Anyone else suffering from weekend guilt?! ;)

zealey77
zealey77 Posts: 104
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been dieting for exactly a month now and by each Friday I feel lean and mean, then I give myself Saturday off to take a drink and treat myself to fatty meats and fresh white crusty bread. I love it at the time feeling I've earned it. But then on Sunday I wake with a hangover and feel like crap, needing to carbo-load and starved. Each Monday, like now, I check the tale of the tape and feel sluggish, bloated and think 'why did I do it?' But come Saturday morning, I'm all excited again about having a day off! Ha! Go figure!

I can't cancel my day off otherwise I get so despondent with the the thought of the never-ending diet road stretching ahead of me, but I hate this feeling of guilt too. Ah what a complex piece of work is man!

I'm not really looking for an answer to this question, just hoping other people feel the same way and I'm not alone on this!

Mike x

Replies

  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    as long as you eat on deficit 5-6x/week then your weekend should be no guilt. this a good time for a diet break a long as you stay within your calorie limit and dont binge.

    i splurge on my weekends, no worries, no guilt just a feast !
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    I feel like that tonight, A weekend down Brighton with the girls, lots of cocktails, alcohol, chocolate and crap food - But hey its done now, I am going back to being healthy this week and drinking lots of water.

    I think a cheat day once a week if your doing well is allowed, You work so hard so one day a week is going to do no harm. Something to look forward too, and gets you back on track for the Monday ; )

    Don't be too hard on yourself........Im trying not to be!

    Ive got boxercise & body pump tonight, so hopefully that will burn a couple of cocktails off !! Ha Ha!
  • girldownsouth
    girldownsouth Posts: 920 Member
    I don't think I could do it long term if I didn't factor in some splurge time, otherwise I'd just totally crave those foods all the time.
  • Mewcenary
    Mewcenary Posts: 66 Member
    I had a bit of a 'splurge' on Saturday evening - just a bit too much curry and with some Prosecco thrown in. That said, nothing too bad and I was back on the straight and narrow (including training) the next day.

    My weak point has the splurging becoming the norm!
  • NatalieG525
    NatalieG525 Posts: 65 Member
    I always buy a naughty treat to pig out on each weekly shop (so on a Wednesday, I have a naughty treat followed by an hours circuit training lol!). Once the treat I've bought is gone, it's back to the grindstone. If we don't allow ourselves the luxuries (in moderation) once in a while, we'd end up gobbling 10 times as much after a while. Nothing wrong with a treat :)
  • Blokeypoo
    Blokeypoo Posts: 274 Member
    I started my cal counting a year and a half ago. I only wanted to lose 28lbs and wanted to do it slowly so I didn't starve so had 1400cals/day (I'm only 5'2!).

    I had some odd days off for social stuff etc but in all honesty I chose foods I love every day so didn't need to do it every week - I'd have found that areal head messer which you seem to too. I hate that a mad day can use up all the hard earned deficit and wipe it out like it never happened.

    I had Jaffa cakes for sweet hits or anything else which fitted in my cals and I ate good proteins to keep feeling full as I'm a greedy bird.

    Each to their own but FOR ME, a regular cheat day scared me and made me feel I was "reverting to type" and hadn't learned REAL change. It also led to bad moods, sugar slumps, fuggy head and lethargy.

    Been maintaining a year now and have most w/e's much more relaxed by eating a bit less than I'm allowed M-F.

    Find what works for YOU :o)
  • 2shedz
    2shedz Posts: 14 Member
    If you're going to splurge then don't ruin it for yourself by feeling guilty! Either use the guilt as an incentive not to splurge again, or make the decision, own the decision, and enjoy it! One of the most useful health lessons my partner has taught me.
    Everyone I know who has a healthy body enjoys unhealthy food in moderation now and again. It's fine as long as it's a rare occurrence. Keep your eye on the overall trend........
  • meganeileenmc
    meganeileenmc Posts: 37 Member
    I have been going strong for a month. I am actually afraid to have a cheat day...like it will spiral me back in to old habits. But I have actually found yummy healthy food that I now crave. Greek cucumber dill dip with baked pita crackers mmmm....it just feels so good to be healthy. !
  • joolywooly33
    joolywooly33 Posts: 421 Member
    Yes.......every Monday!
  • Thomas1992h
    Thomas1992h Posts: 15 Member
    I'm finding myself feeling very, very guilty today! Its been a weekend of alcohol, take away, crisps, sweet and cake. It was my OH birthday so we spent the weekend (from Friday) celebrating.
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    Yes i went a bit mental at the weekend!! Saturday i was meeting up with old friends at our old hangout place and ordered chips, cheese and gravy (a large portion!!) then it was my boyfriends mum birthday meal at night - TGI Fridays. Had a 3 course meal, including Cookie Dough cheesecake. Then yesterday, I decided to bake Nutella banana cake!!! Then by evening, i was so tired i didnt want to cook anymore so my boyfriends mum just put greggs slices in the oven. BAD BAD BAD!!!

