What are you thoughts on counting during the week and not at weekends

squatsanddeadlift
squatsanddeadlift Posts: 117 Member
edited November 9 in Food and Nutrition
I was thinking a good tactic might be to concentrate on eating well during the week and be a bit more relaxed at weekends.. not going mad but just "free eating"?
Peoples thoughts?
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I eat less during the week and more on the weekend. It's about the week total that is important to me.
  • RachelYun27
    RachelYun27 Posts: 89 Member
    That will only work if you are still in a calorie deficit for the week. Even if it does work it will slow down your weight loss. The best thing is to just count calories all the time so you know for sure you're still in a deficit.
  • squatsanddeadlift
    squatsanddeadlift Posts: 117 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    Honestly? Dumb. It won't work.

    In what way is it dumb? that wasn't useful

  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    Nope. I could be really good M-F and eat what I want Sat - Sunday and seriously put on 2lbs a week. There's a big difference between "In the Zone Kristen" and "Ah, eat whatever Kristen".

    But if you can be reasonable about it try it for a few weeks. You'll know then if it's working. If it's not, you know your answer.
  • feralkitten1010
    feralkitten1010 Posts: 219 Member
    I wouldn't be able to do it. I need consistency in my life so I count everything, everyday. Even if I do indulge, it's a very conscious indulgence. And I enjoy every single bite of it. ;)
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    I need to see the numbers on the screen in order to stay within goal. For some people it may work, but personally, I would end up eating so much on the weekends if I wasn't logging.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited December 2014
    I don't find logging particularly burdensome, so wouldn't find it helpful to take the weekend off. But if you do, and would like that, I think it depends on how you would react. Would you eat basically the same, or would your mind make it into an excuse to try to get in all the foods that you weren't eating during the week? If the idea is to practice intuitive eating, it would seem possibly better to just take a week and do it on occasion than a period (the weekend) where you might be in the habit of overeating.

    If what you are really asking about is eating less during the week and more on the weekends, I think that can work--focus on a weekly deficit--and used to do it myself, although again I wouldn't go too extreme and over-restrict during the week so you can go nuts. It depends on personality and habits. But I wouldn't not log, I'd just plan to go over my calories on the weekend because I was focusing on the week as a whole.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
    edited December 2014
    I would eat at or above maintenance if I didn't log. Weekends are especially trying for most people who work 9-5's during the week. It is easy to set a routine for the week. Weekends become danger zones for me as friends want to go out, it's easier to just order in food, blah, blah, blah. I have shifted my heavy workouts to the weekends so I can eat more then. But I definitely log :)
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    squatsanddeadlift wrote: »
    I was thinking a good tactic might be to concentrate on eating well during the week and be a bit more relaxed at weekends.. not going mad but just "free eating"?
    Peoples thoughts?

    Try it for a quarter and report the results.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • goddessofawesome
    goddessofawesome Posts: 563 Member
    *shrugs* Try and see what happens. I don't always count on the weekends because I can't always remember what I had to eat. Also I'm not at my computer on the weekends as much as I am during the week. When I do log on the weekends I'll ball park it.
  • 52cardpickup
    52cardpickup Posts: 379 Member
    I guess it COULD work in theory if your deficit was greater on the weekdays to make up for the eating you're doing on the weekends, but I know a plan like that would just end up making me, personally, feel like garbage. Not eating enough during the week, and likely overeating on weekends sounds like a bad idea to me.
  • Csauskojus
    Csauskojus Posts: 17 Member
    It would depend if you are trying to lose or not--and what you know about yourself. I know that if I allow myself to "free eat" it easily ends in an all out calorie-fest to reward myself for how well I did during the week. I end up maintaining or gaining, but never progressing with my weight loss goals. If you are able to mentally monitor what you eat and figure out whether you are overdoing it or not then go for it! If you need a mental break from the constant monitoring to have the mental stamina to make it through logging another week, then you should do it.
  • Cyndith27
    Cyndith27 Posts: 5
    Since weekends are non-work days for me, I could try not logging in and just triple my activities - walking, running, gym, swimming, strength training, flying a kite (no couch potato time). BUT with logging in, I can see my successes. I don't want to cheat myself out of seeing my accomplishments recorded.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    Try it and find out. For me, I would wipe out my weekly deficit.
  • shballa
    shballa Posts: 133 Member
    I was doing just that last summer when we were staying at our camper on the weekends with no internet access. No weight was coming off for several weeks. So I downloaded the app to my phone and started logging that way instead. I was amazed to see what I had estimated at about 2000-2500 calories for a typical weekend day was more like 3000-3500. Unless you have a good feel for how many calories you are eating, I would not recommend going weekends without logging.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    edited December 2014
    This is the sort of thing I might experiment with now or in the future. But when I was further back in my "journey" (I HATE that term) I would NOT have done this. I'm within about 10 lb of where I want to be permanently so I have become slightly more relaxed as a means to slow loss and maintain. I had 100+ to lose in the beginning and really preferred a stricter approach of logging EVERYTHING.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    edited December 2014
    I do this. I hate to say it, but when I'm on a regular work schedule, its easier to track what I eat, but on days I don't work, I'm all over the place. Eat breakfast at 10, sometimes 11, lunch can be a protein bar, if that. Usually can't even get enough water. Dinner is normal, because I cook meals to prepare for the week. Most of the time I tend to eat less on weekends, though I've been known to splurge depending on what I'm doing. I've never had an issue getting back on schedule come Monday.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    Try it and find out. For me, I would wipe out my weekly deficit.

