some workout dvds so you don't always have to go out to get your workout in. I gave up on the gym membership a couple of years ago because I knew if I could find an excuse to avoid going I would. Finding fun programs that I can do at home has helped me make daily exercise a habit rather than a chore.

Sharon