You have a small, protein-filled breakfast now, instead of skipping it. You’ve started making your own lunches, instead of heading to the food court every day. Dinners are usually at home and you’re quickly assembling a tasty menu of easy-to-prepare dishes. Your TV-time snacks include veggies, fruits and nuts.
And you’re getting 10,000 steps on your fit bit at least a couple times a week.
Wow. You’ve made some amazing changes to your eating habits and activity levels. You’re feeling better; healthier.
There’s just one problem. After all the changes and sacrifices you’ve made, you’re not losing any weight!
How to Stop The Weekend from Stopping Your Weight Loss
In a way, as difficult as it may have been, getting your weekday routine in shape for losing weight might be the easy part. Just like your workday schedule goes out the window when Friday night arrives, so too might your healthy new eating habits. And the backlash from that can ruin everything you’ve accomplished. Here’s how to keep a lid on weekend overeating.
- Be more Mindful of Weekend Eating – It is such a relief to just let go of your routine on the weekend. You can still do that to some extent without ruining your weight loss. Look at your weekend plans and try to spot the points where you might be tempted to binge. Just identifying them will help you curtail them.
- Do What You Can Do – You don’t have to deny yourself completely. If Saturday night is pizza night, try making it a little bit healthier:
- Go for a whole-wheat crust
- Get veggie-based toppings in place of fatty meats
- Keep a lid on how much you eat and fill yourself up with veggies, fruit or yogurt if you’re still hungry.
- Be Particularly Mindful When You’re Drinking – In addition to being loaded with unhealthy calories, alcoholic beverages lower your will power. They can make it seem like a good idea to get the large order of wings instead of just the appetizer with a plate of celery and carrot sticks.
- Keep Your Food Journal Going – If you tend to stop tracking what you eat on weekends, make it a point to get back on it. In addition to showing you exactly what you ate, how much and why, you might just decide not to have something because you can’t be bothered writing it down!
- Take a Look at Your Weekday Routines – This might seem odd, especially if you’ve been able to change your habits. But the weekend ‘backlash’ of overeating might be a result of denying yourself too much during the week. That’s not a bad thing, but see if letting up a bit during the week takes the edge of the weekend.
- Give Yourself the Right Snacks – If there’s no avoiding dropping your guard on weekends, at least get rid of the cheesies in favour of something healthier. Herbal One’s Goodie Protein Bars are a great-tasting option. They fill you up so you eat less later, and they give you more energy to enjoy yourself.
If you found this post helpful, check out our recent article on how to lose weight by not focusing on weight loss.