Weekend Woes....

I use the extra weekend time for extra exercise so I can eat more! I feel like I have to earn the right to have the extra calories, and it works for me. I also do my daily exercise first thing in the morning, even on weekends, so it always gets done.

this is exactly what i do. i've also read that changing your weigh-in days to mondays can keep you more honest over the weekend.


good luck!

I've had the same trouble and am slowly starting to come up with solutions.

First, I try to loosely schedule my days. If there's nothing in particular planned, I'll still chart it out like so:
9-11: laundry
11-12: library and grocery store
12-1: lunch and veg out a bit
1-3: go for a long walk
3-5: prep meals for the weekend, read or study
5-7: visit with hubby in the backyard, have dinner
7-9: watch movie with hubby
shortly after that I go to bed

Second, I try to make sure to get in exercise at least one day. Not sure exactly why but long walks seem to really rev up my metabolism so even if I am bad, it totally does show the next day.

Third, give yourself one day to go over a few hundred calories, it might actually help kickstart your metabolism.

Fourth, be more aware of your actions/habits/triggers. When you start getting "hungry", think of the lightest thing you can eat or think of something else you can do. Boredom is a huge eating trigger for a lot of people and this is the only way around it.

During the weekends, I also have issues with no stucture, it seems easy during the week. So, I try to include more excercise since I have more time, but I try to make it more fun with a long bike ride or extra-long walk or excercise class.

It also seems to help to make the weekend meals more fun or seemingly more indulgent, so I am easier on myself during that time....not that I'm not still too hard on myself in my head after.

For me, it's more the alcohol intake that racks up more calories - so I have a rule for that: if I don't work out, I don't go out. That helps.

I think a lot of it is how you look at it. Are you on a diet and feel deprived and like you have to treat yourself, or do you look at it as a lifestyle change? If it's a lifestyle change, then you won't feel deprived or like you need to cheat. Do you think of exercise as something you "have" to do or something you enjoy and know is good for you?

I used to have trouble with the weekends, too. Now I tend to burn even more calories on the weekends than I do during the week days. I also think about how much weight I have lost and the fact that I don't ever want to gain it back, which would happen if I thought that I was deprived and needed to eat more than I actually need.

Yesterday we were running all over the place and it was an hour past my normal lunchtime. I was starving. I could have had a McDonald's hamburger for 250 calories or I could have a Jimmy John's sub and eat half of it, plus a half serving of potato chips. The sub was 239 calories and delicious!

We all got to be overweight for the same reason, too much food and not enough exercise. If you change your mindset and realize that you really need to move more and eat less for the rest of your life, it will help you be successful.

I think a lot of it is how you look at it. Are you on a diet and feel deprived and like you have to treat yourself, or do you look at it as a lifestyle change? If it's a lifestyle change, then you won't feel deprived or like you need to cheat. Do you think of exercise as something you "have" to do or something you enjoy and know is good for you?

I used to have trouble with the weekends, too. Now I tend to burn even more calories on the weekends than I do during the week days. I also think about how much weight I have lost and the fact that I don't ever want to gain it back, which would happen if I thought that I was deprived and needed to eat more than I actually need.

Yesterday we were running all over the place and it was an hour past my normal lunchtime. I was starving. I could have had a McDonald's hamburger for 250 calories or I could have a Jimmy John's sub and eat half of it, plus a half serving of potato chips. The sub was 239 calories and delicious!

We all got to be overweight for the same reason, too much food and not enough exercise. If you change your mindset and realize that you really need to move more and eat less for the rest of your life, it will help you be successful.

In all honesty, it's both. I do want to make a lifestyle change, but I definitely feel deprived at times. I was raised on food that wasn't good for me, so that is what I know. When I go any length of time without it, I feel like i'm missing something, even though health wise, i'll feel great. The weekends just always seem to be my avenue for filling that void, that really doesn't need to be filled...

I totally understand! My mom is 130 lbs and has been her entire adult life (she's 82 years old) and she nurtures us with food. I finally took over meal preps when we're together because she's never had an issue with controlling her portions, so she could cook not so healthy stuff and it wouldn't affect her.

I have spent the last 24 years losing and gaining weight. I'm 44 now and I'm tired of dieting. So I quit thinking of it as a diet and realized it had to be a way of life. There's no "end" to this diet. There was always an end before and then I'd gain it back.

I quit smoking 4 years ago and never looked back, partly because I never wanted to go through quitting again. That's how I'm approaching this lifestyle change. I don't want to have to lose weight ever again.

I think a lot of it is how you look at it. Are you on a diet and feel deprived and like you have to treat yourself, or do you look at it as a lifestyle change? If it's a lifestyle change, then you won't feel deprived or like you need to cheat. Do you think of exercise as something you "have" to do or something you enjoy and know is good for you?

I used to have trouble with the weekends, too. Now I tend to burn even more calories on the weekends than I do during the week days. I also think about how much weight I have lost and the fact that I don't ever want to gain it back, which would happen if I thought that I was deprived and needed to eat more than I actually need.

Yesterday we were running all over the place and it was an hour past my normal lunchtime. I was starving. I could have had a McDonald's hamburger for 250 calories or I could have a Jimmy John's sub and eat half of it, plus a half serving of potato chips. The sub was 239 calories and delicious!

We all got to be overweight for the same reason, too much food and not enough exercise. If you change your mindset and realize that you really need to move more and eat less for the rest of your life, it will help you be successful.

In all honesty, it's both. I do want to make a lifestyle change, but I definitely feel deprived at times. I was raised on food that wasn't good for me, so that is what I know. When I go any length of time without it, I feel like i'm missing something, even though health wise, i'll feel great. The weekends just always seem to be my avenue for filling that void, that really doesn't need to be filled...

I totally understand! My mom is 130 lbs and has been her entire adult life (she's 82 years old) and she nurtures us with food. I finally took over meal preps when we're together because she's never had an issue with controlling her portions, so she could cook not so healthy stuff and it wouldn't affect her.

I have spent the last 24 years losing and gaining weight. I'm 44 now and I'm tired of dieting. So I quit thinking of it as a diet and realized it had to be a way of life. There's no "end" to this diet. There was always an end before and then I'd gain it back.

I quit smoking 4 years ago and never looked back, partly because I never wanted to go through quitting again. That's how I'm approaching this lifestyle change. I don't want to have to lose weight ever again.

Sounds like my grandma - 80 years old and has always been able to eat in moderation without gaining weight.

Me, I apparently was installed with a voracious sweet tooth and can't go the moderation route for sweets. I have to concoct healthier (low sugar) versions instead. There's no end to choosing the healthier option. Can't be or I'll just end up where I started eating waaaay too much sugary stuff. Luckily as time goes on, it gets easier.

I know this may sound extreme. I noticed everyone here is basically weighing in once a week. However, I have avoided scales altogether for so many years because I didnt like what I was seeing. This week as I have just signed up on MFP, I have done exactly the opposite--I have weighed at least once every day (after the 2nd or 3rd day) not realizing I was actually dropping lbs. each day. By the end of the week I was so proud that I had lost 5 lbs--I wasn't about to mess it up with the weekend. I have been struggling moving just 1 lb for so long--this week has been the most motivation I've had in a long time. The hardest thing for the weekend is having other family members around that seem to be eating something all of the time--it's really hard to avoid joining in. However, if I can continue dropping 5 lbs a week--the food just isn't worth it.