darn weekends!

Don't get me wrong, I love the weekend. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of losing complete control over my eating during the weekends. In my mind since it's my break from work it should also be my break from dieting. Which might be okay if I didn't immediately binge and pretty much undo all the deficits I had built up during the week. What do you all do during the weekends to prevent over-eating? How do you handle a "cheat day" without going completely overboard?

I'm usually really good during the week as far as keeping my calorie deficit around the right level,  but I know that I will never reach my goal until I can conquer the weekend!

Thanks.

the same thing happens to me on weekends. although i'm home all week coz i'm jobless, i still can't resist on weekends. coz my husband is home all day with me and we get so excited that we watch movies, play xbox and eat all day. i've controlled it a little and now i only do it on sundays. so basically i eat 1200 calories for 5 days then around 1600 on saturdays and around 2000 on sundays.

I have that problem too. Its just so much easier to stick to the diet at work because its more structured and less access to food.  I normally give myself either one "regular" meal on Saturday night, sometimes we even go out to eat. It is hard though.....

I always eat more on the weekend too because we usually go out for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.  What I try to do though to keep it under control is to eat healthy during the day and then have what I'd like for the dinner meal when we go out to eat.  I limit my drinking to one drink only then switch to water.  I also try to get as much exercise in over the weekend as well which helps to balance out the overeating at dinnertime.

Original Post by zelle303:

I have that problem too. Its just so much easier to stick to the diet at work because its more structured and less access to food.  I normally give myself either one "regular" meal on Saturday night, sometimes we even go out to eat. It is hard though.....

That's funny! I work from home, so you'd think it would be tougher, but really it's so much harder when my husband and my kids are home on the w/e. Mon-Fri, even though I have access to all that food, I really don't even think about it, I have my oatmeal for breakfast etc. But w/e, there's waffles and omelets being cooked, it used to almost be torture! I just try to stay on top of the portion control part of it... I'll eat the food I enjoy, but still only a small serving, and load up the rest of that meal with the foods that I don't regret later... I would love to have 3-4 slices of pizza, but I start with a salad, and try to stick to one or two pieces(depending on size)

Also, if you end up eating out, try to not order the thing that you have a hard time resisting, if we end up having to do fast food( not often thank goodness) I will either get a salad, or just a Jr. burger, no fries. and I'll steal the 3-4 straggler fries at the bottom of the bag from every one elses order. Then I'm still getting the taste, and really, I find that's all I NEED to satisfy my craving for them, but if I had ordered them, I would eat every last one, and those 3-4 in the bottom of the bag ;o)

Hang in there!

Oh the weekends are my enemy! Especially because I usually go to the bars with my friends on Friday/Saturday nights and when I drink I eat EVERYTHING and ANYTHING....seriously I become a bottomless pit and easily eat more than my boyfriend....it's a problem.

I haven't been 21 for too long but I REALLY need to find a new way to have fun on the weekends because my pants aren't fitting anymore.

I plan for it. I increase my workout a little bit on the weekend. I watch what I eat all day. I eat a normal breakfast but I skip lunch and eat dinner early so that I can have a few more calories. We like to get takeout on Friday and Sunday and that includes desert so Sunday I never eat lunch because we eat dinner early. Even with the takeout you can make healthy choices. I love a grinder sub and cheese potatoes so I get the grilled chicken sub but tell them to leave off the cheese, butter spread and mayo. On the cheese potatoes I ask for half the cheese and don't use the sour cream dip. Then for desert I just get what I want. I don't snack. I think that is the key. Mindless eating and snacking. Drink plenty of water. Also on the weekend I try to be more active in general to burn a few extra calories. Making more trips in with the groceries, not sitting around, housework, laundry, I park in the furthest spot from the door at the store and so on.

I have the same problem!  As easy the weekdays are for me is as hard the weekends are!  I barely go out to eat on the weekdays because everything is preplanned.  Weekends are a different story bc my fiance loves to go out and most of my friends do too!  We also end up going out Friday and Saturday night to the bars which I try to avoid (but again is very hard). 

I noticed though, working out first thing in the morning very helpful on the weekends too.  This way, you are already somewhat cautious and are not in the mindset of a vacation (like I am).  Also, I try to log on to CC on the weekends and log everything I eat AND drink.  This is so hard, but someone suggested it to me, and the weekends I do it, I am SO good!

I think I am going to log this weekend and be very cautious.  One weekend at a time. :)

This used to be my downfall. My new routine has really helped. I get up a little earlier than I used to (by 9am), eat a big, healthy breakfast (around 400-500 calories) and then when I am done cleaning up after breakfast, I work out. Like sweetteeth said, putting myself in the mindset first thing in the morning, as well as making sure my breakfast is filling really helps. I'm not hungry until 1-2pm and then I eat a light lunch and a regular dinner, which alway seems to fit into my allotted calories for the day. I also moved my weekly weigh-in to Monday/Tuesday, so if I do badly on the weekend, it will show up. Puts a little more pressure on to be good.

I tend to work out like a fiend on weekends because I have all day of daylight to work with and can therefore get outside,.   I usually stay pretty much on plan except the occassional drinking.  Even then though, I try and make up for it by consuming lower calorie foods.  I know that's not all together healthy, but it works and I don't feel deprived.  If I have a "cheat meal" on weekends, I keep portion control in mind and really don't worry about it.  It all balances out for me in the end.

xosugarbabie05ox, drinking is one of my biggest problems on the weekends, too! I'm at university so it's very hard not to drink all the time (I seriously do not understand how so many people I know drink 4-5 times a week and aren't giant!) and especially not to go out drinking with my girlfriends on the weekends, which adds hundreds of calories to my day.  To make matters worse, once I get a little tipsy all inhibition (well food related that is, ) goes out the window and I eat like a madman pushing me into a serious calorie surplus. It feels pretty crappy to wake up the morning after a drunken Taco Bell binge. Bleh. I really shouldn't drink as much, but eh, easier said than done.

Well thank you everyone who posted! It's encouraging to know that other people struggle with the same problem and, unlike me so far, have been able to handle it successfully.