Weekend sabotaging weight loss goals??

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nadnan91
nadnan91 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been trying to lose the last 10-12 pounds and I really want to get there by September. During the week, I eat very healthy, control my portions, and exercise almost daily but come the weekend I end up having bigger meals and desserts in the presence of friends and relatives. When going out I find myself overeating and when I’m at home just watching tv on the weekend, I want to eat cookies and ice cream etc. I also exercise on the weekends but since I’m only five feet tall I feel like my weekends are hindering my goals in taking two steps forward three steps back. Any advice for controlling your diet during the summer weekends?
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Replies

  • pineapple_jojo
    pineapple_jojo Posts: 440 Member
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    I do this too! The things that stop me really messing up are: working out first thing on weekend mornings, if I start off well I’m much less likely to eat rubbish, and also weigh in on a Monday? I weigh in Saturday morning (I know, I should take me own advice!) and it’s honestly so stupid for me because it makes me feel like I can have some time off for good behaviour!

    I need to change my weigh in day!!
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I bank my calories so I can indulge and eat more on weekends and still stay in a deficit for the week. I don't go crazy and try keep things reasonable, I still focus on my goals and save my calories for stuff that really matters. So you may want to save calories during the week and eat less the day of to save for a special meal. Also keeping more active on the weekend helps. Get outside, walk, bike, hike, etc.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
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    I so know what you mean! Lately I've been doing the same. Summer weekends with friends are made for indulging!

    A few harsh approaches:

    - If you have a huge meal for dinner, skip breakfast.
    - If you eat a lot over a weekend, do a fast day on Monday

    Best of luck!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,010 Member
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    When I read "10-12 pounds and I really want to get there by September. During the week, I eat very healthy, control my portions" I wonder if you are creating too big a deficit during the week which makes you say "F it" on the weekends. Perhaps if you ate a little more during the week the weekends wouldn't be so difficult.

    The last 10-12 pounds are very stubborn, and others have said it can take a year to lose.

    On the other hand, perhaps you just need to develop better habits on the weekend.

    I do eat more on the weekends, but I also get more exercise.

    Other people eat more on the weekends, but they bank calories from during the week.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    Days are just units on a calendar; they don't do anything.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,217 Member
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    I spent the first half of 2017 spinning my wheels at roughly the same weight in part because I wasn't exhaustively logging and keeping myself accountable Friday thru Sunday; that's 35+% of each week.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    sardelsa wrote: »
    I bank my calories so I can indulge and eat more on weekends and still stay in a deficit for the week. I don't go crazy and try keep things reasonable, I still focus on my goals and save my calories for stuff that really matters. So you may want to save calories during the week and eat less the day of to save for a special meal. Also keeping more active on the weekend helps. Get outside, walk, bike, hike, etc.

    I do this too. I have my weekly goal broken out so that I have five lower-than-expected calorie days, and put the extra calories on the weekends.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    I'm 5'1" and also working on the last 10. At .5 pound a week, I could easily wipe out my deficit on the weekends. It can also take a long time once you're at the end, which makes it even more important to really buckle down on your logging and be consistent about it. You have to account for the extra calories on the weekends one way or another, so you need to plan for the big meals and treats and whether you can realistically fit them. If you aren't accounting for them, you have to ask yourself in the moment if it's really worth it.
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
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    sardelsa wrote: »
    I bank my calories so I can indulge and eat more on weekends and still stay in a deficit for the week. I don't go crazy and try keep things reasonable, I still focus on my goals and save my calories for stuff that really matters. So you may want to save calories during the week and eat less the day of to save for a special meal. Also keeping more active on the weekend helps. Get outside, walk, bike, hike, etc.

    I'm nowhere near the last 10 pounds, but I do this too. I know weekends are more apt to be full of dinners and stuff, so I give myself higher calorie allotments on the weekends vs. the weekdays. That way my weekly deficit is on track, but my weekends have more flexibility for going out to dinner / movies / etc.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
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    I bought some new fresh fruit plastic bins. I've been keeping 2-3 in the fridge with sliced watermelon, pineapple, papaya etc in them. Then when i want sweet or quantity it's there and yummy and a better choice,
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    It sounds like you routinely eat more on the weekends than you do during the week. This means that the weekend gatherings are part of your normal way of eating and not special occasions. You have a few options:

    - change your routine to have fewer food-oriented social outings on the weekend
    - change your routine to include more exercise on the weekend
    - eat less at other weekend meals (i.e., have a smaller breakfast if you know you're going out for lunch)
    - save a few calories each weekday so you can eat more on the weekend

    All of these things are actions you can take. Your original post included very little agency on your part. You wrote that you "end up having bigger meals," that you "find [yourself] overeating," and that "weekends" are to blame. However, in reality you are the one who controls what you eat; the weekend does not control it.

    And yes, if you are going dramatically over your calorie budget on the weekend then you are almost certainly hindering your progress at this point. You're short and you don't have much weight to lose. Your deficit is going to be very small. If you meet your calorie goals on six days and then go over on the seventh day, you are cutting that deficit even smaller, if not wiping it out completely.

