Weekends undo me!

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epoyntz
epoyntz Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Generally through out the week i'm very structured and have a routine of eating well, daily exercise cycling too & from work and not really drinking either..

However Friday night arrives, drinks after work, means I skip dinner or eat rubbish food, and then for the remainder of the weekend I eat really crappily and can't find motivation to exercise - which i find is part of the fact that in the house there is wide selection of food to eat where when you are at the office working you can't really stop and eat what you want since the only food is what you might have brought in.

Its almost like my brain is saying "its weekend - means i'm off from eating properly, don't need to exercise and can drink alcohol"

Anyone else can relate to this - how do you break this weekend where you don't have your normal routine! Its' really frustrating as i'll lose weight up to Friday and then put it back on over the weekend!

Replies

  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    Some suggestions: Try choosing one meal to splurge on so you don't feel deprived. Throw out the junk food so that it's not in your house to tempt you. Choose your Friday night drinks better (rum and diet coke, that sort of thing).
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
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    I'm a pretty consistent eater, personally, but I have a very successful MFP friend who allows herself one cheat day a week where she doesn't log anything and doesn't worry about exercise. You could try that. Instead of making it a weekend binge, make it one 24 hour period. Start there, see if it works, and modify it if it doesn't. You've just got to make yourself have the will power to do it.
  • TNR32
    TNR32 Posts: 110 Member
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    I agree with bathsheba toss the junk and one splurge meal a week. Also try limiting how much you drink on Friday night and have a glass of water in between drinks, I found that if I drink too much the next day I crave greasy junk food. Wine is also a decent drink and good for you in moderation. As for not being able to find the motivation to exercise that may come from eating better or you may need to force yourself to exercise go bike to a park or forest or what have you in your area. Hope this helps. :)
  • justforeva
    justforeva Posts: 9
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    agh me too. it starts on friday afternoon for me when my friends and i hang out and... eat.
    and saturday comes and i think "okay its saturday, whatever" and eat anything and everything near me xD
    and sunday i'm just like. OK I OVER DID IT YESTERDAY. excercise time xDD
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Generally through out the week i'm very structured and have a routine of eating well, daily exercise cycling too & from work and not really drinking either..

    However Friday night arrives, drinks after work, means I skip dinner or eat rubbish food, and then for the remainder of the weekend I eat really crappily and can't find motivation to exercise - which i find is part of the fact that in the house there is wide selection of food to eat where when you are at the office working you can't really stop and eat what you want since the only food is what you might have brought in.

    Its almost like my brain is saying "its weekend - means i'm off from eating properly, don't need to exercise and can drink alcohol"

    Anyone else can relate to this - how do you break this weekend where you don't have your normal routine! Its' really frustrating as i'll lose weight up to Friday and then put it back on over the weekend!

    The problem starts with Friday night, Saturday is a spin off from that. Alcohol causes spikes and troughs in blood sugar that night, that and poor quality sleep messes with your body's ability to process calories properly, causes blood sugar dips and cravings the next day. Start with your Friday night meal - take more food to work and eat before you go for drinks and line your stomach or ensure you get something healthy and solid (not just a salad) as soon as you start drinking, not some hours later when your inhibitions are down. Find a way to drink slower and get less dehydrated, white wine spritzers with soda water work for me.

    You don't have to exercise at the weekend, it's healthy to have rest days if you are training at the right high intensity all week. It's not healthy/ safe to exercise when you are dehydrated or have low blood sugar anyway. Maybe work on fixing Sunday, assuming you don't drink again Saturday night. What are you keeping in the house that are trigger foods? Are you meal planning?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
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    Hard to say. Sometimes people put too much emphasis on being in the zone, doing everything right, and then beat themselves up when they can't follow through on those demands, for you it's the weekends. Sometimes those weekend free zones load us up with water weight while were actually carrying around some actual fat lose for the week.
  • collingmommy
    collingmommy Posts: 456 Member
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    I've gotta to say i don't have this issue anymore, thank god! ! I've trained myself to have the mindset that i get 4 heavy exercises a week, usually about a hour sometimes over, 1 short night (30 minute workout) and one day off, i save that last day as if it's my oops day, in case i eat garbage, i have that day to fix it, other wise i eat good, and guess what my second day off!

    So here's an idea, works wonders, make ua workout chart, on sat, sun, make one a exercise day, the other the off day, put it in your kitchen close to where u will see it everyday, and make it as big as u can, i did it, and i can holler to my hub, "what's tonight say" he find the night, and hollers back" ...... " so them we both now, also put the time of the workout, like i said, most of mine are 1 to 1.5 hour workouts.. I hope this help, i hate seeing weekends blew up on you! U can do this!
  • erinpooh
    erinpooh Posts: 90
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    I don't take rest days on the weekend, and I make exercise the first thing I do. When I exercise first, it makes it easier to stay on track for the rest of the day.
  • epoyntz
    epoyntz Posts: 6 Member
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    thanks for the replies everyone!

    i prefer the idea of not having rest days - but at least doing something even if its just going for a walk or maybe a swim at my gym - nothing too heavy but something that at least gets me moving.

    i'll work on the meal planning as well - I do it through out the week but for some reason don't on the weekend - so will try planning in the morning each day what i'm going to do - and maybe try out some new recipes since have time in the day to do specific food shopping for items i might not have (and excuse to get out and walk/cycle somewhere!)

    I liked the idea about eating before going out on Friday - great idea and if i'm full as well won't drink as much and make bad eating decisions later on - working on switching my usual red wine for vodka/soda/lime though - more calories in the red wine along with the sugar - but also need to try make sure i get a large drink of water with my drinks as well so i can sip that through out.
  • flatblade
    flatblade Posts: 224 Member
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    I struggled through the past weekend above calorie goal and did the same the two preceding weekends, so I guess I have a similar problem. Holiday travel and parties contributed to my difficulties. I tend to be pretty optimistic, though, and don't think these low points are more than blips on the radar. While I exceeded my calorie goal, I didn't go crazy and consume 3,4, or 5000 calories. I didn't partake of too many vacant calories and I kept logging my food at MFP.

    We all need to take a long view of our health and fitness. One day or one weekend doesn't make us either ultra-fit or knock us completely off-track.
  • CatGilbertson
    CatGilbertson Posts: 3 Member
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    This is definitely my problem too! I am so self disciplined during the week then the weekend arrives and I am a complete pig! I stick to around 1250 calories per day then it goes straight out of the window on Friday night.. I was thinking about having a higher calorie count for Friday and Saturday which will still allow me to enjoy some treats, but not to get too carried away, has anyone else done this? It's a bit of a Weight Watchers mentality I guess. If anyone else is in the same boat or needs support then let's help each other x
  • vjsanvil
    vjsanvil Posts: 15 Member
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    Prepare for your weekend during the week. I like to get all my exercise out of the way during the week, so that if I end up not being able to work out it isn't a big deal, and if I end up working out it is just bonus calories burned (a great buffer for the accidental three extra beers). Same with my weekday meals. My doctor built a meal plan for me that included 100 calories for alcohol a day (for a glass of wine with dinner). Since those calories are technically "floating cals" I sometimes save them for the weekend. Also, another poster recommended eating something substantial before going out friday night --- that is good advice and definitely helps you avoid the accidental late night binge.

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