    I will certainly make up for that this week with healthy eating and plenty exercise!
  • redambition
    redambition Posts: 39 Member
    The only guilt I feel is from being super lazy all weekend because I was sick. I needed the rest though, so I'm not feeling that guilty...

    Any treats I have I account for in my calories, and they're frequent enough that I don't feel deprived.
  • Tabithas_Transformation
    Tabithas_Transformation Posts: 93 Member
    I definitely feel guilty this morning! After a messy night out with work on Friday, I ordered a massive Dominos and scoffed the whole lot in one sitting. I had been doing so well and everything!!

    I think the trick is not to write off the whole weekend because of one bad moment. In the past, I would have said to myself "That's the weekend diet ruined so now I can eat what I like until Monday". But I woke up the next day and was determined to get back on the diet wagon. I may leave it a few days until I weigh myself though! :smooched:
  • benefiting
    benefiting Posts: 795 Member
    Don't worry, I was eating really well until end of October last year and have spiralled out of control. I've got my exercise dedication but still having some issues with will power and such!
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
    Stop thinking of it as a diet where you're never allowed to eat the things you like. Make room for crusty bread or whatever in your daily calories, even if it's only once or twice a week. Then you won't feel deprived and won't put yourself through this every weekend.

    Or instead of taking that day off every Saturday why not wait until you have a good reason to take a break - someone's birthday, a meal out, a day at the football?

    ETA: Sorry, just read that you weren't actually looking for answers!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    But come Saturday morning, I'm all excited again about having a day off! Ha! Go figure!

    Saturday and Sunday are my long run days, That let me have a couple of glasses of wine on Saturday evening.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    Break up with your diet and your binge eating and your guilt. Build a nutrition plan you can live with.
  • rk_19
    rk_19 Posts: 92
    This weekend I went to florence and ate my heart out. I ate pasta, pizza, chocolate, ice cream, bacon... but I look a it like a special weekend. The hardest part for me is trying to get back on track on monday. Like right now Im at work and dying. All I wanna do is eat the milka chocolate in front of me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Your problem is your state of mind. It's not a diet. It's a lifetime change. You're dooming yourself to fail I'm afraid... Don't deprive yourself during the week (eat everything... just in moderation), eat at a reasonable calorie goal, and you won't feel the need to binge and ruin it all on week ends.

    Let me put it this way - this is a LIFE change. Once you're at your goal weight, your calorie goal will probably be the same as it is now. You say yourself that you don't want this lifestyle forever... Well, you're going to have to if you want to keep the weight off. So make changes that you can live with.

    I also had a massive cheat day on Saturday, but that's going to be it for at least 2 or 3 more weeks, probably more... it should be a once in a while thing, not a 'every week end' thing.
  • zealey77
    zealey77 Posts: 104
    Glad I'm not the only one then. lol. Here's to a new healthy week :)
  • Autk79
    Autk79 Posts: 286 Member
    Im with ya too with my Saturday nights. Its kinda crazy to see your beer or liquor calories can add up to more than you ate in a day... BUT I still have to have that break every once in a while. :)
  • Lizilu20
    Lizilu20 Posts: 10 Member
    I know exactly what you mean. My treat night is friday - "funtime friday" where I enjoy a couple of glasses of wine and maybe have some chocolate, or like you, bread with butter on. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and have managed to lose 11 lb so far even with the friday treats.
    I absolutely refuse to feel guilty as if I did, I think I'd comfort eat, so what I do is eat less than my 1,200 calorie allowance on maybe 3 days per week and build a stash of extra calories that I can use on friday night and I always calorie count everything out including my treats. Not sure if this is ok to do but it seems to be working for me and stops the guilt!
  • Jasmine1995xoxo
    Jasmine1995xoxo Posts: 27 Member
    Me! I feel awful! Ate so much ice-cream and feel like a big blob
  • Rosie_McA
    Rosie_McA Posts: 256 Member
    I'm finding as each week passes it gets slightly easier to avoid the weekend blow-out. I work away in the UK and am usually very occupied in that period so it is not that hard to follow my plan. Once home it's been a case of rewarding myself for being good, and of course over-doing it. I now try to eat slightly more on weekdays and to train myself not to binge when at home. I've only been on MFP for less than a month but so far it has helped me to maintain my discipline over this tough part of my week. Oh, and I have ditched the Friday/Saturday alcohol and have yet to really miss it.

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