Does anyone have any tips for the weekend warrior?

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bp846
bp846 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am very disciplined during the week (calories, logging, exercise in check) but on the weekends I just don’t keep it together. Anyone have any tips to stay on track on the weekends?

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  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 657 Member
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    rcervetto wrote: »
    I like to eat at a higher deficit during the week (200-250 calories below goal, set for 1 lb a week loss) in order to leave room for more indulging on the weekends (generally a few alcoholic drinks and/or takeout/restaurant food). I still log on the weekends and stick to my weekly calorie goal.

    This is good advice. Try not to be extreme during the week so you aren't out of control over the weekend. But I also like to remind myself that as long as I stay at or below maintenance, even if only by a very small margin, then I am doing alright. Going over maintenance will undo my hard work, so I do pay attention and log all the good, bad and ugly.

    I will also make sure to do an extra long workout on the weekends. A nice, long walk will do wonders.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
    edited April 9 Answer ✓
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    What is going wrong on weekends?

    Too much eating out? It possible to have healthier options and substitutions at restaurants.

    Are you not eating enough during the week? Easy to fix.

    Do you have too many trigger foods at home? Put them out of sight, and hopefully out of mind. Have healthier snacks in your eye line.

    Eat an extra meal, something filling like oatmeal. It may dissuade you from going wild on less healthy options later in the day that have far more calories. If that puts you up to maintenance or slightly over, it still sounds like an improvement over now.

    Are you not tracking on weekends? A simple fix I do is I have private food entries for Generic Stuff 100 calories, a couple of them for 4% and 20% calories from protein (I don't care about other macros), and rather than create a new food entry for something that's around 600 calories I'll just enter it as 6 * Stuff which saves time while still keeping a record.

    Go for a walk or some other intentional exercise.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 988 Member
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    I can relate. I am actually the opposite though. My weekends are usually really busy, and I forget to eat. My body does remind me to fuel up sometimes when I'm feeling the energy drain... :)

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,968 Member
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    By, "I just don't keep it together," - what do you mean?

    Overeating by thousands?

    Just overeating by 500 or so per day?

    Over-drinking?

    Not logging food?

    What does that statement mean to you? Different approaches for different issues. Define your issues (to yourself, you don't have to post them) then come up with solutions to the issues. :flowerforyou:
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,634 Member
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    Your weekly calorie amount dictates whether you’ll lose or not. If your weekend calories fit in your weekly calorie goal then you’re ok, if they don’t then you need to lower weekend amount and/or lower weekday amounts. You just have to be careful not to go too low on the weekdays.


    It’s easy for weekends to destroy a weekly deficit.

  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    edited April 9
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    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    Your weekly calorie amount dictates whether you’ll lose or not. If your weekend calories fit in your weekly calorie goal then you’re ok, if they don’t then you need to lower weekend amount and/or lower weekday amounts. You just have to be careful not to go too low on the weekdays.


    It’s easy for weekends to destroy a weekly deficit.

    The above is correct. Probably not being a weekend warrior is the best answer.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,178 Member
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    Some good advice above.

    Adding: Be an actual weekend warrior. Make it a point to get some activity into your weekend routine. Pick something fun, maybe social, not something unpleasant and extreme. Take a walk in the park, join a hiking club, ride a bike, play frisbee with kids or friends, join in a recreational game/sport at a gym or park (golf, basketball, pickleball, whatever), take a group exercise class that sounds fun - whatever.

    If your friend-set doesn't do this things, bias toward some kind of group/social thing: Ideally, you can meet new people whom you enjoy being with, who are more active as a matter of routine. Social influence can be powerful. (You don't need to drop your current friends; it's more like expanding your circle.)

    Best wishes!
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,634 Member
    edited April 9
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    At some point you may need to make a decision to either be leaner or continue your Weekend Warrioring. Its tough to have both especially as you age.

    Maybe just be a Weekend Semiwarrior....
  • bp846
    bp846 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks for all the help!
    I mean yeah the answer is obvious right? Just don’t be a weekend warrior 🤦‍♀️DUH! However sometimes while you are in the struggle the obvious answer just doesn’t seem obvious or come to you.
    I was able to take all the helpful answers and come up with a game plan. Usually I eat over my 1200-1400 calorie goal on the weekends sometimes by hundreds sometimes probably a thousand. I have changed to creating a deficit during the week, instead of having my weekends as rest days now I do long hikes or runs, and I log the good, the bad, and the ugly (even the wine). Finally I have started to chip away at that plateau.
    Again thank you for the helpful answers! Appreciate you!

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