Binge Eating on Weekends

I've been using this system of counting my calorie intake for about a month and a half, with ok results.  I've lost about 7 lbs, which is good.   I figure any weight loss is good, so I can't complain.  I know I could do better, though.

During the week I can control my eating fairly well.  I pack my breakfast and lunch to take to work, and I can stay away from the work cafeteria and vending machines without any problems.  After work seems to be going ok as well, try to eat salads with chicken breast on top, maybe a couple pieces of fruit in the evenings after dinner.  I also try to get out and run 3 times a week, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and once during the weekend, averaging about 20 miles a week. 

My problem comes with eating during the weekend.  I can't seem to control what I eat, and tend to gravitate toward the pizza and burgers, mostly because that's what the kids want.  I usually grill out on the weekends, so it'll be burgers, maybe ribs, topped off with ice cream in the evening or something with loads of calories.  Not to mention that I also like to sit and watch the game with a couple beers on Sunday afternoon. 

Does anyone else have this problem?  What can I do to motivate myself to count my calories during the weekend?  How can I control my "binge eating" on a Friday night, or on a Sunday afternoon? 

Thanks!!

First, good job on losing 7 lbs!

I have been (slowly) battling the same weekend issue as you, and I've come up with a few solutions which are slowly starting to work.

One is making only ONE day your cheat day.  I personally need a cheat day, or I'll fall off track altogether, so.. I usually try to make this either Friday or Saturday so that the scale on Monday isn't so heinous.  This way you can go a little overboard, but know that it's only one day and that your intake can't cause too much damage.

Another nice thing is... You say you have issues with Grilling unhealthy or very rich foods.. You could plan to grill fish, or chicken, and instead of ribs maybe do some grilled asparagus (seared with sea salt and olive oil.. OMG), or grilled squash, and allow yourself an unlimited amount of this as sort of an appetizer. Then by the time "dinner" is ready you won't feel the need to eat 2 burgers and a hot dog, know what I mean? 

I find planning ahead is the best defense!

And the beers on Sunday... Hopefully it's miller lite, not Oktoberfest, hahaha. Good luck, hope this helps!

Good job,

I am with you though, I do really good then I just want La Rosa's or Skyline.lol.

My 3 year old is a real diet crasher."momma don't you like skyline?" of course i do honey. "then why do you eat salad?" lol

And what is it about Miller Lite,, that must be the choice beer of this site. lol

dittos on the weekend eating. I try not to go past maintenance level on weekends. Most time, I can do that so it's not horrible. It'll just take longer to lose the weight.

Miller light...blech! I'll take the extra 30 calories per beer and grab a Guinness.

Congrats on your weight loss!!

What about trying to make small changes... when you BBQ the burgers choose lean meat (or even a veggie burger once in a while) and along with the burger grill up some veggies - peppers, mushrooms, onions, brocolli tossed with just a little olive oil and some seasoning are awesome on the barbie!! On Sunday afternoon put out a resonable amount of chips or whatever you eat during the games and also put out a veggie tray. You may eat some, you may not, but you'll likely find that you'll naturally be replacing every 3rd or 4th chip with a carrot. As for the beer ... well it's called a beer belly for a reason -lol. Try a light beer?

I tend to have problems on the weekends too-

When you say you tend to gravitate towards more unhealthy choices because that is what the kids want- maybe make that a once/twice a month thing so that they are not getting into bad habits, or make one night the fun food night, but still choose to make things more healthy- thinner crust pizza with veggies as toppings and a side salad... make fruit into a dessert, things of that nature...

Hey, I enjoy a microbrew or something with actual flavor too.. But, if you're watching the game and might throw back 4 or 5 (or six)... Those extra 30 calories add up!

Not that this post is about beer, haaha.

If you figure out the magic secret to this - please tell me - cause you just described me!

My  husband always tells me that "I've been so good during the week, how about a treat... like pizza".  What he doesn't get is that pizza takes a week for me to work off. Its a vicious cycle!

I think finding low calorie alternatives to things we enjoy will help - there has to be some sort of low cal beer?  or eating less  on the days you what to cheat?  or having half portions? 

i have the same problem! i do so good during the week, but then when weekends come, and i am home and have access to food, i eat more than i do during the week. Granted i'll binge on apples and pretzels instead of snickers bars, but it still adds up :(

Thanks for all the replies!  I know I need to try harder on my weekend meal planning, and you gave some pretty good tips to try.  I haven't tried a veggie burger yet, although it sounds disgusting, I'll give anything a try at least once.  We've grilled veggies before on numerous occasions, and we've always enjoyed them.  But it brought up a great reminder to have them again.  Thanks again.

