I'm finding that I have a much harder time sticking to my meal plan during the weekend. Though I can get up pretty easily to make it to the gym on Saturday and Sunday, I usually skip breakfast which throws off my entire day. To make matters worse, if I go out with family or friends (my family reunion was this weekend so there were plenty of grilled goodies and homemade desserts being passed around), I feel like folks are judging me if I'm not eating.
At the first family function, I settled for salad, corn on the cob, beans and a little pulled pork. I also gave in and had cake and ice cream. The next day, I indulged in a hot dog and grilled chicken.
I'm certain that I shouldn't beat myself up but I feel like I could have avoided the situation altogether if I just didn't attend the events. I know we all struggle with temptation but does anyone else find the weekend especially daunting?
The weekend sucks, indeed. I'm the type of person that would rather skip going out to eat then go and then have to eat a salad while resentfully watching friends enjoy yummy stuff.
You can give yourself a free pass for one day (or all days) during the weekend, or you can set a higher limit (calories, points, etc wise) for those days if you're not comfortable having an all access food pass. I've recently been having trouble limiting myself with the 'weekends free' plan because sometimes my weekend starts Thursday night or Friday afternoon which led to me basically gaining back the 10 or so pounds I've already lost.
I'm now trying the approach of giving myself a set number of 'meals' out from Friday night - Sunday night; for example, 2 dinners, a lunch and a breakfast which can be freebies and the rest of the meals eaten those days have to be on track.
My boyfriend also loves loves LOVES to eat out, so a lot of times on the weekend he's chomping at the bit to get out and have something and I just sort of give in :/
Weekends? C'est sont horrible! But i try to eat 'clean' during the week and choose only one weekend day (Sundays) to loosen up. So for breakfast on Sundays I have just a vegetable Smoothie to balance out the calories of whatever atrocities I would commit later in the day!
I am now allowing myself two light cocktails (vodka/club soda) over the course of the week. That's my big splurge, so I keep my calories for the rest of the day pretty low.
In terms of eating out, I do often enough, but I always order mindfully. I went to a BBQ/birthday party last weekend and I didn't know what they'd serve. I had a big salad (lunch) before going, skipped a snack, and ended up eating the dinner I had planned at home. I may have changed it around if I saw foods that were healthier.
I can definitely relate to what you wrote, but this time around, I'm trying to force myself not to dread events that I should be happy about. I don't want to live life that way. And why shouldn't we be excited to attend an event? Other people are---even the thin ones!
That said, weekends aren't my big problem, but going out to eat is. We usually like going out during the weekdays (less crowded). My husband loves going out to eat, especially during the summer. We go out to eat breakfast a few times a week, and at least once a week, we go to a fine dining restaurant for dinner (appetizers, wine, dessert---the works). I allow myself to have one roll with a bit of butter, 1 - 1 1/2 glasses of wine, an entree, and a dessert. I don't order an appetizer, though, and if my entree comes with something like mashed potatoes or risotto, I usually ask them to substitute veggies for that instead. Even with all that, that one meal still comes to about 1200 -1300 calories (since we don't go to chain restaurants, I have to estimate). I track my calories starting with dinner, so that next day, I try to have a light breakfast and lunch ---about 400-500 calories for both. That makes my "day" 1700 -1800 calories. Since I try to stick to 1400, I try to offset the extra calories by have 1300 calories for a few days afterwards. That usually does the trick.
I will say, you should never sacrifice your social life because you're on a diet. I think the best solution is just to learn to eat in moderation while you're there. Don't let what other people think get to you - they may not even be thinking that at all! And besides, YOU'RE the one doing something healthy for yourself, and there's no shame in that!
Weekends are definitely hard! I haven't told anyone I'm dieting, so it can be tricky. Just not going out is simpler, of course, but it's not really a long-term solution - I figure eventually I'm going to have to learn to cope with going out or become a hermit, so...
I try and plan ahead, and I if I'm going to be going out, I'll plan to eat a little less on Friday and Sunday. (Or if I only eat out one day, I'll eat less on the other.) I try to plan which restaurant we go to, checking menus online so I know what's a good choice. I might sleep in a few hours and skip breakfast, if I have no morning plans.
And if I really can't help it, I'll just eat a reasonable amount of what's there and not beat myself up over it; unless I'm eating flat-out every weekend, it won't ruin everything.
Weekend Woes: It happens..right?
But i try to eat 'clean' during the week and choose only one weekend day (Sundays) to loosen up. So for breakfast on Sundays I have just a vegetable Smoothie to balance out the calories of whatever atrocities I would commit later in the day!
