How do you stick to your diet on the weekends?!?

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  • ShimmyShade
    ShimmyShade Posts: 7 Member
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    I weigh myself Saturday mornings so I see the progress I've made and am not as tempted to go overboard during the weekend. Also, when I go out to eat I eat half of the meal and already plan to box the other half for leftovers.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I relax my rules at the weekend and have a meal out on the Saturday evening and maybe a piece of cake on Sunday. Then I am back to my regime on Monday. Granted I am not trying to lose weight currently but I have lost weight with this system as well.
  • drabbits2
    drabbits2 Posts: 179 Member
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    I do a lot of food prep on the weekends which actually kind of reminds me to stay on track and if I snack while prepping it's okay because I am prepping healthy food. That said, I ALSO tend to stay up later on the weekends and do a fair amount of mindless eating, so there is that too...
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    edited August 2017
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    The way I 'stick to my (plan) on weekends' is to have breakfast. Yup. Wake up, have breakfast, sip a pot of coffee, and have a good start to the day. The breakfast must have oodles and gobs of protein or else the whole plan falls apart. Today I started with a bowl of yogurt, added some Nature Valley granola with protein and some PB2 and blueberries. That was a tasty start but not quite enough. A couple of hours later I had a piece of raisin bread with some leftover shmear from a bagel place spread on it. That got my calories for 'breakfast' up over 300. I did some stuff and got a little exercise, so I had a granola bar with protein at about noon. By then, I had already developed a plan of having a ribeye steak for dinner, so I let that granola bar be my lunch. I did some more stuff that kept me busy and at 4 pm started cooking dinner with putting the potatoes in the oven. At 4:30 I put the carrots in the oven and at 4:50 I put the ribeyes on the fire. At 5 I put the butter on the steak and commenced to eating 554 grams of the best steak I've ever tasted and becoming very happy to be under my calorie budget for the day.
    I got turned on to oldtownmkt.com by an Uber driver, of all things.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Since I have more time, I run/walk 10 miles first thing on Sat/Sun to build up a nice deficit for the day, then eat my goal and most of my exercise cals. So on a weekday if I have 1700, on the weekend I'll eat 2100'ish
  • zjpq
    zjpq Posts: 198 Member
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    I try to get some extra exercise in and pre-log everything leaving cals for a treat or bit of a splurge meal. And if worst comes to worst I just try to stay below maintenance
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    Erica0021 wrote: »
    I do great all week but when the weekends come around I can't seem to stick to my diet at all!! Any tips??
    Change your thinking and behavior. People tend to RELAX on the weekend from work and treat their diets the same way. Guess what? You eat 7 days a week and should not treat it like a work schedule. Doesn't mean that you can't indulge, you just can't LET IT GO and not be accountable for the calories you overconsume.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Well, for me, Sabbath (Friday night/Saturday) is the temptation zone. So...

    1) Friday afternoon, I pre-log what I plan to eat for supper and all day Saturday, accepting that I will be indulging within my calories. "Breakfast" today was two pieces of potato kugel, a sugar cookie, and some cantaloupe and honeydew. I come up short on my protein and iron, but I don't go over calories.
    2) Friday mornings, I do my usual walk to the baker and deli takeout, a ways from home. It generally takes over 2 hours net (i.e. deducting time spent standing in line at the checkout). Saturday afternoons, I have a walking buddy and we go at least 2 hours. In addition, it takes 20 minutes to walk to and from synagogue. Today, we had guests for lunch who are friends aware and supportive of my weight loss efforts. I walked them home. 40 minutes round-trip. There was a lecture at someone's house in the neighborhood, 14 minutes walk away. (And my buddy was there, so we took our 2 hours afterwards).
    3) Sunday morning? That's my weigh-in day.
  • ellaminnowpea81
    ellaminnowpea81 Posts: 7 Member
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    I bargain with myself:

