I spent a month not serious about loosing weight then I really stuck to my plan and lost 15 lbs. Now the weekends are killing me. We are going out to eat and social events all revolving around food. During the week I'm on plan. Weekends no way. I realized this is how I end up loosing control during the week. I start to notice I'm snacking more at night and saying lets go out I'm too tired to cook after work during the week.
I told myself I was going to make a lifestyle change and not think of it as a diet. If I want something I will have it, just in moderation. However, I'm going out and pigging out on way to much food and feeling like crap! I want to be able to eat out without making bad choices and sticking to my plan when I get there! The past few weekends have been really fun but I see old patterns creeping in! I feel like I need to go back to no eating out. Which is really hard because my boyfriend loves to eat out and frankly so do I.
I know what I need to do and plan but my execution is not happening.
Weekends are always really tough for me as well. And once I am in a bad pattern, it can be very hard to break it. Sometimes I find an over-correction can be helpful to break the bad habits that have taken hold and "reset".
By over-correction I mean, maybe you tell yourself that for the next two weekends (or whatever time period you like) you will NOT go out to eat. And then after that you can resume your going out as long as you make reasonable choices. So you aren't saying NEVER to eating out, you are just building in a chance to get back in your groove and see if you can then be more moderate in your choices after that which would establish a better pattern.
Weekends are also hard for me. We used to eat out almost every weekend meal because it was my break from the kitchen (I stay at home with my daughter and my husband works from home so I serve three meals a day all week) but with trying to lose weight that is no longer reasonable. It kind of sucks bc I really liked my break, lol! Not eating out at all is also not reasonable for us so I try to keep it to one dinner or one lunch out. Sometimes during the week we will eat one dinner out too. Anyway, this weekend, for example, I had three meals off plan bc I went to visit my family so I'm just getting right back in my usual routine today to send a message to my brain that the free for all is over!
Some suggestions perhaps would be prepping food ahead of time for during the week. I like to make meals ahead that I can freeze, cut veggies up in advance, make a batch of treats that are on plan for me (wheat/sugar free), etc. anything you can do ahead of time will help on those nights you are tired. As for social events, you can try to eat a meal before you go to curb your hunger....it works for some folks.
I found the same thing happening to me, so now I just plan on it. Not planning on eating an extra 1500 calories everyday of the weekend, but planning on eating a little off of the desired plan. Then come Monday I just bounce right back into gear. Basically, I have to wholeheartedly accept and be okay with the fact that this will happen on the weekends and be okay with the fact that I will be 'good' during the week as a balance. I try to keep the negatives out -- anything that makes me feel like I'm 'cheating' or I'm being 'bad' leads to guilt and bingeing. Good luck to you , hope you find what works for ya.
I've found it doesn't work for me to change my plan on weekends because I personally go crazy with that little bit of freedom. This weekend is the first one where I didn't overeat and it's because I adhered to my usual weekly plan, which isn't too super strict. Everyone's different though. I like if there's a little flexibility for a dinner out any day. I just eat the same small, healthy breakfast and lunch, then dinner is one serving of normal portions of whatever. Say, a hamburger with a side of veggies. This weekend was Subway but it can be whatever. I didn't want to binge at all!
Another thing is to plan ahead. make a decision on where your going out to eat before you go then look up the menu online. Find a happy medium meal (one thats good but not tooo high in calories) and put it in first thing in the morning. That way you see how many calories it is and can work around that before you go!
Planning is definitely key. It's easier to resist poor choices when you have a solid plan and you are really consistent about sticking with it. Plus personally I like not having options because I tend to make worse decisions when presented with a bunch. I also like the idea suggested by Mrs. Snark that you take a short-term break from eating out, you may be less likely to overindulge if you know you can go out again fairly soon rather than NEVER EVER again. That's true for me, too.
I have had a plan when we have gone out. It all seems to go to **** in a hand basket as soon as the food starts coming out. I want to try everyone else's food and eat mine. My boyfriend told me he thinks it's so hard because I'm such a foodie. I cook, research recipes, watch food shows, read food magazines and cook books, constantly trying new recipes and wanting to try all kinds of foods. I need to re think how I think about food. It's just so hard when trying a new restaurant. It's exciting and I learn so many new things about presentation, taste and on and on. I love food and everything about it. It's a love love hate relationship.
Pumpkin you should try reading the book "Have your cupcake and your skinny jeans, too". Being obsessed about food is no fun at all. The author teaches about how you can change your relationship with food by breaking the binge/diet cycle.
Weekend Binging Help
