Yeah....weekends are tough. I have this voice saying "Its the weekend RELAX!!!" Except I relax with EVERYTHING including watching what I eat. I agree with the chicks who say plan. If I plan I do much better. In fact to help my plan I have changed my grocery shopping days. Friday nights are now part of my schedule so I can get healthy stuff in to make good meals for the weekend.

Planning does help!

During the week I am distracted at my job, meaning if my tummy starts to growl, I quickly shut it up by guzzling water.

Weekends are a free-for-all. If I get hungry, I just need to head to the fridge, or the cabinet where I keep my cereals and other bad stuff. Sadly I don't think to grab water, and I rarely get my 8 glasses in on Sat/Sun. For 33+ yrs (I was 33 last January 1st) when I got hungry, I stuffed my face with any and all junk foods available, including sodas. While I am learning not to do that anymore, I still have 33 yrs of pre-programming I need to change.

My advise is to keep yourself busy on the weekends to keep your mind off of food.

The weekends have been doing me in too. If it weren't for them, I would probably be in the 270s by now. I suck at scheduling (I get by without it during the week) ... I just need to grow a backbone or something. lol.

Oh I am in your boat....believe me. I have been doing this since July and every single weekend has been bad for me. I do wonderfully during the week and lose weight, but i put it back on on the weekend. It is like I am playing tug of war with myself. And the weekend usually wins.

I often wonder if it will get easier myself. But I think planning is the key....I just havent been able to conquer it yet. I am not givin up although I have put back on some pounds I work so hard to get rid of.

It is an ugly cycle that I am stuck in. Help!

Mug, you gotta plan, plan and then plan some more - AND STICK TO IT. Make that commitment. It's a shame to let all that hard work go by week after week by blowing it on the weekends. There is simply no way to get around it - you've just got to suck it up and STAY STRONG through the weekends. It's a must.

Make yourself some tasty "special" weekend stuff. Chicken with mushrooms, lemon and wine. Fruit smoothies. Veggie omlettes. Homemade applesauce. Butternut squash soup. Plan activities outside of your home. Keep yourself busy. STAY STRONG! You CAN do this. You absolutely CAN. And gosh, you will be sooo thrilled and elated when you do. It's waay better to be thin and healthy then to overeat. I promise you this. PLEASE believe me. :hug:

Originally Posted by rockinrobin:
Mug, you gotta plan, plan and then plan some more - AND STICK TO IT. Make that commitment. It's a shame to let all that hard work go by week after week by blowing it on the weekends. There is simply no way to get around it - you've just got to suck it up and STAY STRONG through the weekends. It's a must.

Make yourself some tasty "special" weekend stuff. Chicken with mushrooms, lemon and wine. Fruit smoothies. Veggie omlettes. Homemade applesauce. Butternut squash soup. Plan activities outside of your home. Keep yourself busy. STAY STRONG! You CAN do this. You absolutely CAN. And gosh, you will be sooo thrilled and elated when you do. It's waay better to be thin and healthy then to overeat. I promise you this. PLEASE believe me. :hug:

I know....I must stop this. I think after this weekend of totally blowing it I will do better this coming weekend. I will work on my weekend plan this week to start with and be strong!

When I first started reading this forum and everyone was saying "Plan, plan, plan," I was thinking "well, duh." But I didn't really get it. I thought if I made out a dinner plan for the week before getting my groceries, I was set. I've come to understand what they mean, and how incredibly important it is to plan and be ready for unexpected circumstances. I've gotten so I'll even pack "emergency food" in my suitcase when I'm traveling for business and don't really know what food will be available or if I'll be able to get to a grocery store or if I'll have a refrigerator, etc...
If I'm going to an event, I try to find out what kind of food will be there and decide ahead of time what I'll eat. I eat a good breakfast. I take snacks. Then when the time comes I don't even let myself consider anything else. Same with restaurants, go online, decide ahead of time what you'll order and don't even look at the menu when you are there. If you are going to a party, offer to bring an appetizer or salad and make lots of something you can eat.

The worst thing of all is when you are hungry and surrounded by tempting things you shouldn't have. Nobody could withstand that!

Originally Posted by MugCanDoIt:
I know....I must stop this. I think after this weekend of totally blowing it I will do better this coming weekend. I will work on my weekend plan this week to start with and be strong!

The thing is, if you have delicious foods on your plan, ones that you really, really enjoy - then it's almost easy to stay on plan. In other words, if your "on plan" food is so good, well then, there's no reason to go "off plan." It's essential that you find healthy, low calorie, high nutritional foods that you adore. They're out there. Search on line for recipes, tweak your current ones. Buy fresh ingredients. Play around and experiment. Get into this. Enjoy it. :hug:

Originally Posted by rockinrobin:
The thing is, if you have delicious foods on your plan, ones that you really, really enjoy - then it's almost easy to stay on plan. In other words, if your "on plan" food is so good, well then, there's no reason to go "off plan." It's essential that you find healthy, low calorie, high nutritional foods that you adore. They're out there. Search on line for recipes, tweak your current ones. Buy fresh ingredients. Play around and experiment. Get into this. Enjoy it. :hug:

I couldn't agree more!!! This is how I approached this past weekend and for this week. DH has been *loving* the meals I am making (modified for him as he doesn't need to lose, etc.) and I am not bored and thinking of things that might not be as good for me as the meals I am preparing now.

Originally Posted by xtrisaratops:
I have to admit, I'm a little envious of all of you. It seems like you're so under control, and so...I don't know, so structured.

This is a lot harder than I ever thought it was going to be. People talk about weight loss like it's just some simple formula, burn more calories than you eat. But it's so much harder than that.

Believe me, I feel like I am the only one on here sometimes not as in control as these ladies. Everyone seems to have it down pat...except me:?:

I sure don't have it down pat! It's hard! But I figure it is all trial and error and I have made a lot of errors so I am starting to get it right. On weekends, one key for me is to stay busy. If I sit around the house all day, I want to eat. I make a point of going outside, doing a little yardwork, or going to the park for awhile. There is shopping to do, too. I try and take up the time that I would be eating. I make yummy things like roasted green beans or winter squash baked with cinnamon. I do some cleaning. I drink lots of water and tea. It's hard but it's worth it.

Lyn
TWENTY SIX pounds gone!
My Blog:
www.escapefromobesity.blogspot.com

Originally Posted by MugCanDoIt:
Believe me, I feel like I am the only one on here sometimes not as in control as these ladies. Everyone seems to have it down pat...except me:?:

Again, it all boils down to the decision to lose the weight. That you're sooo tired of living the life of a morbidly obese person, that you want so badly to be fit, trim, and healthy, that you turn your nose up at the food. You make the commitment, to do whatever it takes, that nothing will deter you from getting what you want - that thin, healthy body and all that it brings about - more energy, more productivity, a life filled with activity and more joy and happiness and less worries.

That being said, Mug, what kinds of foods are you eating on your plan? Foods that you enjoy? Do you plan your meals ahead of time? Snacks as well? Do you keep your home stocked with only healthy, low cal things, this way if you do have an out of contol moment (and we're gonna have them) you can only do minimum damage? Have you gotten rid of the junk? Because though I made the decision to lose the weight once and for all, it is utterly important to make that decision as easy as possible, by setting yourself up for success.