As for the beer, well, I don't drink that many, and try to keep it at about 2 or 3.  I have just recently found a great light beer....Heineken Light.  I really like it and has only 99 calories per bottle.  Does this sound reasonable? 

Anyway, with colder temps outside, I tend to move away from the beer altogether.  Then I move on to my red wine!!!  But then again, I don't know if red wine is any better. 

Thanks again everyone

YUM, red wine season!

I usually find that I register almost zero weight gain even if I polish off a glass or two more of red than I should.  I'm not sure why that is, although it does seem to curb my appettite.. So maybe I end up eating less when I'm drinking it?  But..  I think you're going to make progress.   Veggie burgers are pretty awesome.. I like the classic Morningstar Farms "veggie burger," as well as the Boca "Cheeseburger," and the "Asian veggie patty."

YUmm.. they do have a lot of sodium though, so watch the water weight issue!

I definetly my problem too - I am generally very good from Monday - Friday lunchtime with both food and exercise, and then from Friday evening onwards I go crazy.

Once solution is to slightly lower your caloric intake for the rest of the week, so you can be a bit more generous on the weekends:  for example if you lose weight at say 1800 cals/day then you could have 1200 per day/Monday - Thursday and then an average of 2,600 per day/Friday-Sunday.   As long as you don't go TOO low on the low days (i.e. below 1200) I think this is fine, even a good idea, because it keeps your metabolism guessing a bit. 

The only prob with this method is that it is very easy to go above the 2600 limit, especially with things like booze and pizza.  but I would never cut these out completely! just do it with a bit more motivation

When I drink red wine I am the same weight the next day or less. But when I drink vodka, I am always up the next day. I have learned to drink a huge glass of water in between your choice of beverage and that helps. Also, I tend to eat less on the nights I want to have the alcohol and exercise more. I tell myself it's a choice that I'm going to have to work for.

Count me in on the weekend nightmares!  I am exactly the same.  Rather than the football, it's going out on Friday and Saturday nights that does it for me.  I try to drink G & slim Ts instead of beer, not that they are the same when you're watching sport! ;-)

As for grilling and barbeque, that doesn't have to be bad for you at all, and they're certainly better for you than frying, for example.  I find that the best way to keep the calories down when you're at BBQs or grills is to NOT buy pre-made items.  Don't buy pre-made burgers.  Buy lean beef mince and make then yourself.  I find they actually taste better anyway (they taste like beef, for a start!).  Also, you can get really nice marinades with fresh lean chicken, stick them on skewers with peppers and onion and you have yourself a taste sensation!  Again, for the marinades, make them yourself, don't buy the pre-made ones.  They tend to put so much sugar in them and the low-cal ones seem to have a lot of wierd ingredients.  I have a great marinade for BBQs that I make, and I can give you my recipe for burgers, message me if you want me to pass it on...

Also, throw some corn on the cob on the BBQ, probably the best thing ever eaten.

I think the biggest problem is how much you eat at BBQs, I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to find that I'll be eating little bits all day, rather than having one sit-down meal.  As a result I end up eating twice as much!  Remember:  little pickers wear bigger knickers.  Get loads of salads and veggies in as side dishes too.  I think I'm repeating what everyone else has said now.  Haha!  Anyway, let me know if you want those recipes :-)

I tend to eat more on the weekends, too.  I think everybody does just because it's more accessible.  To avoid it, try to get out of the house as much as possible, but take no cash so you aren't tempted to swing through the drive-thru or grab a candy bar on the run.  Take a few granola bars with you.  As to grilling, toss some chicken on the grill and wrap up some veggies in tin foil and toss them on the grill (or use one of those metal pie pans and cover in tin foil).  Yummy.  :)

hehe...

I feel your pain man, check out my journalpost on my weekendproblems:

http://caloriecount.about.com/users/bragi/224 642.html

Exactly my problem too.  I haven't even lost a pound becasue for a ll the clean eating and working out I do on the weekedays I sabatoge it on the weekends.  It doesn't help that my boyfriend does Muay thai for 2 hours 4 days a week and on the weekends he has a sweet tooth and loves a few blue moons.  I guess it has to lie in us to make the better choices for ourselves even though pizza, and beer sounds so good after a week of clean eating. 

I agree you can grill and just have a lean turkey patty or some grilled chicken.  As for the beers I think to be just a little happier and able to enjoy life although may slow down the weight loss plan is worth it if it's only a day.