Weekend cravings help

I'm so good during the week..and right when the weekend hits I get snacky cravings and can't control myself. How do u get over this? It's. Like I get too relaxed and talk myself into it!

Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    Yesterday was the first Saturday in two months that I managed to control myself. I think what helped is that I just had something to do to stay busy, and those things kept me out of the kitchen.
  • wxlaw
    wxlaw Posts: 25 Member
    For me, I let myself eat whatever I'm craving for but in a smaller amount. As long as it fits in my calories.
  • changeconsumeme
    changeconsumeme Posts: 229 Member
    Learn to work in the food you love daily or weekly. Learn to stop thinking of weekends as the days to throw caution to the wind and reign in your consumption to a moderate intake. This doesn't have to be a torturous process! :) You can eat calorie dense food and lose weight!
  • EllieElla2015
    EllieElla2015 Posts: 67 Member
    edited October 2017
    You really just have to learn to say no to yourself.
    Yes, we all know if it fits in your calories go for it BUT I often have craving that don’t reasonably fit in my calories. I regularly crave Cheetos, truffles, cheese & crackers and kit Kats in one day. My cheese & crackers alone are around 350 calories, a kit kat bumps that up to 560, etc. And when I have a snacky craving, eating 1/4th of a kit kat really doesn’t help the craving go away.

    So in the end, even if you have a treat that works in your calories and you crave more, you just have to say no to yourself. My diary is open so you can take a look, but yesterday I had Chick Fil A for lunch which took 1,000 calories and I’m a BIG snacker. I love munching all day rather than having one massive meal. I had cravings all day from 2pm to 8pm but I just knew if I started snacking I wouldn’t have room for dinner and I didn’t want to go over my calories for the day. Dinner came and I had a piece of Mochi frozen yogurt for dessert which was delicious- once I had that I wanted another one. I simply couldn’t fit it into my calories so I just drank ice tea.

    Basically I’m trying to say that I realize you can eat anything you want since it’s CICO, but even if you do fit all the foods you love, sometimes cravings surpass calorie allotment for the day and at that point you need to ask yourself “is this extra X amount of calories worth decreasing my weekly deficit?” Sometimes that answer is a yes and sometimes it’s a no.

    Also, I struggled with restricting my calories too much. To lose .5 pound / week MFP has me at 1,650 calories and that was too low for me so now I’m eating the maintenance calories for my goal weight (thanks to the recommendation from folks here!!) and that’s much easier with me. Try playing with your calorie goals and see if it helps!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
    i eat what i want every day. i just make it fit.

    today im eating less than i normally would, because yesterday i ate more (at least calorie wise) than i normally do.

    it all about balance.

    ill still have room for chocolate tonight. and maybe a beer, if i play my cards right lol
  • aganey
    aganey Posts: 501 Member
    Mine got the better of me last night. I’ve been back on mfp for two weeks now and started back exercising this week. I have been eating my calories plus some of the exercise calories back until I can get used to everything (I usually don’t like eating back my exercise cals). I have been eating some of my cravings but stayed within my calories. However, I don’t know what it was about yesterday but I stayed so incredibly hungry throughout the whole entire day. Last night I ended up binging on some cravings. I have never in my life just binged like that. I just told myself I will get back on track tomorrow. I am back on track today and my hunger is now at a normal level again. I don’t know why I binged bc I haven’t been depriving myself. I’m just hoping it’s because of all the new changes and my body is just trying to adjust to what I’m doing and this doesn’t happen often. I even read online that binging every once in a while will not make you gain weight. It’s constantly over eating with no exercise that will. I’m trying to not let it get me down and just say it happened and move on and do better. I know I didn’t give you any advice on how to stop the cravings, but I just wanted to share my experience because it’s normal to have cravings. It’s normal to give into them sometimes. We are human. Just don’t give up and results will happen. Just get back on track.
  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
    This is only what works for me so obviously not saying it's the only way to go. I eat less during the week. While I'm at work and busy and then home late and it's family time and then dinner it is simple for me to not only stay in my calories but under them. Then I bank those calories for higher days on the weekends. That still doesn't mean that I can eat all the food but it certainly gives me a bit more leeway for football snacks and higher calorie date nights. It has meant that I have switched my weigh in day from Monday to Friday as Monday I'm up from water weight :)
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
    You have two options and only you can decide which will work for you. Either (a) you can have a small amount of what you crave by building it into your diet or (b) if you don’t have the willpower to have a little and stop, exclude those foods that trigger binges entirely. Remember when choosing your option - this is for the rest of your life. Which option appeals now?
  • firefoxxie
    firefoxxie Posts: 381 Member
    Here is one very satisfying "junk" snack: chips and salsa. I have one or two servings of the tortilla chips and I pile a good spoon full of salsa per chip. I end up having the whole jar of salsa without sacrificing much calories.
  • jbbjbb2017
    jbbjbb2017 Posts: 10 Member
    edited October 2017
    Depending what you crave, see if you can make a healthier version of it. Also have things that aren't too bad ready to eat... when I'm hungry I'll eat the first thing I see.
  • JoLightensUp
    JoLightensUp Posts: 140 Member
    edited October 2017
    I'm thinking your structured weekdays probably help you stay on track with your eating. You get to the weekend and lose that routine and those habits. If that's the case, it might be good to plan a structured eating pattern for your weekend too. It could be different or looser than your weekdays and incorporate some of your favourite snacks. I plan for a later and bigger breakfast on weekends myself because breakfast is my favourite meal, so it feels a bit like I'm indulging in a way that I don't during the week.

    I can relate to the snacky cravings. I have found "one weird trick" (lol!) that actually helps me. I tell myself to have a banana and some water or a coffee first and see how I feel. If I still feel like the thing I am craving after that, I can have a little of it. Sometimes I still do have the thing I'm craving, but I'm usually satisfied with a lot less. Something about bananas seems to crush my cravings better than anything else I have found. You might be able to find your own "craving-crusher" with some experimentation.