Weekend eating

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samikeith
samikeith Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I did super well all week last week!
Even on Saturday I ate mindfully and very clean and Sunday just demolished French fries hahaha
Wasn't too happy with the scale this morning
Any tips on how to avoid the Sunday downfall?

Replies

  • sjd421
    sjd421 Posts: 54 Member
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    I always work "weekend eating" into my weekly totals. So each day I might go 100-200 calories under to make sure everything from the weekend evens out. Look at your weekly charts/numbers, that is a better indicator than just your daily goals.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    What's wrong with eating french fries?
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,987 Member
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    I leave myself more calories for the weekend, eating less during the week so I can indulge a bit when I get a day off work.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
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    why would eating fries be a bad thing? did you count the calories?
  • elizabethmcopeland
    elizabethmcopeland Posts: 167 Member
    edited November 2017
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    what @thecharon said. Sodium.

    Plus, depending on what you have to lose weight-wise, you may not see massive drops weekly, so when you don't manage deviations from your plan, it may feel more noticeable.

    Don't set yourself up for failure. Weigh a different day. Or the morning before you enjoy some fries.

    Or, like a few other people said, just have fries mindfully whenever you want them. Track, be aware of sodium and calories, know if will be reflected in the scale. This isn't the only measure of progress, just one of many data points.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    Why have "weekend" eating.... Why not just have "eating"?
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,424 Member
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    Just watch your calorie intake instead of restricting type of foods you eat so much.
    Plan and track your eating on weekends.
    Stick to the same routine or the same diet on the weekends as during the week.
    Don't freak out over water weight if you eat high sodium foods on the weekend. Use a trend weight type app to see what you overall weight trend is. Weigh later in the week instead of Monday.
  • nickssweetheart
    nickssweetheart Posts: 874 Member
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    Do you want to live without ever eating french fries again? If so, continue what you're doing. If not, plan on eating some fries or something else next weekend, track it into your calories (pre-log the day if you need to), and plan on a little extra activity.

    Read the post about the importance of willpower. Don't try to change everything all at once, make small changes that you know you can live with.

    Did you know that JUST by tracking their food, people in studies lost twice as much weight? So make your first commitment to track every bite you put in your mouth, even if it puts you over your calories, even if it's not "clean," even if it deviates from your plan.

    Finally, ask yourself WHY the fries. Were they irresistible because they were forbidden? Had you been "gutting it out" for a few days when you really, really wanted fries? Were they a celebration because you were "good" all week? When you know the why, that will give you a big boost toward the "how" of changing your behavior if that's what you want.
  • CourtE17
    CourtE17 Posts: 3 Member
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    I allow myself one cheat day a week, where I get to have something I wouldn't normally have like a donut or the infamous French fries.

    I use to get anxious about consuming foods like that because of all the hard work that had been done throughout the week.
    I stopped and told myself it's not fun and not living.

    I am human and I have cravings and those cravings deserved to be fed sometimes. I also reminded myself that I workout everyday, I live a lifestyle where I eat healthy and look after my body so one day and a small amount of calories isn't going to kill me.

    I believe it's all about moderation. You can still enjoy food and treat yourself as long as it is in moderation ☺️
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    I was just headdesking over the same thing -- and found this study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24504358

    I don't tend to eat more on the weekends, so I'm not sure how that explanatory factor works for me, but it is worth considering that that Monday spike is just perfectly normal for some people and is considered a normal variation. I know I certainly felt better about it, especially since this morning's spike was a pound down from last week's spike, which was down from the previous week's, etc.
  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
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    What would life be without the occasional fries? I don't do cheat days as I'm sure my mind would take advantage of it, but eat what sounds good and make it fit into my calorie budget. I've even done yoga before bed just to counteract a couple hundred calories I over-indulged in, or I try to even it out the next day if I really over do it. I find that a glass of tea in the evening is not only nice to relax with but a good diuretic to get off some of that water from eating salty foods. Just drink early enough or you will be up all night.
  • sdolan91
    sdolan91 Posts: 250 Member
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    I have fries more than once a week.. still losing
    Don't think of any type of food negatively.
    It's how much you're eat, not what you're eating :tongue:
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I'd make sure you understand what the scale is actually measuring, and what the number on the scale is representative of. It's doubtful that you ate enough french fries yesterday to result in fat gain today.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    As others have said - why are french fries inherently bad? How many calories of french fries did you eat? Is your goal to lose weight, and if so, what rate of loss did you select? Did the french fries take you outside of your weekly deficit (ie if set to lose 1 lb/week, you have a 3,500 cal deficit built into your goal so unless you ate about 7 large orders of McDonalds french fries, you are probably still in a deficit).

    Also as others have said, the impact you see on the scale today is likely due to water retention from the sodium, and not necessarily true weight gain. Give it a couple of days and things should normalize - drink plenty of water today and tomorrow.

    I also don't know what your definition of "eating clean" is but it is a fairly vague and arbitrary term that many here don't find helpful as a guiding prinicpal. There are clean foods that are very calorie dense and there are processed foods that can provide a variety of nutrients. It's all just food, and in the context of an overall nutrient balanced, calorie appropriate diet, there's nothing wrong with eating french fries or any other foods you enjoy, in moderation.

    Lastly, what many of us do is bank calories during the week so that we are able to have more indulgent weekends - ending 100-200 cals under goal (assuming you aren't set to the lowest possible goal to begin with) allows for an extra 500-1000 calories on the weekend which is when many people tend to have special events, restaurant meals, etc.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
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    So, a mental reset seems to be in store. No food is bad. Food is food. Calorie counting tends to mean limiting the amount of food consumed, not the type.

    I just got back from a week at an all inclusive Cancun resort. My weight the morning I left was 143.6. My weight the morning we got back 143.6. I ate all the food I wanted (which included french fries and chips), drank mostly all day with short breaks. I did tons of walking up and down the beach and around the resort. I didn't log a single calorie or weighed what I ate. My weight today was 142.6, which I'm sure is a flucuation. Water loss from the flight. Weight loss is trying to find a life balance.

    I feel this week resembled my ability to keep it together. I balanced the CI with the CO. I never felt hungry or deprived.

    To keep on this road, to keep losing the weight and maintain your loss, you need to figure out how to balance your life with your weight. Try and get all those "diet" buzz words out of your head and figure out for yourself what works.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    For me, it's Saturday, not Sunday that's the day I'm most likely to overdo. Basically, it's a 3-prong attack:

    1. Pre-log when possible. If I'm going to lunch at a friend's, I don't always know the menu, but otherwise, I plan as best I can.
    2. Go for a long walk at some point during the day.
    3. Sunday is my weigh-in day. Helps keep me on-track.

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