Struggling on the weekends

ilikeike1925
ilikeike1925 Posts: 11 Member
edited December 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone have any advice on how to better approach the weekends in terms of eating healthy? I find that my work schedule helps me maintain my healthy living during the work week - but on the weekends I end up eating more than my calorie goal and getting really down on myself. Suggestions?

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Bank your calories during the week so you can eat more on the weekend.
  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Bank your calories during the week so you can eat more on the weekend.

    ^This
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
    How much are you going over on your calories? Maybe you can try to balance out your week more, so you don't always feel the need to overeat on weekends?
  • launchpadmkquak
    launchpadmkquak Posts: 53 Member
    I have a similar problem on the weekends, especially Saturday. I found that if I eat a bigger lunch then I normally would that I do better later in the day. I see it as eating a couple hundred extra calories at lunch so I don't eat 1000+ extra calories later in the day. Weekends are tough.....gotta do what you gotta do!!!!
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    Weekends are pretty tough..... Some times I eat very well and some weekends I'm like a toddler left unsupervised in a candy store. Oh my! Find if I eat a hearty breakfast each day, I do better. Since during the week, I eat scheduled snacks in between meals, if I combine that snack and breakfast or lunch, I can hang in there better. Sunday is when I prep my food for the whole week, so I usually do better on Sundays. It is Saturday I have to be super careful and if struggling get out there and walk for a couple of hours.
  • Jelenajelenajelenajelena
    Jelenajelenajelenajelena Posts: 34 Member
    I have this same problems because the weekends usually also mean going out to dinner or even going out for drinks. I try to deal with this by doing some cardio in the mornings so that way I have some extra calories on those days.
    Also Monday mornings I get back to working hard on my diet and excersize
  • jandsstevenson887
    jandsstevenson887 Posts: 296 Member
    I've heard people setting it for 2lbs/week on the weekdays and then maintenance on the weekends. Might work for you.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I have the same problem. I agree with the suggestion about getting more cardio. That adds a couple hundred calories. I also find that I tend to eat less filling breakfasts during the weekend, so pay attention to fullness cues and adjust your macros as needed. Otherwise I just get back on plan on Monday and hope the weekend gain was just water weight that will come right back off.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Bank calories during the week, and make sure you eat tasty foods all the time so you feel more satisfied and less likely to treat yourself extra during the week end.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    graciebear16 wrote: »
    Anyone have any advice on how to better approach the weekends in terms of eating healthy? I find that my work schedule helps me maintain my healthy living during the work week - but on the weekends I end up eating more than my calorie goal and getting really down on myself. Suggestions?

    That's also what I have to my advantage. I'm clear and confident that I can drop all weekend gains and more during weekdays.

    You don't sound like you have a good plan to deal with your problem. In that case I suggest that you find ways to disrupt the weekend eating. Specifically, recognize the time and place that you tend to do this overeating, be somewhere else, do something else.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Dedicate one weekend day to exercise. Find something you enjoy and look forward to. It will keep you busy instead of eating, like work. It will also buy you some extra calories and make you stronger and healthier. Win, win, win, win.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Depends on how much you're going over. If it's just a couple hundred calories, that's easy to save up for during the week, and really, is not going to be an issue in the long term. If it's a lot more, then maybe start a schedule for the weekends in terms of food. Save one meal each day for a big meal so if you eat out or eat with friends, you can enjoy it, but have less over the rest of the day.
  • ty_fit0815
    ty_fit0815 Posts: 67 Member
    I'm in the same boat...good all week, but when that weekend comes there's like a switch that goes on/off in my brain. I sabotage myself, I must stop!!
  • willworkoutforwine
    willworkoutforwine Posts: 64 Member
    I try to bank calories during the week for the weekend, get some good cardio in and plan ahead for what I'm eating. I also try really hard not to keep things in the house that I like to munch on, but that's hard with a 4 year old around. I'm not much of a morning person so I usually skip breakfast on the weekends so I can have a bigger lunch and dinner. That works well for me but might not for everyone. :smile:
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    Banking calories is good.

