Grr, found a hurdle.....

GirlRural

My husband's days off are SO difficult for me. I think I did okay this weekend, but I could have done much better. Having my routine thrown off is still very hard for me being newer to tracking. When it's the weekend we are go go go and often end up out of the house for 2 meals. Just venting. I try to pack snacks, but we often end up eating out which is still difficult for me. It seems no matter what you choose in a restaurant these days they're looking for ways to add in fat and salt. So, I prefer eating at home where I can both eat organic and more healthy. I HAVE to figure this predicament out.

cherri2082

I too have a horrid time on weekends when I am home. I am so busy but in the back of my mind all I do is think about eating! I then have to work extra hard on Monday and Tuesday to take back off the pound or so I gain every weekend! Keep up the good effort! It will pay off! I am in a smaller size pants after one month!

luvgreen25

Something that helps me is when ordering out, order what you actually want. If the grilled chicken sandwich comes with some sauce or mayo, ask for that to not be added. You're paying for it - get what you want.

msmayor

I find myself going through the same thing - the weekends are the hardest because I move around so much....I really haven't found the best way but I usually start the day with 1 hour on the treadmill to burn 500+++ calories, eat a low cal breakfast and I go from there - hopefully I will get better but right now this is it.....good luck!

Luthorcrow

Have you discussed it with your husband? Seems like you need him to support your goals. If both parties planning together it should make it easier.

ashfuse

My husband works on a boat out in the gulf for 28 days at a time..I can keep myself right on track. He comes home for 2 weeks and it's VERY touch n go, but I stay active and he likes to exercise, too, so it's not so bad. Your body needs a little calorie cycling every now and then, anyways. Just stay active and pick as healthy as you can while eating out and you should be fine.

angieaanderson

I have the same problem. When my husband's at work and the kid's in school/daycare, I am super concious about what I eat and can make whatever I want without the whole "it tastes TOO healthy!" routine.

When they're home on the weekends, hell breaks loose. I eat what they eat. And what they eat is what I SHOULDN'T be eating.

I've gotten to the point where I make my own meals separate from theirs. If they have fried chicken, I have grilled or baked (and maybe a bite of theirs). I'll cook a LOT of vegetables and always front-load my plate with it.

As far as going out... This drives my husband crazy but it works for me. If he wants to go to some greasy joint like sayyyy, Friday's or Applebees-- I always have my phone on me so before we order, I'll Google "healthiest meals at whatever-restaurant". Websites like livestrong.com usually have the best information, or sometimes, even MFP has it in their database. If I can't find it anywhere or we're at a local dive that doesn't have their nutrition info readily available, I'll custom order something-- like, I'll order a plain grilled chicken with steamed veggies on the side. Something I KNOW I can eat without going overboard. Most of the time, they're happy to comply but if not, I just think that I'M the one working hard to lose weight, not them (and I'll tip them a little extra for their troubles which usually more than makes up for it

noexcuses1218

Oooooh, yeah. I've almost started to hate weekends. What I've found helps a bit is meticulous planning combined with a lot of flexibility, which sounds impossible, I know. I try to have plans a, b and sometimes c. Also factor in that your activity level and certainly your activity schedule probably changes on your husband's days off - you may need to eat an extra hundred calories at breakfast to keep you from getting ravenous when you go out.

Example: There's a pool party tonight and I know they will serve hot dogs and hamburgers, and ONLY hot dogs and hamburgers. OK maybe a fruit salad, BFD. So before the party, I'm going to hit the local Chick-Fil-A and get a chicken salad, which is 180 calories by itself, before you add on croutons and dressing, etc. Just enough to let me back away from the buffet table. Not organic, granted, but a heck of a lot better than a hamburger patty with 390 calories.

another example: I will be mostly on my own on Saturday. Which usually results in a lot of crappy food choices and a LOT of sugar. So I will plan to eat a sizeable breakfast and spend a fair amount of time out of the house - running and errands in the morning, maybe finding somewhere outside the house to write, and coming home in the afternoon for a snack and a nap. The evening is going to be tough. Haven't gotten that far yet.

I wish you the best of luck. Weekends are a pain in the butt.

brucedelaney

My wife and I enjoy a good meal out every now and then, We're both on MFP. If we know we're going out and we know ahead of time where we're going we will look up the nutritional info ahead of time. Most chain's have this available and a lot of it has been entered into the MFP database. That way we know exactly what to order and how it will impact our routine.

Hope this helps.

PS - Android market also has an app called restaurants that's free, not sure about ipod, blackberry or windows phones though and it gives full nutritional info for tons of chain restaurants.

prettyprpro

I understand where you are coming from. My new husband is a snacky person. He's always picking up chips and cookies. Then, I am eating it just because it is there! When you go out to eat, try to find the lowest calorie meals. If you can't find that, than eat a salad. Lol! Restarants always have salads. Then, exercise it off!

Benji49

It should get easier It took awhile for me to realize that I can say no - order your pizza and I'll eat what I want. Or, if there is nothing on a menu that I think I can safely fit into my menu I'll just have a salad and then I'll eat when we get home. Of course that
only works if its not a special occassion.

GirlRural

I love all of your ideas! I have definitely talked to my husband, and when he cooks he's very healthy, but when we get going on a weekend it's so disjointed. We live rurally and we don't really eat in chain restaurants so I always have to try and pick the best menu option. You guys know how crappy that can be. The menu is some great local cuisine and you're ordering grilled chicken, no sauce and steamed veggies.

This past weekend I really tried to work through some of the problem. I think having snacks in the car helps. Drinking lots of water and letting "the boys' get food while I eat something else worked too. I just have to be more firm, more determined.