i cant help but binge on my 'free days' HELP

I hear ya on the weekends! The second I am off of the weekly routine of going to work, bringing lunch, etc. everything just kind of fell apart. I'm getting better at it. Partially because on the weekends I make sure whoever I'm hanging out with knows that I'm trying to eat healthy, so I tell them to help me! It usually causes them to eat healthy too so they don't feel weird eating something unhealthy in front of me (even though it doesn't bother me). Also if I go out I offer to be DD so that will keep me from drinking and eating horrible bar food.

I started out by forcing myself to be good on EITHER Saturday or Sunday, so it would be like a cheat day instead of a cheat weekend. Now it's down to a cheat meal.

I have the same problem, weekends are hard for me. i gain half the weight i lost in those 2 days! i dont havee a cheat/free day, just a free meal.i eat whatever i want as much as i want.

Try fruit snacks under 100 calories, bownies under 90 calories, light popcorn without the butter, green apples, drink tea, red skinny wine, michelob ultra light beer, sangria with lots of ice, I can go on and on:)

join a dance studio salsa, belly dance, zumba, flamenco or a gym. I dance and believe me it helps. I'm just trying to loose 10 or 15 lbs and at my age it's hard.

No such thing as a free day...I find that planning ahead works best...even though I know we're going out for dinner, a lot of times you can check the nutrition on the menu online, or at least check out the menu online and try to pick what you're going to eat ahead of time. I also try to eat under my goal during the week so even if I go over on the weekend (just don't get carried away), I will still come in under "budget" for the week. Regardless, keeping track every day is the best motivater in my opinion...when I stopped tracking my food, the pounds creeped back up. As soon as I started to track again, the weight started coming back off! Good Luck!

short answer would be dont have cheat days. If portion control and limits are too hard to keep and self control is lacking, simply don't allow cheat days or foods at all for a time. Your body will stop to assosiate weekends with it and it will be easier in the future to add them back in once in a while.

Here's my advice:

Weekends are hard because they aren't as structured, so maybe you need to add some structure to your weekend meals. Plan them out on Friday and then stick to your plan.

I would also advise trying a "treat" meal and/or "sweet" on the weekends. Factor it into your plan, and maybe have one weekend day where you allow yourself 400-500 more calories in order to have your treats/cheats.

You need to get out of the all or nothing mindset on the weekends and plan some reasonable meals with splurges so you can stay on track without feeling deprived.

If you can't handle the treat/sweet thing with moderation, then maybe you should plan your weekend in advance, log all your food, and stick to your plan.

Best of luck.

Do you do any intentional exercise on the weekends? When I exercise hard I don't want to overeat. Are you with a lot of friends and family? They have done studies where the more people you are around the more you eat mindlessly. I don't know if its the distraction or the "I don't care" thing that comes into play. I have problems with overeating when the whole family and kids get together. They always bring snacks and I don't want to feel deprived so I eat whatever everyone else and everyone is running around so I tend to eat more than I would if I was alone. I'm working on it but its not easy. Sort of comes down to HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO LOSE THE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF. sorry I didn't mean to shout.. I'm in the same boat and I bet a lot of others are too. We need to build coping skills to stop the mindless eating. Maybe the first step could be giving yourself a little chat in your head in the morning about how you want to do today. Then build on it. Don't just grab food willy nilly, plan and fix your meal and sit down and eat it at the table. Eat the whole meal and then you won't be grabbing stuff all day. If you go out to eat plan like the above lady said, look up the calorie counts of the major chains on line and plan. Also if you go out with someone share an entree or take half home for another meal and if you really want dessert get it and share it or take half home for another meal. Sounds hard but once you try it a couple times it gets easier. It helps to log it before you eat it too, then if you see its going to be too many calories cut back on something like half a roll instead of a whole one. Baby steps, baby steps. Its like learning to walk. Hope this helps.

I had the same problem. Not sure if what worked for me applies to you, but I dont keep anything bad in my house. If I have 'junk' in my house I will hoover it down, hungry or not. If I went out wih friends, it wasnt somewhere were we could eat. My friends know I am trying to lose weight, so if I was at their home, if food was offered it was usually healthy. Well, healthier than chips, pop and cookies lol. I hope you find something that works for you, I know how hard it is

ETA: I still have a cheat meal once a week, but after a while, 'cheat' food isnt as desirable to me. I dont even crave chocolate anymore and before I had to have it everyday or someone would get hurt lol. it does get better!

ideally i dont want to have any cheat days... what i mean is that i usually have no control over myself on either sat or sun,

yeah usually i go to the shops, eat, then open the computer and log ... and then i feel bad
as i said im really not proud of myself..
this behaviour is disgusting i know...
i really want to know how i can take control of this situation.

Plan ahead before you leave. Any time I go to a restaurant, I look up the nutrition info ahead of time and plan for it. If it's not in my budget I don't eat it. Look for lower calorie alternatives to satisfy your cravings.

Example: Went to a Women of Faith conference earlier this month and we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I did my research ahead of time and planned my dinner from the Skinnylicious menu. Then I split a low-carb cheesecake slice with my mom. The cheesecake ended up being 300 calories and satisfied my sweet craving.

I realized as I got into the whole logging thing that you definitely have to plan. And then it comes down to just telling yourself "no!!!". I know it's hard, but hang in there!!! YOU CAN DO IT!

BUMP

I'd agree it certainly seems to be a problem with structure, try and plan your weekends more and include activities that keep you active. If you walk to the shops, keep going for a couple more miles then get your shopping on the way back. If you have to drive, park up near the supermarket and go for a wander for an hour or two before you shop. If you're a 9-5 Mon-Fri worker then the weekends always were your days of rest. Well now you've got another task to do.. so put that free time to work! Explore the great outdoors.. take some classes in anything.. doesn't have to be exercise, try anything that takes your fancy.. art, study something, volunteer, just keep your mind active and distracted from food. That'll help deal with the snacking anyway.

Taking the weekend off can easily undo all the hard work during the week. Instead of a DAY off, how about one meal off or a free meal. Eat all you can at one meal but be sure to record everything that you've eaten. I like the idea of using the 'under' calories left over from the week as the extras that you allow yourself to use when you choose to go over. Eventually, I reach a point where eating all the carbs and calories makes me feel really crummy after eating healthy all week.