How’s your diet during the week? What about the weekends? That’s when problems can arise. Most people let down their guard a little on the weekend and eat something indulgent. An occasional splurge is A-Okay – but an entire weekend of splurging? Not so much.
One study showed calorie intake slightly rises as the week goes on and peaks on Saturday, the day of the week when most people let down their guard. Dietary fat consumption also increases on the weekend. Ice cream anyone? Even worse, this study showed weight loss stalled among participants trying to lose weight. Hardly surprising. More people eat out on the weekend and are less likely to plan their meals. Plus, social events usually happen on the weekend where indulgent foods and alcohol are served.
Another study showed healthy adults eat around 115 extra calories per day between Friday and Sunday – a total of 345 extra calories per week. That adds up to a pound of weight gain every 10 weeks, assuming you don’t compensate for the extra calories with an extra exercise session.
Consistency, clean eating with a few small indulgences here and there, is the key to losing weight and controlling it long term. If you change your eating habits on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you’re spending almost half your week not eating cleaning. Plus, three days of eating the wrong things makes it harder to get back on track when Monday rolls around.
How Weekends Add to Your Waistline
It’s easier to stay on track during the week when you’re on a schedule, going to bed at around the same time and getting up at a set time too. Meals and snacks are more likely to be planned and not vary a lot. On the weekend, things change. You may not set the alarm clock and get up in time for breakfast and eat the rest of your meals at a different time. It’s harder to be disciplined when you’re not on a routine.
Plus, some people turn the weekend into a giant cheat fest, indulging in the foods they didn’t allow themselves to eat during the week – pizza, desserts, French fries, etc. After a weekend of eating like this, it’s not hard to undo all the progress you made during the week. To make matters worse, some people stop exercising on the weekends and use weekend days to recover from a hectic work week by lying around. Eating more and moving less is a bad combination when you’re trying to lose body fat.
It’s okay to enjoy an occasional splurge when you’ve been eating clean all week but a whole weekend or even an entire day of noshing on calorie-dense food can set you back.
How to Avoid Weekend Weight Gain
Instead of a day or an entire weekend of eating whatever you want, limit your splurge to a single meal. Don’t undo an entire week of progress in one weekend.
Stick with your regular bedtime and wake time on the weekends as much as you can. Going to bed late and getting up late throws off your sleep-wake cycle. This can create problems sleeping when the upcoming week rolls around. Adequate sleep is important for appetite and weight control.
Don’t completely throw caution to the wind when Friday rolls around. Enjoy eating something you wouldn’t eat during the week but plan it into your weekend. Don’t lose touch of your bigger goals just because it’s the weekend.
Eat out on the weekends but choose a healthier restaurant and “better for you” menu items. You can enjoy a night out without consuming a 2,000 calorie meal. Be aware of portion sizes. Restaurants usually fill your plate with more than one serving. Set aside a portion of your meal to take with you before you start eating. Skip the bread basket and the glass of wine and start with a bowl of soup to fill you up before the entrée comes.
Take a day off from exercise, if you like, but don’t take the entire weekend off. If you need to, lighten up your exercise routine on the weekend and pack more fun ACTIVE activities into your weekend so you’re still moving.
Keep track of what you eat on a typical weekend so you have a better idea of your weekend eating habits and how much you’re actually eating on the weekend. You may be surprised enough to make some changes.
Don’t make food the focus of your weekend activities. Do something active. Spend time outdoors hiking, kayaking, waterskiing or playing a sport.
If you do get off track on the weekend, don’t beat yourself up when you step on the scale on Monday. Some of that weight gain is likely water weight and will correct itself over the next few days. Get back on track as quickly as possible.
Are You Starving Yourself During the Week?
If you find yourself consistently overindulging on the weekend, you may be depriving yourself too much during the week. Make sure you’re eating enough calories and a wide variety of foods all week long including healthy snacks. If you’re feeding your body right during the week, you shouldn’t feel the need to binge on the wrong foods on the weekend.
Take-Home Message
Weekends are a time to relax and unwind but not a time to lie around and make friends with a bag of potato chips. Keep your bigger goals in mind – to lose or maintain weight and stay as healthy as possible. Enjoy a treat or two but plan them ahead of time and control your portion sizes. Then think how much better you’ll feel on Monday if you don’t overindulge.
References:
Exercise Biology. “Are Your Weekends Making You Fat?”
WebMD “Avoid Weekend Weight Gain”
Related Articles By Cathe:
How Weekend Eating Sabotages Weight Loss
5 Things to Do When Your Eating Habits Get Off Track
Staying a Healthy Weight: 5 Ways French Women Get It Right
How to Stop Eating after Dinner and Avoid Weight Gain