    Also, on the weekends it helps me to only have one big meal per day. I will either have a nice brunch and go really light for dinner. Or I will not eat much all day and then go all out to dinner/drinks with friends at night. It makes me feel less deprived to be able to eat normally when I'm at a social even on the weekend.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    I bank calories through the whole week but I only allow myself ONE heavy meal on the weekend. I just have to not do the things I used to do (going out for drinks on both Friday and Saturday nights, etc.) That's just the way it is - I'd rather have that than continue to be fat.
  • e_v_v
    e_v_v Posts: 131 Member
    If my weight loss struggles/plateaus could be summarized in one post, this would be it.

    On the weekends, I try to stall breakfast and turn it into a brunch so that then I end up eating only 2 meals. Works pretty well.
  • Annr
    Annr Posts: 2,765 Member
    I try to eat a pretty big lunch then smaller dinner, and just think of myself as a furnace, that I need to stoke every so often. I also take time to weigh, chop and organize a great dinner or lunch...like a cooking show, try to keep cooking healthy fun. To plan everything, see it pre-measured on a plate just solidifies my clean eating choice. (and no I don't talk like a silly chef when I cook, saute' and fix it hahahaha)
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    I try to just eat the same all week long, however I do run 10 mile son one of my days off so that gives me a bunch of extra calories that day...
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
    Wow -- great thread. I also have weekend problems. Things that help are: Exercise in the morning both Sat and Sun, doing exercise I like to do with people I like to do it with -- particularly longer bike rides, runs, bootcamp, crossfit, etc. Also try to plan good activities with people I like to be with. Try to mix up inevitable chores with fun things. All this helps -- what doesn't work is to pretend that weekends are not a problem. I try to stick to my regular food plan, and make sure no "binge" foods in the house. This helps to.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I have the same problem. I have currently committed to log everything over the weekend. I used to figure I was gonna screw up, so I won't log. I've logged for two weekends now, faithfully, every little thing. I'm getting an idea of what my weekend eating is doing to my overall progress. Now, I'm going to start tweaking. I also started an Excel spreadsheet to make it easier to see the trend.

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  • smcrimmon84
    smcrimmon84 Posts: 135 Member
    edited April 2016
    Bank some calories during the week and get in a killer workout Saturday morning to have some extra calories on hand- thats what I do!

    I go to the gym later Sat morning than I can during the weekend and do a longer/harder workout since I have the time, this usually results in a very late breakfast or just straight to lunch (usually something low cal but filling like eggs/egg whites) and then I don't feel as guilty about the tacos and margarita I have Saturday night :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I tend to eat more on the weekends, but I also tend to be a lot more active on the weekends. Weekends are when I actually have time to get out there for 2 or 3 hours on the bike...weekends are when I have time to do a 12 mile hike. Weekends are when I have time to take my kids to the zoo and walk around for a few hours. Weekends are when I have time to spend a few hours doing yard work, etc, etc, etc.

    This past weekend I did a 12 hour hike that took me six hours on Saturday. On Sunday I got up and sat around for a couple of hours having my coffee, etc...then I did a bunch of work in the yard and fixed a few things around the house...I don't think I sat down most of the day save for my lunch break and then around 7 in the evening for dinner.

    It all evens out for me in the end...I do tend to indulge more, but I'm way more active than I am during the week when I'm stuck behind a desk most of the day.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    Two things:

    One, eat less and work out more during the week so you have some cushion - think in terms of weeks, not individual days.

    Two, we eat two meals and not three, usually, on weekends. So even if they are bigger, it's the same overall.

    Occasionally I do the long run on Saturday morning, but generally weekends are my rest days AND heavier eating days, but again, thinking of weeks as units instead of days seems to work.
  • Shellymarie604
    Shellymarie604 Posts: 51 Member
    I workout on the weekends so I can more freely or have a couple drinks
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    I tend to do all the household errands and yard work on the weekends, so burn/move more, and try to get out of the house and away from everything thats lurking in the cupboards! I try to keep busy and distracted, so that I dont thing about meals. Also, I prelog anything that I think I might be eating over the weekend, and make sure there is a menu in place for those two days and that I have all the ingredients to make it. I tend to undereat my calories during the week anyway, so I do have a bit of a buffer come Saturday morning.
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