Need weekend cheat tips!

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jessica22222
jessica22222 Posts: 375 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I can be perfect all week, but once the weekend comes I like to let loose and have some alcoholic drinks. I still follow my diet, maybe have a treat as well. The alcohol adds up though. I do rum and club soda so have cut out mix calories. Any tips on how not to sabotage the weekend? The rum adds up. Should I not eat my exercise calories for the week to save for my weekend alcohol indulgences.

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    drink less
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    The most straightforward way is probably to bank some calories during the week so you have them to spare on the weekend. If you can do that by eating back fewer exercise calories during the week without getting hangry or low on energy, that's probably a good starting point to see if it works for you.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I look at daily/weekly goals...

    Weight loss is not about 1 single day...it's a cumulative effect of your deficit.

    I drink on the weekends...100 calories each and apparently they are equal to 2.2 regular drinks as far a "buzz" goes...so I am golden.
  • daaaaaanielle
    daaaaaanielle Posts: 114 Member
    edited June 2015
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    My first tip would be to avoid thinking of it as a "cheat". When you refer to it as "cheating", you're more likely to overeat. Instead, just view it as a normal day that you just so happen to be consuming something different that you need to fit into your calories.

    If you know for an absolute fact that eating sufficient calories, added to the drinks you intend to have, will put you over for that day, then one option definitely is saving up some calories during the week. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that you need to ensure you're hitting 1200 net every day, so that you aren't undereating - so eat back enough to keep you on the right side of healthy. Use the weekly view of your calories to keep an eye on your "banked" calories, or track it in a spreadsheet (that's what I personally do). Depending on how close to 1200 your daily goal is, this may or may not be realistic. It works fine for me because my daily goal is 1500-ish calories, so when I "bank" calories, as long as I hit 1200 Net, I'm banking another 300. If your goal is 1200 to begin with, banking calories will become a bit more difficult because it would require you to be under 1200 net.

    Another option would be to try and fit your drinks within your maintenance calories. If you can eat enough and drink what you want to within your maintenance calories, it just means there's one day you don't have a deficit. That will slow your loss down slightly, but it ultimately depends on what is more important to you - losing at your planned rate or having a night out. This option works out as bit more sustainable if your goal is closer to the minimum.
  • jessica22222
    jessica22222 Posts: 375 Member
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    daaaaaanielle wrote: »
    My first tip would be to avoid thinking of it as a "cheat". When you refer to it as "cheating", you're more likely to overeat. Instead, just view it as a normal day that you just so happen to be consuming something different that you need to fit into your calories.

    If you know for an absolute fact that eating enough (minimum 1200 calories) added to the drinks you intend to have will put you over for that day, then one option definitely is saving up some calories during the week. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that you need to ensure you're hitting 1200 net every day, so that you aren't undereating - so eat back enough to keep you on the right side of healthy. Use the weekly view of your calories to keep an eye on your "banked" calories, or track it in a spreadsheet (that's what I personally do). Depending on how close to 1200 your daily goal is, this may or may not be realistic. It works fine for me because my daily goal is 1500-ish calories, so when I "bank" calories, as long as I hit 1200 Net, I'm banking another 300.

    Another option would be to try and fit your drinks within your maintenance calories. If you can eat enough and drink within your maintenance calories, it just means there's one day you don't have a deficit. That will slow your loss down slightly, but it ultimately depends on what is more important to you - losing at your planned rate or having a night out. This option works out as bit more sustainable if your goal is closer to the minimum.

    Thank-you!! I don't know you could view weekly, that would be very helpful for me. I definitly eat all my 1200 calories per day or I'd be a beast. I'm going to try to save some exercise calories and the weekly view will really help me.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    daaaaaanielle wrote: »
    My first tip would be to avoid thinking of it as a "cheat". When you refer to it as "cheating", you're more likely to overeat.
    This is based on...?

  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    drink less

    This is a good option. A change in lifestyle might be in order for you.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited June 2015
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    drink less

    This.

    Work those drinks, or whatever treats you like, into your calorie goal.

    Stop thinking of it as cheating. You're not doing anything bad.
  • Redbeard333
    Redbeard333 Posts: 381 Member
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    Here's the down and dirty of what I've started doing: less beer; more liquor. ~200 calories/beer vs. ~80 calories/shot, same buzz. Not that I've stopped drinking beer (had a couple over the weekend); I just log the calories and try to exercise them off.

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