    Am I working out this day? If yes, I splurge a little on food. If not, stick hard to my diet.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,878 Member
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    I exercise lots on weekends. :)
  • sczoo26
    sczoo26 Posts: 102 Member
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    For me the weekends are kinda hard like most of us right!?
    What I do is really good through the week Monday - Friday, then Friday and Sunday I go the gym so I got enough exercise calories to get me through - For saturday I setup my meal plan and stick to it, and I know if I have gone a little over on the saturday, I will work extra hard on Sunday at the gym (if that makes sense)
    I normally have around 100 cals left per day during the week, so have like a reserve ready for the weekend
    sounds proper technical lol!
  • MaddMaestro
    MaddMaestro Posts: 405 Member
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    I don't. Lol I usually end up grabbing an extra snack here and there. Thankfully it seems that my exercise helps combat the cals towards the end of the week
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
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    My main problem is the lack of a routine on weekends, like I'm sure it is for many others (even if it shows in different ways). Planning ahead is ideal; preparing and logging what you can in advance (I like to make snackbags to bring with me when I'm running errands, with nuts and fruit) and trying to focus on living your normal life for most of the meals. For example, I tend to eat the same breakfast on weekends (I like it, it's healthy enough and both quick and filling), I'm more likely to eat out for dinner on Friday/Saturday, but be home on Sundays as it's my clean-shop-prep-day. I also try to invite people to my place instead of going out, or making informed choices before I even arrive at a restaurant. Lunch is the most varied meal for me on Saturdays, as I don't always know in advance if I'm going to eat at home or out, and if out, where. Also, mealtimes aren't as set on weekends (for me) and that's my biggest problem.

    I don't drink alcohol often, so that's not a problem for me, but I know people who limit their amount and focus on quality instead; enjoying a great glass of wine for longer instead of two-three drinks that blend together etc.

    In the end, you have to do what works for you and try to make it easier for yourself. I struggle with this a lot, especially on weekends, so it's an ongoing process for me. But I'm slowly learning how to help myself in this regard.
  • EmbeeKay
    EmbeeKay Posts: 249 Member
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    I can easily undo a week's hard work in a weekend. Thankfully, enough times of doing that has made me wiser and less likely over time to keep it up. Basically, don't take the weekends off logging. Track everything you eat. Over time, I believe it's harder to go crazy.

    I try to eat breakfast as late as possible. And still get a good workout in. And drink allll the coffee, water, and tea.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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    Every Saturday I have a big dinner with my family. I save my daily calories for dinner ( I practice IF every day, so it's not a big deal for me), but right before going over to my parents house I have a big protein shake, so I am not starving. Also exercise more during the weekend.
  • Gab149
    Gab149 Posts: 26 Member
    edited August 2017
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    • I try to log everything. And I mean everything. Even the excess calorie foods I'd rather leave out and forget about. I keep it in my face every day.
    • Also, pre-logging the day before really helps as well. If I know I'm going to a party or something, I try to pre-log around it if I can. If I can't, I log it anyway as best I can.
    • If I have a big calorie blow-out, I pre-log the next day, pre-pack my lunch, lay my breakfast stuff out on the counter the night before, to make sure I get straight back on the horse.
    • I pre-pack my weekend food on Friday night and keep the lunchbox in the fridge, and eat out of that all day. I do this on Saturday night for Sunday as well.
    • I remind myself that I won't be on weight-loss calories forever; I will reach my goal weight and at that point, I can raise the calories to maintenance and have a bit more freedom, but I plan to continue logging well after I reach my goal weight, to make sure it really is a maintenance level.
  • ltkasmala
    ltkasmala Posts: 109 Member
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    I actually do better on weekends than during the week as I am not bombarded with junk food from co-workers and PTO members! Also, if you are looking at the way you eat as a "diet" that is kind of self-defeating. When I started this journey five years ago, my take on it was a "lifestyle change". Diet implies limits that most people become frustrated with after some time. The latter allows flexibility to some degree. Just my view, at least!
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
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    vespiquenn wrote: »
    Because I often know I will be drinking and eating out on weekends, I bank calories during the week. So I shave off about 100-200 calories on the weekdays. That way, I have more wiggle room.

    This. 9 times out of 10 we eat at least one meal out on the weekend so saving an extra 500 or so calories during the week is the only way I can do it!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Same as weekdays except I eat out 1 meal.
    I plan and prelog my food in the mornings. I eat at the same times of day. I don't usually drink my calories.
    I walk and do chores on the weekend so I am just as active as a weekday.

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