How to cope with weekends?

Weekends ARE tough. What i've tried doing lately is working out pretty soon after waking up so that I don't keep procrastinating and end up NOT exercising. Then, i'm in a better frame of mind, and I feel like I don't WANT to eat all of the sweets or sugar or junk because I know i've already worked out, and I don't want to ruin it. I also feel BETTER after working out and find I don't crave as much.

However, I still get cravings like everyone else! So my husband and I have agreed to have ONE dinner out a week... take-out counts. I don't feel guilty about what I eat on that one night (I still don't go CRAZY... i.e. If I have a starter I don't have alcohol or a big dessert). Then I eat well the rest of the week (like you do!) and just look forward to my one night out a week.

If one night isn't enough, try planning to exercise more on the days you are going to eat out so that you don't completely wreck your calories!

Hope that helps

Keep logging and keep working out! If you can fit a workout (or a long walk) in, it will help keep your mind in the right mindset. Also, try to plan your meals beforehand. If you know what you're going to make for dinner, you'll be less tempted by take out... make meal plans for the week and avoid buying those sweets! Know that when you buy the sweets they're not going to last for 3 weeks like you tell yourself. Look at the calorie counts, multiply it by the number of servings and say "Do I really want all these calories in me by Monday?" Also on that note, don't shop while hungry!!

I find on the weekend days that I settle down for a huge breakfast and newspaper read in the morning, it just kicks my day off on the wrong foot and it all goes downhill from there. Or if I start my day off at the gym, it's going to be a great day.

The other tip is to make Monday your weigh-in day instead of Friday.... or weigh yourself Saturday & Sunday to keep yourself on track!!

I know the problem with weekends all too well Good luck!

here's a trick..

reward yourself/pay yourself.
huh? *LOL*

what i mean is... when you are shopping for groceries, everytime you go to pick up a package of 'treats'... make note of the cost of them, then put them back on the shelf. Keep a running tally. Then after shopping 'pay' yourself the money you woul have spent on those treats (put it in a savings acct or somewhere you cannot easily get at it)

Do the same everytime you are tempted to order take-away food. Deposit the cost of that meal in a jar/acct etc...

Determine a time somewhere down the road... a month? a minigoal weight level? whatever you like... and THEN take that 'treat' money and have a reward you earned! You will be surprised how much you have to spend *s*

Totally hear you. Weekends are my nemesis. During the week it's easy because of the routine, but because there is no structure on weekends, it's hard to stay honest. Plus, weekends tend to be party time, which means lots of beer calories.

BUT THAT SAID, you can't let weekends destroy the work you put in during the week because then what's the point? So here are some ideas:

Don't buy sweets on weekends. Not gonna lie, you're just going to have to resist.

If your partner is enabling you to eat poorly, explain to them that you have goals to meet and you can't have take-out every Saturday night if you expect to meet said goals. Maybe offer to cook instead? Or get your partner to go for a long walk with you? Walk to the breakfast place? Take-out is ok every now and then, but if your weekend revolves around unhealthy eating, then something's got to change.

Structure your weekends, at least a little. Is there an exercise class on Saturday or Sunday that you can go to? Or a hobby or activity you can take up? Structure you day around that. If you can't get any exercise in, try to load up on lots of fruits and vegetables and eat a little lighter.

Some people say it has to be 100% all the time, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. If you like food, it's pretty darn hard. So maybe have ONE cheat-meal on weekends (like, have take-away instead of breakfast or vice-verse). That way, you'll have something to take the edge off, but it won't ruin all the hard work you normally put in.

Good luck!

:flowerforyou:

You might consider giving yourself 1 "free day" per week. In your case, sounds like a weekend day would be best. Saturday or Sunday. But not both (although another possibility is to have 1 free meal on Saturday and 1 free meal on Sunday, but stay disciplined the rest of those days). If you're doing a 500 calorie deficit per day, then you should be losing 1 lb per week. Now let's assume that on your free day you do a 500 cal surplus instead of 500 cal deficit. That means that instead of losing 1 lb per week, it would be 1 lb every 9 days.

Is that a reasonable compromise in terms of reaching your weight loss goals and enjoying life? That's for you to decide.