WEEKEND EATING

charlottemagee1
charlottemagee1 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I’ve struggled a lot with my diet. Just wondering if anyone has any tips on how you can maintain a healthy diet on the weekend without eating everything?!

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    What is different about the weekend that might be making it harder for you to eat right?

    Also, is it possible you're eating too little or trying to eat only food that you don't like? If you are forcing yourself to eat too little or to avoid the foods you like, then for sure you're going to run out of willpower at the end of the week.
  • Tiernan1212
    Tiernan1212 Posts: 797 Member
    Weekends can be difficult since they're different from a "normal" M-F schedule. I find if I can stay busy on a weekend I'm less likely to over eat.

    For example, on Saturdays I have an exercise class at 8:30am, afterwards I head home and eat breakfast. Then I try to do something with my son, like basketball or swimming. This usually takes up my morning. After that it's lunch. In the afternoons I catch up on chores, get some errands done, get out of the house if the weather is nice, etc. After that it's getting dinner ready and then spending time with family. We watch a movie (I'll have Skinny Pop popcorn as my go to snack), toss a football outside, play *kitten*, etc.

    Sundays are a little tougher for me since they're my rest day. I have to be careful with my calories since I'm not working out or exercising. I always make something filling, but light in calories for lunch, my current favorite is egg drop soup (245 cals for the entire recipe, I usually split it with my boyfriend). I also make sure to get plenty of protein with each meal. And water, water, water. For me, that helps me stay fuller for longer.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I account for all calories because so does my body. Don't change your approach just because it's a different day of the week. Try to identify why the weekends are harder for you and work to mitigate those factors. Like Kimny mentioned, maybe you're being overly restrictive during week and compensating on the weekends. Maybe your weekends lack structure so you fail to plan as well for your calorie targets compared with during the week. Maybe your bored so you find yourself eating for lack of finding anything better to do. It really could be a myriad of things but you have to figure out the root cause to find the best solution for you
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited April 2021
    Figure out what makes it hard, Be specific as possible and then figure out what you can do to counter each obstacles.

    For me, I found a good solution was to add more active activities. Kept me busy and also gave me more calories to any special occasions that might take place over the weekend. Sitting on the couch all weekend lowers my calorie burn and makes me want to snack to fill the time, so I don't do it.
  • Thoin
    Thoin Posts: 961 Member
    charlottemagee1 wrote: »
    I’ve struggled a lot with my diet. Just wondering if anyone has any tips on how you can maintain a healthy diet on the weekend without eating everything?!

    I'll let you know when I figure it out.
  • obx1bag
    obx1bag Posts: 24 Member
    Prep better meals.
    Eating hummus, carrots, celery, and tuna on the weekends will NOT cut it the same way it does during the workweek.
    I like to prep a BBQ Chicken casserole or Chicken Parmesan bites on weekends. It's not quite as light as the usual stuff, but it gives me something to look forward to. And it's WAAAAYYY better than pizza or Chinese takeout or bag of snacks.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited April 2021
    Just count them all. Either it works or it doesn't. All of these goofy strategies are just to get away from the discipline of counting every calorie and facing the truth about what one actually eats. Start every day like it was your first day doing this. And, the good news is that it takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    What defines a "healthy diet" to you? Personally, for myself, healthy is pretty much always also delicious...so it's really not an issue eating a healthy overall diet regardless of what day it is. I do tend to consume more calories on weekends given I splurge on certain things (which doesn't necessarily mean they are unhealthy things)...but I'm also way more active on weekends than I am M-F so everything tends to come out in the wash.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    It's a MENTALITY issue that's been driven into us since school. M-F is WORK time. Sat and Sun are RELAX time. So people do just that.
    If you go to a gym, it's the same behavior. Mon and Tues the gym is packed because of "downfall" over the weekend. By Wednesday you'll notice a little less people. Thursday people are geared up for "Happy Hour" so the evenings are usually way less, and by Friday only the hardcore people usually show. Saturday mornings may be a bit busy, but by the afternoon, it's scant as well as Sundays.
    Change your behavior that ALL days are the same. Relax your efforts on the weekend, then expect results to be lackluster by Monday............................where you start all over again.

    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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  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    I usually skip breakfast on the weekends, gives me a little more leeway for indulgences later.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    Of course, I don't want to be harsh, but if contradicting a wrong idea is harsh I'll live with it. This is a really simple system for losing weight. Until people start fooling around with it talking about carrying over deficits and excesses and eating back exercise and fasting and restricting carbs or sugars or whatever. Those are all different diets and most have found that they don't work.

    Counting calories to a daily goal does work. It is the same principle that financial budgeting uses and other controls on compulsive behaviors.

