Weekends are my downfall

Lisamar74

Hi all
My downfall is always always the weekends. I have the wrong mindset. As soon as it gets to Friday evening, I associate it with wine and pizza. And then, because I've done bad and it's the weekend, I tend to just eat and drink what I want till Monday when it's the usual 'Diet starts on Monday'. I'm undoing all the good I've done during the week and it's a never ending battle. Although I'm obviously not battling hard enough. I annoy myself with this as it's not rocket science.
But I thought I'd ask what you all do with your Friday and Saturday evenings to stop yourself reaching for something you shouldn't? I know I should probably exercise instead but I like to exercise early in the day otherwise I know it just won't happen.
And I know some people save their calories during the week to have their weekend treats but believe me, this is a bad thing for me to do. Once I start I don't stop.
I am determined that this weekend is going to be different and will continue to remain so.

katamus

I stopped drinking for the most part. Only recently have I decided to have a few drinks and I had the calories for it.

kdub67

Weekends are my downfall, too. I choose to do my weigh ins on Friday mornings with the thought of having the weekend to go crazy, then redeem myself Monday through Thursday before my next weigh in. Bad idea, I know!! In the past, when I was younger and my metabolism was faster, this worked. Now, at almost 45, it's not cutting it. My suggestion is to let yourself enjoy your weekends, up to a point. If you are normally eating back your exercise calories, don't. If you are not a weekend exerciser (which I'm not; I exercise hard Mon-Fri and take the weekend off), become a weekend exerciser, then don't eat back those calories. If staying in one night on the weekend works for you, then do it. Like you, I really haven't mastered having any control over food and alcohol when I'm out on weekend nights, so I try to curb those instances without killing my social life. I wish I could help you with having willpower while in restaurants/bars, but I'm not there yet, either, haha! Still, you can enjoy a night out if you trim back in other areas. Good luck, and if you find the magic pill for better willpower, please LET ME KNOW!!

carrie564

Let yourself have the few naughty foods, but just make sure you still COUNT them.

For example: don't do the absolute torture of having NO pizza (especially if it's a social thing with people all around). But instead go online & find out the exact calorie count & write it down so it's in your face (how much per slice), and then have a BIG FAT SALAD or green smoothie with your ONE SLICE of your favorite pizza. Take time to eat it slowly, enjoying every bite and every drop of saliva. Lol.

Write the calories you're eating on a big dry erase board on your fridge (or somewhere else prominent), especially on the day when you feel like you could go crazy on your eating, BEFORE you consume the calories. I promise that even if your mouth & stomach feel like binging, once you see yourself writing down the insane numbers of pizza or desserts, you'll get so disgusted by it that you'll be able to get it under control & stop yourself.

Drink a ton of water instead, or something like Crystal Light or the Vitamin Water little powder tube packs (to add to your water). I just add one of those little tubes to my huge 32 oz water bottle & the flavors are so good that it keeps me from wanting to eat. My mouth gets to enjoy something for only 5-10 calories. It's really helped me deter from my overeating.

CharliB1

Weekends are my downfall as well, especially when I am home. I go to school in a different town, and I come home every 2 weeks. When the weekends that I am not going back home, I find myself constantly snacking and being lazy. I have a feeling I am taking it in in moderation, but it's difficult to determine for sure. The worst is when I travel home and my boyfriend keeps chips and processed frozen foods in the house.
And let's not forget the alcohol.. that is my worst downfall. I've finally realized that I really have to buckle down and keep an eye on what I'm doing and eating on the weekend.

Amberonamission

I weigh in on Sunday morning. Keeps me from blowing it on Friday and Saturday.

Kimjanebrooks

Hi all
My downfall is always always the weekends. I have the wrong mindset. As soon as it gets to Friday evening, I associate it with wine and pizza. And then, because I've done bad and it's the weekend, I tend to just eat and drink what I want till Monday when it's the usual 'Diet starts on Monday'. I'm undoing all the good I've done during the week and it's a never ending battle. Although I'm obviously not battling hard enough. I annoy myself with this as it's not rocket science.
But I thought I'd ask what you all do with your Friday and Saturday evenings to stop yourself reaching for something you shouldn't? I know I should probably exercise instead but I like to exercise early in the day otherwise I know it just won't happen.
And I know some people save their calories during the week to have their weekend treats but believe me, this is a bad thing for me to do. Once I start I don't stop.
I am determined that this weekend is going to be different and will continue to remain so.

I used to be like this too hun! I cant remember a weekend where I didnt have at least 2 takeaways and a hangover from friday night!!!

This weekend was different tho. I still allow myself one day (or night) where I use my leftover calories from the week. I had a good drink friday night so couldnt allow myself any bad food, but this week I am going out with friends to a restaurant so im gonna have my leftover calories on food instead of alcohol. Its really tough but I think if you have one bad day it kinda stops you craving the rest of the week.

SyStEmPhReAk

Not to be preachy, but it all boils down to your willingness and determination to stick to your goals. People can reply with healthier choices, systems that help them pull their hand back, or ideas to help you stay on track, but those are meaningless if you aren't serious about changing this habit.

Question: is it the "pizza" that you crave or the weekend indulgence of eating whatever you want? The reason I ask is because every Monday I have pizza! But I found a creative healthy option to make personal pizzas using a low carb/high fiber pita and non-fat cheese with grilled chicken. So if something like that satisfies you, then that may curb your pizza craving on Fridays.