    The way that you talk about your food during the week seems like part of the problem. Why can you only have cookies or ice cream on the weekend? Why can't you budget your calories during the week for these things if you want them? If you're sitting around for six days thinking about how badly you want a cookie, then it makes sense that on the seventh day it will be hard to not eat half the box of cookies. You do not have to "eat very healthy" all the time (however you define "healthy"). If you want to lose weight, you only need to make sure you're eating fewer calories than you burn. Those calories can include cookies and ice cream.

    Finally, you need this plan to be sustainable for the long term. You are not going to lose 10-12 pounds of fat in two months if you're short and close to your goal. I am just under 5 feet tall and it took me 8 months to lose the last 10 pounds.

    +1 to all of this.
  • nadnan91
    nadnan91 Posts: 15 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your responses - for a 5 feet tall 27 year old female at 130 pounds currently how much weight can I reasonably expect to lose in the next nine weeks?
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    nadnan91 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for your responses - for a 5 feet tall 27 year old female at 130 pounds currently how much weight can I reasonably expect to lose in the next nine weeks?

    That depends a lot on how accurately you're tracking your food and activity, as well as normal body weight fluctuations. You should target a half pound loss per week, but it may happen more slowly. Why is it so important that you lose a certain amount of weight in that time period? Will something bad happen if you don't?
  • nadnan91
    nadnan91 Posts: 15 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    nadnan91 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for your responses - for a 5 feet tall 27 year old female at 130 pounds currently how much weight can I reasonably expect to lose in the next nine weeks?

    That depends a lot on how accurately you're tracking your food and activity, as well as normal body weight fluctuations. You should target a half pound loss per week, but it may happen more slowly. Why is it so important that you lose a certain amount of weight in that time period? Will something bad happen if you don't?

    I feel overweight at 130 - I’m going on vacation in 9 weeks and I’d like to be closer to my ideal weight that’s why.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    nadnan91 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    nadnan91 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for your responses - for a 5 feet tall 27 year old female at 130 pounds currently how much weight can I reasonably expect to lose in the next nine weeks?

    That depends a lot on how accurately you're tracking your food and activity, as well as normal body weight fluctuations. You should target a half pound loss per week, but it may happen more slowly. Why is it so important that you lose a certain amount of weight in that time period? Will something bad happen if you don't?

    I feel overweight at 130 - I’m going on vacation in 9 weeks and I’d like to be closer to my ideal weight that’s why.

    Why will your vacation be any different if you weigh 120 vs. 125 vs. 128?

    For many people, 10 pounds means a lot psychologically, but does not make a big difference in appearance to anyone but themselves. Looking back at pictures of me at 125 vs. me today at 113, I can't even tell the difference unless I know when the picture was taken.

    Having a specified time frame within which you are going to lose a certain amount of weight also makes it hard to celebrate any progress short of your intended amount. What happens if you lose two pounds in nine weeks? Will you be happy about the progress you made, or sad that you didn't lose as much as you wanted?

    Enjoy your vacation, celebrate the progress you make between now and then, and don't put a time limit on your weight loss. Just be patient and consistent with meeting your calorie goal each week.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited June 2018
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    There are some techniques you can try.

    First of all, figure out what your maintenance calories are, and try eating at maintenance over the weekend. This way you will lose more slowly, but at least you won't be sabotaging the work you put in the rest of the week. If you have an extra deficit during the week, you can bank those additional calories for your weekend too.

    When you plan to go out, look up the menus of the places you'll be headed and make decisions about what you want to eat and drink in advance. Many restaurants have obscenely calorific food, and no one wants to have just the side salad with no dressing on a weekend night out, but you may be able to figure something out within your calorie allotment - try splitting a dessert with someone, not eating the bread or extras on the table, picking side dishes with fewer calories, or asking for a box and splitting your meal when it arrives. Make compromises on the things you don't care about so you can indulge yourself with the things you do care about. Hardly any petite woman can get away with eating a whole Bloomin Onion every weekend, but you may be able to have part of one.

    Try putting in some serious exercise calories - a lot of runners joke that they run for doughnuts. Running 5k in the morning will get you enough calories for a couple of beers, or a dessert, in less than an hour. Not enough calories to go hog-wild at an American style restaurant unfortunately, so you still have to watch what you eat.

    As far as cookies and ice cream when you watch TV, again, compromise. Figure out your calorie goal and stick to it, logging accurately. Maybe you want cookies and ice cream instead of dinner on one weekend day. You're a big girl, no one will arrest you if you skip dinner and have cookies. Maybe you need to learn to make do with one cookie and a much smaller portion of ice cream. Maybe, given time, you can learn to enjoy lighter snacks such as Greek yogurt with fruit, frozen fruit, or a piece of dark chocolate. Everyone is different - you can make this work! Don't deprive yourself, figure out what is reasonable and still makes you happy. Remember you are not going to grow taller, and eating the way you are used to eating made you overweight in the first place, so you need to learn a new way of eating you enjoy enough to live with it for the rest of your life.
  • nadnan91
    nadnan91 Posts: 15 Member
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    I like your advice it’s just that 10 pounds does make a huge difference on a small body like mine - a 10 pound difference will show up tremendously on me and it means feeling more confident in a swimsuit which of course is important on vacation.

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