    If one does not to do it, its ok. Nothing making people do it.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,302 Member
    But the ideas were not wrong - they just weren't what you use yourself.

    Nothing wrong with 'fooling around' with carrying over calories or reducing sugars or any other strategies that help people stay on plan

    Counting calories to a weekly plan does work too - exactly like financial budgeting, in fact

    and just like financial budgeting - simple works for some people and complicated moving money from here to there and personal spending rules works for others.

    It doesnt matter how you stick to your calorie or financial budget, as long as you do

  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    The reason calorie counting works is that it subtly trains one to moderate food choices and eating to reasonable portions and requiring accountability at the point of choice and consumption or as close to it as practical. Financial budgeters do the same thing and even often insist on the client carrying a notebook with them and entering their purchases in the parking lot or restaurant to tie more closely the act with the accountability. Food compulsions can sometimes be addressed on the psychiatrist's couch over years and tens of thousands of dollars or sometimes they they can be brought under control by training.

    That is the principle and it is compromised by those recommendations that I questioned.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    What exactly about the weekend is the problem? Don't want to assume because it could be different things.
    There were several things about weekends that were a problem and I have gained better control by identifying the exact issue and trying to address that.


    1. More free time, less structure.

    2. Increased social gatherings, dinner with friends family which can include going out, visiting.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited April 2021
    Uh. I make perfectly decent food choices.

    One of the choices I make is to bank some calories so I can eat a cheeseburger and fries every Monday with my family.

    Kinda like I make perfectly responsible money choices but I... bank some money so I can go on vacation.

    Pretty sure 'evaluate what you really want and save for it' is a pretty solid plan with both money and food.

    Also pretty sure the 1700-2100 calorie deficit I have over a week is as functional as if I did 250/300 calorie deficit every 24 hours over 7 days.

    Also never mind that whole calorie zig-zag thing people do on purpose.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    edited April 2021
    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    The reason calorie counting works is that it subtly trains one to moderate food choices and eating to reasonable portions and requiring accountability at the point of choice and consumption or as close to it as practical. Financial budgeters do the same thing and even often insist on the client carrying a notebook with them and entering their purchases in the parking lot or restaurant to tie more closely the act with the accountability. Food compulsions can sometimes be addressed on the psychiatrist's couch over years and tens of thousands of dollars or sometimes they they can be brought under control by training.

    That is the principle and it is compromised by those recommendations that I questioned.

    And logging food daily (calorie counting), but allowing different calorie goals on different days of the week is not "accountability at the point of choice and consumption"?

    The normal working person has a different schedule on weekdays vs. weekends; it doesn't imply compromising their accountability if they want their eating routine to be different on the weekend . . . even doing it more flexibly that that, for any reason, doesn't inherently wipe out accountability. (Some people are successful being "accountable" to scale trend or jeans fit, without even counting calories.)

    Further, in general, overeating/obesity don't universally involve "compulsions" of the sort that require therapy.

    It's IMO a tough argument to suggest that it's *less* compulsive to balance to that specific day's calorie expenditure every single day, rather than taking steps to make sure there's balance over a reasonable but longer time span.

    If being right on goal every day works for you, yay, sincerely!

    We're not all you, surprisingly enough. I've been maintaining a healthy weight now for 5+ years, calorie counting for nearly 6, after 3 previous decades of obesity . . . just averaging calories over time with a non-compulsive calorie-banking approach. No therapy required (the problem wasn't food "compulsions"), just sensible, flexible management of a calorie budget (at thing that, BTW, can be done without counting; that's just not how I choose to do it).
  • DoubleG2
    DoubleG2 Posts: 123 Member
    I 'bank' calories during the week so I may enjoy the weekend - especially Sunday which is my recovery day. For me, it requires diligence tracking - especially on the weekends. I find a balanced approach works for me and I get to enjoy the things I love in moderation knowing I'm progressing to my goal.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    Here's how I look at it, in case it might be helpful for you: regular rest and leisure time has been regarded as necessary and important since the earliest periods of human history - the idea that we have to be "on" all the time and never have a break might very well be courting disaster. The fact that most of us even measure time by a seven day week references this. I do think there can be a natural tendency to luxuriate maybe a little too much on those days, much as there might be a tendency for others to avoid rest, and both extremes are not good for us mind, body, or soul. You can rest and feast without being slothful or gluttonous, and you can work and fast without being a workaholic or overly strict. These things are skills that take practice, though, and they take time to practice and learn.

    I think several of the suggestions already listed are good, especially the idea of looking at a calorie budget from a weekly rather than a daily perspective. I just wanted to bring up what the whole concept of a weekend is about so the OP (and maybe others) don't beat themselves up for not being able to go at 100% intensity 24/7. It's natural to want to relax a little, and prudent to learn how to relax without giving up. :)

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