But again, it comes down to sheer will and determination. Good luck!

Ps I eat CLEAN 6 days a week, but go F-ing nuts and do whatever I want on Saturday. I'm still able to maintain a very low bf% by sticking to my goals and exercising! You can do it!!

Lisamar74

Not to be preachy, but it all boils down to your willingness and determination to stick to your goals. People can reply with healthier choices, systems that help them pull their hand back, or ideas to help you stay on track, but those are meaningless if you aren't serious about changing this habit.

Question: is it the "pizza" that you crave or the weekend indulgence of eating whatever you want? The reason I ask is because every Monday I have pizza! But I found a creative healthy option to make personal pizzas using a low carb/high fiber pita and non-fat cheese with grilled chicken. So if something like that satisfies you, then that may curb your pizza craving on Fridays.

But again, it comes down to sheer will and determination. Good luck!

Ps I eat CLEAN 6 days a week, but go F-ing nuts and do whatever I want on Saturday. I'm still able to maintain a very low bf% by sticking to my goals and exercising! You can do it!!

This makes complete sense to me, thanks. Not being preachy at all. I love my Friday night in front of the TV with my pizza and wine and guess I do crave it. I just have to learn that if I do that, it doesn't give me free reign to do the same on Saturday and Sunday nights. Although for now, whilst I'm doing my 30 day shred, I think I might try and abstain from alcohol and pizza as it does me no good at all either mentally or physically. Definately the alcohol anyway. It makes me feel lethargic for days and I end up not exercising.

suwonfish

You and me both sister....

I normally pay for my "big" friday or saturday with a fast day. It keeps the scales in balance but it's costs me muscle

I guess long term weight loss needs to be a balance of discipline and social life. If you can't find that balance (which means enjoying the odd f#cked up night) you'll never win this battle.

Anyway, I hope you had fun ^^

Beethoven1827

Me, I try to be out of the house more in the day - if I'm not in the kitchen, I can't be tempted to snack. And having kids and the dog means it's easy to go out somewhere...

The other thing is to be strict and honest with your food diary. I find that I *don't* want to put '250 cals for a small cake' much more than I want to eat the cake - so that's where I find my willipower. And the more often I don't have the sweet treats, the easier it gets to not have them.

For the pizza thing - that's one of my weak spots too. But I've got a recipe for a low-fat pizza base - and since even when rolled thin it comes out pretty small, it limits the amount of toppings I can fit on it too, so it's a win-win!

venushunter

I've always been this way too, but like Beethoven1827 says it helps to keep busy.


I've come to accept that I'm not going to be able to eat as well as I do in the week but I try and keep the indulgences under control - if you can accept that you will eat a little more at weekends it might help avoid the "I've messed up, might as well write off the whole weekend" train of thought.


Also, if you need to relax on a Friday night try and think of ways to do it without food, maybe a nice bath or a facemask? Or swimming?

squishycow7

When it comes to drinking anyway, I find that as long as I have SOMETHING to sip on, I don't care that everyone else has a beer or whatever. For me that usually means I'm drinking some kind of sparkling water or maybe a diet pepsi if I'm feeling daring (...lol). Not that I never let myself drink but I do find it's often a downward spiral if I do...

When it comes to SNACKING I have a way bigger problem. My only advice is to keep yourself busy. I want to nom when I'm watching tv or I'm bored... if I've got some kind of project or if I'm out of the house I do much better. I even am generally okay at restaurants since I try to find healthier options (going out to eat feels like a huge diet-failure-trap so I guess I get paranoid about it).

locolew

Weekends generally mean a difference in routine, more relaxed, leisure time. Often we fill the time with mindless eating. I try to have "busy" weekends, projects, places to go, etc. Don't wear out the refrigerator hinge, good luck, happy losing.

Monnietron

This is my problem exactly. This week I told all my friends not to speak to me about food or alcohol until Halloween is over :P its really hard, I'm sure I would have lost a looootttttt more weight if I didn't blow it every weekend.

Lisamar74

When it comes to drinking anyway, I find that as long as I have SOMETHING to sip on, I don't care that everyone else has a beer or whatever. For me that usually means I'm drinking some kind of sparkling water or maybe a diet pepsi if I'm feeling daring (...lol). Not that I never let myself drink but I do find it's often a downward spiral if I do...

When it comes to SNACKING I have a way bigger problem. My only advice is to keep yourself busy. I want to nom when I'm watching tv or I'm bored... if I've got some kind of project or if I'm out of the house I do much better. I even am generally okay at restaurants since I try to find healthier options (going out to eat feels like a huge diet-failure-trap so I guess I get paranoid about it).

Yes, I think it's the keeping busy and not sitting in front of the TV that I need. Think I need a new hobby to keep my mind occupied. Not exercise, as I'll just see that as a chore and I like to get that over with early in the day - it's the evenings I need to do something with. Will just have to stay strong and change my 'sitting in front of tv with pizza & wine routine'.

DaivaSimone

I plan my weekend meals as I plan my week meals: almost a day or two in advance. And if I want to cook something more caloric, then I plan a crazy work out on the saturday morning to have room for the pasta and wine I crave. I log everything and I try to stay under my calorie goal even on the weekend. This assures me that I won't gain anything except maybe some waterweight if I had a little carb or sodium. On tuesday, I weigh normally as low as friday morning, and even below. It works for me.