Struggling with the Weekends

Lots of ways to handle the weekend guilt.

1. have what you want then stress and regret
2. earn what you want to eat in advance or work it off later
3. Eat whatever you want, just less of it
4. Live and enjoy just realize results will come slower
5. Add healthy snacks to your purse
6. Find a friend that will join you with a diet challenge

It's all good as long as some progress is happening. Maybe just log it all so you can make better choices. I too have weekend "diet Holiday" I log it and get Monday guilt then try to fix it the following weekend. Hope something here helps!!
Good luck!

Weekends do really suck for me too. I tend to go to the gym twice a day just to help balance a bit more. I would really suggest logging what you are eating. Maybe actually seeing it in your face like that will slowly change what your are taking in. Do your friends and family know you are struggling? See if there are changes they are willing to make with your socializing that can help you a bit?

I have had to make a lot of changes in my habits when socializing. The rewards have proven to be much more rewarding tho.

As long as you get back too it on Monday, you are still ahead of where you were. You should be proud of the direction you are heading. So don't be hard on yourself, keep it up.

Thanks for the reminder I should probably be a little more forthright with my friends and family. Thankfully I don't have a massive amount of weight to lose, but many times people perceive that I don't need to lose anything, and don't take it seriously when I say I'm really trying. That adds to the pressure sometimes. But in the end, it's up to me. I think if I try really hard to track no matter what it is I'm eating, that will help me be more conscious about the choices I make.

I've experienced this too. I'm not so much trying to lose a bunch of weight as I am trying to get healthier/feel better. But because of that, my friends/family don't think I need to take it so seriously, therefore, they don't take it seriously. That definitely makes it harder.

I don't know what your social obligations are like - but can you take some of your own snacks/drinks with you? For example, my friends get together at my place about once a month - those that are more health-conscious bring their healthy snacks and stick to those. Sometimes the lack of healthy options is just a killer! I actually love fruits and veggies, so I get really excited when someone brings a tray of those with them. If you're going to dinner at a friend's or family member's house - offer to bring a salad that will go with whatever they're serving. It may not solve your problem, because the temptation will still be there of the unhealthy stuff, but that's what I try to do. It works...sometimes...

Thanks - I like your idea!

I am a snacker, always have been! You have to find a program that works best for YOU and YOUR body. I treat every day the same. I follow 4 simple keys: Portion Control, moderation, substitution and exercise. Following these rules make maintaining my lifestyle realistic. I did cut out something altogether(like soda) but follow those keys, allow me to still pretty much eat whatever I want. When I am craving chips, I opt for air-popped popcorn, pop chips or Kale Chips. When I am craving ice cream, I opt for homemade frozen Yogurt--Just fill a tupperware container(or muffin cup for single servings) with Greek Yogurt, and your fave fruit, like mixed berries, and pop in the freezer for 20 minutes, voila! That's where the substitution comes in. If I am just craving the real deal, than I have that scoop of ice cream with berries on the side. I just watch my portion and moderate how often I have it! And of course, exercise. I love doing it, so it's easy for me to exercise for one hour(minimum) 5-6 times a week.

What has worked for me was following those 4 keys, and treating every day the same! Of course, I go out for dinner and indulge from time to time, but that's where the moderation kicks in

Good luck!!

NAT you are so not alone here. What has worked for me in the past is planning every meal. I make three meals a day when the family is always together and they are not DOWN with a plate full of veggies. I love beer, so I save some of my calories through the week, by not meeting my limit and I allow myself to eat like a normal person (watching portions closely) on the weekends. It was very pretty here this weekend, and I have a super active family and we decided to put a new deck on our house. I made breakfast but lunch was a sandwich and then I was too tired to cook dinner when we were done. I know every beer that I drink, that I will have to pay for that FIRST. (Your body during exercise will burn the alcohol before it will fat. That knowledge will keep you accountable.) This will stall your weight loss, in fact, this weekend I gained because we ate out all 3 nights because we were busy in the yard. It's not always like that, but YOU know what your triggers are and that is so major. You can't be too hard on yourself. I have given myself permission on Saturdays to NOT work out as long as I am not sitting on my butt. If it's raining, or cold, I hit the DVD collection of workouts. I usually pick one that is FUN. I wish you luck, very much, but don't be so dang hard on yourself. Modify your behaviour a little at a time and you will eventually get to your goal. While I know your struggle, I am so glad I am not the only one who wakes up on Monday morning with boxing gloves on to give myself a inner beating.

It's so nice to know this is a "big" club!! I'm struggling too. Glad to get some great ideas here!

We can do this!

You are so not alone on this! I know that I am always going to want to have some beers on the weekends, and probably some not great food. I do log everything, or as close as I can get (I can't always remember exactly how many beers/how much popcorn, etc.) I try to keep it close to my goals, but doesn't always happen. A few things I have done that seem to work for me:

1.) Weigh myself every Friday morning. If it's good I have more motivation to try and keep on track over the weekend and not ruin it, if it's bad I know I've got more work to do. Motivation either way.
2.) More activity. I always workout Saturday morning, try to do more than I have time to do during the week to try and offset some of the calories. Also get other activities in like grocery shopping and cleaning that help as well.
3.) I "save" some calories for the weekend. I generally do not eat back my exercise calories during the week, so I have a calorie deficit going into the weekend. This seems to work out ok for me. I generally look at my net calories for the week.

Hope this helps! If you want to add me as a friend my food and exercise diary is open and you can look at it and see that I drink beer every weekend, but am still losing!

Weekends are my problem too. I log everything and don't beat myself up over how many calories I have gone over!! Over time I am finding myself trying to be more active at the weekends to give me more calories to play with. Takeouts are slowly moving towards a monthly treat rather than every weekend.

As someone said earlier, you can accept that weight loss will be slower (but will still happen), and make small changes over time so you don't feel you are missing out.

Ugh I have the same issues. Mon - Friday I work out like a mad woman but come 5pm on Friday my head turns off and I slack a lot!! I need to get with logging and watching what I eat on the weekends too.