I find it extremely easy to stay on my 800-1200 calories diet during the week, but when the weekend comes I find myself getting closer to 2000 calories. Anyone else have the same problem? Also I am a bit more active on the weekend so is the calories spike going to be super detrimental to my overall weight loss?
Weekends are really bad for me. During the week, I'm working 10-12 hours/day and have a 45 min commute each direction. I don't really have time to eat a lot--I keep snacky foods out of the house so I *have* to cook if I want something to eat.
When I'm solo on the weekends, it's so easy to eat out of boredom.
Many people find calorie cycling to be very effective.
But I have to wonder that if you are usually eating 800-1200 normally, where are the extra 800-1200 calories coming from on weekends? Somehow, I am not thinking that it's eating twice as much of your normal healthy food! And if that's the case, routinely allowing that many extra calories from not so great food (and alcohol?) choices is not a great strategy IMO.
I stopped drinking alcohol because after one weekend of moderately heavy drinking I noticed I gained about 5lbs. I usually tend to eat out on the weekends with my boyfriend so the food you get out at restaurants is definitely higher in calories than the fruit, veggies, and lean meat I eat during the week. Friday night I ate some NY style thin crust pizza. I only had 2 slices as opposed to the normal 4 or 5 I would have. I feel like that is kind of a big difference though.
When I'm too tired to cook but really need something to eat as a snack after work/before dinner. I lose my willpower when tired and suddenly that cake seems the best option (and since I live with 4 others I can't just not have stuff I shouldn't eat around).
I'm lucky because my parents are total health nuts so only organic healthy stuff is allowed in my house. (Except for my parents one guilty pleasure of vanilla ice cream and bit sized chocolates.) That is not hard for me to resist since I have never been big on sugar.
I tend to overdo it in the evenings, I seem most susceptible to temptation at that time of day. I try to budget my calories to accommodate for that, and leave at least half for the evening.
Weekends can be tough too, but I like to cook a lot, so it's not as bad for me.
I wouldn't worry too much about the increase in calories on weekends, but I would try to keep the additional food as high in quality and nutrition as possible.
KittyKat: Yes, I do the same thing. I usually work 12-14 days, so when I have weekends off it is a bit of a challenge. I have decided it's because I have too much time on my hands! I try to stick to eating at the same times and making sure that I do not skip breakfast. I also stay full on water and low cal/no cal drinks. I do not count calories, so that is not the issue, it's the old cravings I get when I'm relaxing. :-)
I also treat myself on the weekends to avoid this, like lobster tails and today I'm doing Fridays sizzling chicken....:-)
If you're having 2000 calories on the weekends and so few during the week, I'd say that it probably averages out to make it still feasible to lose weight. Have you noticed that you're still losing? I agree, however, with one of the above posts in that it also depends on what types of foods your'e consuming. I'm really glad you cut out the alcohol...that's a wonderful step. I know eating out is sometimes just part of life and you need to find a way to make it fit into your plan. It has to be something you can live with....great that you had less pizza than you would have in the past. However, as you lose more weight, it may become increasingly more difficult to continue losing while still indulging this way. What do I do? I make sure to go to restaurants that have salads. I get a chicken salad of some sort with no dressing and I bring my own calorie-free dressing from Walden Farms. I also have them leave out high calorie items such as nuts or cranberries, etc. I also make sure that the chicken is grilled and not fried or breaded. I think most places have such options. If not, you may consider eating something prior to going and then having even less...maybe one slice of pizza? Just a thought.
Weekends are definitely tough for me too. I'm going out with friends, going to bars, etc. so I don't always make the best decisions because I have more time on my hands.
One thing I tried to do lately is be more active on the weekends. I stick to my scheduled workouts but I kick it up a bit by also going swimming (since I'm going to the pool more anyway to lay out), go for a walk, or going dancing with friends. I try to keep it moving so that way if I slip a little bit I know that at least I was active and hopefully it will counteract some of the bad eating.
I tend to overdo it when I allow myself to get really hungry. I think I must have low blood sugar or something, but I actually get in a ticked off mood when I'm too hungry. Then, I have a tendency to either grab something to eat that I shouldn't or to overeat.
To the OP, I don't think your plan sounds bad. If you're eating between 800 - 1200 calories four days out of the week and 2000 calories three days a week (Friday, Sat., & Sun.), that averages out to be about 1500 per day, which is a sensible amount of calories on a dieting plan. You should still be able to lose on that many calories. Also, I think it's good to vary your calories and have some high days. IMHO, it prevents your body from adapting to a low calorie level. I purposely do this (i.e., calorie cycle). Also, I think many of us need the mental break that a few more calories allows.
Weekends used to be the hardest for me too, because my husband liked to go out to eat at least once. I have a coworker who seriously can go to a restaurant, get a kid's menu item of grilled chicken and broccoli and be totally happy. Not me! If I'm going to eat out, I'm going to do it right. That may not mean overeating, but it probably means eating something that's much higher calorie than what I could have made at home. (Also, I don't have that kind of willpower. If I had that kind of willpower, I wouldn't be overweight right now.)
The first time I kept food logs and exercised to lose weight, I noticed a big difference on the scales from the weeks I ate out and the one week I didn't. During that time, I allowed myself one meal at a restaurant every week. One week, my plans fell through, and I seriously lost DOUBLE what I normally lost on the scale without changing anything else. It probably has a lot to do with the sodium in restaurant food, but it converted me.
My solution has been to stop eating out. My husband is supportive of my efforts to lose weight and knows that this is important to me. We went out to P.F. Chang's Saturday because we had went to the Tennessee Aquarium for a day trip and were starving. It was my first time at a restaurant since starting my food logs and exercise. I found 1) I noticed I was satisfied a lot sooner than I normally would (i.e., normally I would have eaten everything in sight, realized I was TOO full, and been miserable for hours afterward) and 2) it was easy to stop at 1/3 of my normal portion because I knew I'd have to record the calories as soon as I got home. And because we were only going out to eat as something to do together, my husband doesn't feel deprived. Now we just eat together at home.
If eating together is something you enjoy doing, you might consider starting a new tradition - cooking together on the weekends. Homemade pizza isn't hard to make (less convenient, but not difficult). Try new recipes together. Preparing meals and sharing them at home can be a lot more intimate than going out to eat.
When do you tend to "overdo" it?
