still binge eating at weekends

Started with fitnesspal last week - it;s great - however, my eating habits over the weekend have not changed, I love my glass+++ of wine with creamy cheese and crackers. Has anyone been through this indulging and come out the other side?

you just started last week....it will click if you stick with it and you might eat a little less cheese n crackers and then maybe non at all...it happens to all of us, (well...most of us lol) now and then we fall back....but, the goal is to push forward after that. Keep it going and you'll get there

Don't feel guilty about it - it'll make you feel helpless and detract from the wonderful time you had eating that wine and cheese. Instead, next time it's wine-and-cheese night, say to yourself, "I want to eat less cheese tonight because I'll feel better afterwards. I won't feel bloated/overstuffed/whatever you feel after too much cheese."

But if you happen to have a lot of cheese or wine, even after you've decided to have less, just shrug it off. Habits take time to change, and you enjoyed yourself.

Weekends are so tough! And I definitely can't have things like cheese and crackers (salsa and chips, hummus and whatever, etc) because I have no concept of control with these. Here are a few tips:

1) For the snack, find a substitute that's still satisfying. How about grapes or apple slices with your cheese instead of crackers? And maybe use that laughing cow cheese that's already portioned out. That way you just have the fruit and one or two portions of cheese and that's it.

2) For the wine...I know it can be tough but try to cut down on how much you're drinking. For every glass of wine, drink one glass of water. Or if that's laughable, at the very least, make sure you get a bunch of activity in so you earn the calories. In my mind, if I'm working hard to earn those calories, whatever it is I'm eating or drinking to use them up BETTER be worth it so it tends to help me make better choices and/or not go overboard.

3) Be extra good the rest of the week and bank 50-100 calories Mon-Fri so you've got that wiggle room on the weekends. And during the day Sat & Sun, be light with your eating so you don't go over by too much. You don't have a ton to lose so make sure your calorie goal is set correctly. 1/2 to 1 pound per week is spot on. 1/2 pound per week takes longer but gives you more wiggle room.

Here's the thing, you need to think long term. What changes can you make in order to maintain your weight once you get to goal. With that in mind, see if you can come up with some ideas on your own about how you can work these indulgences in to your weekends.

I LOVE me some Special K Sea Salt cracker chips and Laughing cow LIGHT. make sure you count out your chips and put the box AWAY!

If you end up binging on weekends, it may well work better for you if you have a lower daily deficit and try not to make yourself feel so deprived.

Because of how I eat, I no longer binge at all, ever. I do still have a bit of wine and cheese occasionally; why not? It fits in my macros and a little goes a long way. But i don't have the crackers, or yes, i would be binging.

Binge eating on weekends? No. Binge eating is an eating disorder. If you have that, you should probably talk to a doctor/psychologist. Are you really binge eating or just eating some junk food? You could always try eating at maintenance calories on the weekend and at a deficit during the week.

Don't feel guilty about it - it'll make you feel helpless and detract from the wonderful time you had eating that wine and cheese. Instead, next time it's wine-and-cheese night, say to yourself, "I want to eat less cheese tonight because I'll feel better afterwards. I won't feel bloated/overstuffed/whatever you feel after too much cheese."

But if you happen to have a lot of cheese or wine, even after you've decided to have less, just shrug it off. Habits take time to change, and you enjoyed yourself.

Perfectly said

Here's the way I look at it: I work almost 12 hours a day on the weekdays, and still get in 3 days of exercise(crossfit) in the evenings. However, I realize there are times I will be too busy during the week to get in my 3 days, so I use my weekends for my intense workouts(I spend 2 hours a day at the gym both Sat/Sunday). Part of the reason I do this is the obvious time constraints, but also, so I can have what I enjoy on the weekends. I live in San Fran, I love all the food this city has to offer, including the wine, but I also realize I'm not doing myself any favors by overdoing it. Indulge a bit, enjoy a glass or 2, eat some great cheese, but don't let it become bigger than that, don't do it every weekend and try to add more time to your work out routine on the weekend knowing you will probably indulge.

Maybe find a lower calorie cracker and cheese to eat.... I find it hard to eat well on the weekends too. I just look for lower calorie stuff that is better for me to indulge in. (I also started (again) this week).

I allow for serious indulgences over the weekends...usually Friday dinner (though, it's all homemade...but, usually pizza or a heavier preparation of fish)...Sat/Sun, I allow myself more simple carbs, i.e. homemade cookies, cakes, breads! I stick to eating well and under my daily calorie goals during the week, so I view it as an 80/20 thing. I also try to bring it harder in my weekend workouts. That being said, I am trying to reign it in a bit, as I think I could eat less, while still getting the same sense of indulging. It has started to feel ilke mindless bingeing, rather than allowing myself something savory and satisfying that I wouldn't eat on the other days. Seriously...I do not need to eat 10 cookies...homemade or not, at one time.

Try having more Fat and Protein IE - get yourself some full protein crackers that taste good to you and munch away. Not much you can do about the wine though except reduce your dose to as low an amount that remains pleasant. Have a little bit of flavored seltzer along with it. :happy:

The big problem with wine is that the body finds acetate (energy source from alcohol) easiest to digest but it provides nothing for the body in nutrition. :embarassed:

As a result, the body's response is to "demand" of you through hunger and other forces such as unease that you need to eat something with REAL substance. You can probably understand why you might binge here.. It takes longer to digest the food part as well so even if you do eat something good, your body is still screaming for more. :sad: LOL!

The best thing to do is eat a bunch of cheese and protein crackers first and let them digest a bit until you can feel the satity from them, THEN get into the wine.

Otherwise, your "willpower" might fail fighting your body's demands even with a tremendous amount of desire to do so. Those impulses were built into our soul as survival. :noway: Your poor brain has to fight against the body by requesting your body go against nature that keeps it alive. :huh:

Get something with high fat and protein in your belly first. Best of luck with it!

when you decide what you really want and are willing to do what it takes, you will

if you want to take the slower route (learn to say moderation ) then you cant complain

Enjoy your wine and cheese! Just ditch the crackers, bread, whatever - and have just a LITTLE bit of some nice sharp lower-fat cheese. That Kerrygold Irish aged cheddar is awesome!

Ugh I have a problem with weekends, too. I am slowly getting better. What works for me is to get out of the house. I am making a point to schedule an active time - a walk, going to the park with my son, wandering the mall, etc as part of my day in addition to working out longer and harder on the weekend. I think I need to have a routine to keep me from wanting to fill my time with food. Also, I love everyone's suggestions about doing some substitutions for lower cal options and using a strict portion control (put the box of crackers AWAY). I also bank a higher deficit mon-fri so I have more wiggle room on weekends - guilt free.