    Yup.
  • KnM0107
    KnM0107 Posts: 355 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    squatsanddeadlift wrote: »
    herrspoons wrote: »
    Honestly? Dumb. It won't work.

    In what way is it dumb? that wasn't useful

    If you don't count at the weekend how do you know if you're in deficit?

    You continue to lose weight
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    You can try it and see how it works for you. I can tell you why it would not work for me. While I might think I am eating okay and within reason I know I would under estimate some things like fat, sugar and sodium. Without logging I would more than likely miss these calories until I step on the scale :)
  • KnM0107
    KnM0107 Posts: 355 Member
    I did this is through my weightloss. I started with not logging on weekends and then added more days of not logging as I progressed. I suffer from ocd and counting calories can be dangerous for ME. I stopped counting all together first of the year and have maintained since then. Try it and see if it works for you.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    squatsanddeadlift wrote: »
    I was thinking a good tactic might be to concentrate on eating well during the week and be a bit more relaxed at weekends.. not going mad but just "free eating"?
    Peoples thoughts?

    It would not work out well for me. I feel that I do eat food I like daily and fit everything in my plan pretty reasonably.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    I have one week-end day that I don't log, but I don't eat everything I want, just a cheat meal. Not logging for more than that would cause me to gain. Case in point -- the holidays where I had more than one day that I ate over and didn't log. I've gained about 5 lbs. in 2 weeks. I can't wait for this season to be over so I can get back on track.
  • BodyByButter
    BodyByButter Posts: 563 Member
    It wouldn't work for me. One of the things I am trying to do is break an addiction to "bad" foods by eating a really clean diet, and if I have some of that on weekends it would set me back.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    It definitely does not work for me. When I stop logging I eat all the things. I'm coming to the conclusion that I will have to log in some form for the rest of my life, more or less every day.

    If you're not like me, and are just trying to learn better portion control or gain better knowledge of what you're putting in your body, it may be worth a try. It may also be worthwhile to try if you have obsessive or compulsive tendencies, as someone alluded to above.

    Another option might be this: track all the time, but stay in maintenance on the weekends. You could reduce your budget a little during the week to keep the same target loss rate.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I tend to eat less on the weekends.

    Really it's not dumb if you have a good grip on your food patterns. I log all the time- because data nerds need data points- and also- I have this thing that says 2XX day streak- and I just HAVE to keep that going. Which means I log in anyway.

    If you don't go out to eat all the time on the weekends and are super busy- it's probably not an issue- I find when I have days alone with nothing to do- that's when I over eat.

    So- just figure out what you think will work for you and roll with it- if you're going in the wrong direction then go back.
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    I log every day, regardless of the day of the week. I do tend to eat a little more on the weekends, but without logging, it's too easy for me to conveniently "forget" just how much I am eating and completely blow my weekly deficit and gain.
  • fat2strongbeth
    fat2strongbeth Posts: 735 Member
    Been there, done that. Didn't work (for me). I occasionally don't log a day, but don't make a habit of it.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    herrspoons wrote: »
    squatsanddeadlift wrote: »
    herrspoons wrote: »
    Honestly? Dumb. It won't work.

    In what way is it dumb? that wasn't useful

    If you don't count at the weekend how do you know if you're in deficit?

    How did people lose weight before the existence of MFP? I lost about 35lbs after my 2nd baby without ever logging, because I didn't know of MFP. Once I started logging I didn't change the way I eat and I'd been having 1200-1300 calories a day. I actually eat more now, so MFP has done me a favour!

    I'd say if you can eat in the same way you eat during the week, then have the weekend off. Don't use it as an excuse to go crazy and eat as much as you can.

    Personally I log all the time (except for 3 days off over Xmas, and my birthday off. Oh, and when my baby was born this year), and I have a treat day once a week, but I don't usually eat back exercise calories, so I know I have a big deficit.
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