On Weekends my appetite picks up

platinum3karat
platinum3karat Posts: 66 Member
Hello all,

I don't quite understand it, when the weekends come my appetite seems to pick up! During the week when I am at work I am fine because majority of the day I am thirsty thirsty and more thirsty. So I am sipping all day long at work, but when Saturday comes I get up make me a boil egg or I will have a bowl of cereal, then I drink water, then lunch I will have a yogurt, maybe 2 hours later I will make a protein shake and then I constantly want to snack all the time.

I am weighing myself to make sure I am not gaining any weight; and the scale isn't going up or down and it is very frustrating. MFP any thoughts on this. I had Surgery 4/1/14 and I am now on a regular diet.

Thanks,
Karen

Replies

  • bikrchk
    bikrchk Posts: 516 Member
    Weird. I'm just the opposite. I want to much all day at my desk, but when the weekend comes I'm busy and forget to eat! Could have something to do with the fact that the weekend is my "rest" from working out. If its a work day, I'm up at 4:30 for an hour of hard cardio every day. Maybe its a difference in your daily routine.
  • sadiegrrl
    sadiegrrl Posts: 15 Member
    Karen, I'm like you. I can eat next to nothing during the week, but the weekends are tough. I could eat all day! When I feel really peckish I try to eat half a Quest bar or Greek yogurt with Syntrax Nectar powder, something high in protein so that it tides me over.

    As for the weight, my surgery was March 17th and I just broke a long stall. It's normal as your body adjusts to have periods where the scale doesn't budge. If you are hitting your goals for protein and water and getting enough (but not too many) calories, the scale will budge again.
  • platinum3karat
    platinum3karat Posts: 66 Member
    Thanks I was truly worried about that scale. The Dr. says I am obessing over nothing, I get about 600-800 calories in a day and I get around 65-70 grams of protein in. However during the weekend I guess if I became a little bit more active I wouldn't want to eat all the time.

    My weekend consist of resting because I am up at 4:00 am every morning and out the house by 5 to work a shift from 7-3:30 pm. By the time I get back home, I am so tired I just take a shower and go to bed so I can do it all over again.

    Tonight I am going to try to work out on my stepper for 30 min. I hope I can muscle up some strength, because all I want to do is SLEEP.

    Karen
  • Ujj7
    Ujj7 Posts: 51
    how long after surgery until you could excercise again. I walk,swim, do pilates, and things like trx and planks, kettle bells.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Try to relax away from home. I like to hit the sauna, steam room or pool at the YMCA. Not for exercise, just to relax. Try to break the habit of blending relaxation and food. Go to a park or gallery just to hang out and read a book. If you were accustomed to grazing thru the wkend you have a mental expectation to return to that habit. Remind yourself that you are not hungry just bored.
  • jkern9110
    jkern9110 Posts: 119 Member
    Thanks for posting this topic! I have gone through both eating habits described: (1) not eating much during the week and then grazing on the weekends; and (2) eating more during the week and forgetting to eat on the weekends. Lately, I have fallen victim to the later. I haven been very structured during the week with all of my snacks and meals planned out in advance so that I don't feel deprived at my desk and then on the weekends I forget to eat and don't get in all of my protein. This has been since we bought our first house and my weekends are completely filled. I find that my job provides structure for my meal plans and I do much better during the week.

    Before we bought our house, I would find myself wanting to eat more on my free weekends. I can't tell you how many times I would get up and go to the fridge and just stand there and stare. I wasn't hungry, but I wanted to eat. It was very much a battle. So if this is similar to what you're going through, I wish you a lot of luck and iron will power. It's easy to fall into that pattern, but not so easy to get out of it.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    Jkern, wanting to eat when you're not hungry is called head hunger and we all suffer from that. Good job in recognizing you aren't hungry, just want to eat.

    Platinum, I am the type that eats very scheduled during the work week and sporadically or forgets to eat on the weekends. My nutritionist told me to stop stressing about being under in calories and protein some days and over others. She said you can't consistently eat the same amount of everything every day unless you eat the exact same thing every day. She told me to eat "on average" 1,000 calories and 70-80 grams of protein each day. Key words being ON AVERAGE. So take what you ate for a week, add it up and divide by 7. If your "On Average" is where you need to be for each category you track (protein, calories, etc.), then don''t stress about eating more or less, whichever you case may be, on the weekends. Make sense?
  • teachren
    teachren Posts: 78
    I like pawoodhull's theory on this one. Average it out...some days you're low, others you are higher.

    I tend to think I overeat on the weekends more due to boredom or not being busy enough. I don't think it's that I'm actually any hungrier...just idle.

    Of course the answer to that one is keep going. Make appointments, do your housework, run errands, go to the gym, go for a bike ride or hit the mall with your friends. Just don't be around the food! I would say it's more the habit of eating for me than actually being hungry.
  • Thaeda
    Thaeda Posts: 834 Member
    I do what I can to stay busy on the weekends... otherwise I nibble...nibble...nibble. I realize I am not actually hungry... I just want something to do. I also tend to eat out more often on the weekends, so I am mindful of my calories. If I have a high calorie lunch, then I try to have something lighter for dinner. So far, that seems to be working for me.
  • JreedyJanelle
    JreedyJanelle Posts: 645 Member
    I sometimes forget to eat while at work. I work from home, and I get busy and forget the time. I have reminders setup now so I don't forget to eat. I am a programmer and sometimes I just get so involved with a program that I let the time slip away.

    During the weekend, I have to eat on schedule, I get grouchy when I go too long without eating. So my husband makes sure the bear is fed.

    I am averaging about 600 to 700 calories a day. I do 3 miles of walking a day and I do Zumba, every other day right now. I had surgery 5 weeks ago.