I binged like crazy both Saturday and Sunday. I just can't seem to stop this on the weekends. I have listened to all your advice, but it still happens. I am not giving up. This coming weekend WILL be different, no matter what! Just venting.....
Have you tried filling a weekend with planned activity? It's so much easier for me to stay on plan when I'm not just hanging out, looking for things to do. Maybe if you can get one or two weekends under your belt, you would break the weekend bingeing habit, and the next weekends might be easier...?
I so relate to what you're going through. I am self-employed and work from home, so in a sense, every day is like a weekend day. It took me 8 years of building my business to be able to do this and quit working outside the home, but I did it. Wow, very cool, you say! Yes and no. Don't get me wrong, I love working from home. But I lost the structure of having an 8-5 job where no matter how hungry I was, I had a schedule to which I was required to adhere. When I began working from home, boy, was I ever like a kid in a candy store! Oh, dear.
Every little hunger pang (real or imagined) sent me to the kitchen like a pig in search of a truffle. I snacked whenever I felt like it -- and I felt like it a lot. Of course, since I was home all day, I also had time in between work assignments to cook wonderful, decadent meals for my hard-working husband. The pounds piled on.
It's been the hardest thing for me to discipline my eating habits since I started working from home. I had to learn to schedule time for exercise and to adhere to a regular, healthful eating schedule that doesn't have me snorfling through the cabinets and the fridge every 20 minutes. Here are some tactics that worked:
1. Whatever I eat today will show up on my thighs tomorrow morning. Do I REALLY want that?
2. It's a lifestyle, not another day of dieting.
3. I am NOT a trashcan -- stop putting in the garbage!
4. Fresh fruit, cut-up veggies, yogurt and other healthful choices are what I am committed to reaching for first. If I then still HAVE to have something more "naughty," I keep some points reserved each day for a few low-fat Triscuits with 2 TB of natural peanut butter. That almost always does the trick for me.
5. Ok, I blew it. Accept the setback and move forward!
It's hard. Seems like we ought to get a break from all this -- hey, what a great idea! Build some breaks in. I save back extra points (I do WW, obviously) for weekends or for when we entertain. I have the glass of wine but I pass on dessert. Or I drink water and have a small portion of the dessert. Sometimes I have both the wine and the dessert, but I give up the Triscuits and peanut butter that day. It's just trade-offs. The point is, YOU get to choose!
I know you can do this -- hope there is something here that helps!!
I believe in the power of thoughts, Mug, both positive and negative. Do you think you could be setting yourself up for a bad weekend by thinking that that's when you binge? I find that the best way through that it to break the cycle. Next weekend, do whatever you need to do - enlist a friend to keep you accountable, schedule every minute with things that do not revolve around food, portion out your food for each meal and don't touch enything else. Whatever you need to do to have a successful weekend. It all starts with one.
Mug, why don't you plan out, on Friday, everything you are going to eat over the weekend, and when you are going to eat it. Then post it here, publicly commit to it, and check in a couple of times a day. We'll all cheer you on.
I have been contemplating what advice to give you, as I have the opposite problem. I usually end up binging during the week when I am busy because I don't have as much time to think about and plan my food.
All I can say, is keep trying. Be strong, and don't give in to temptation. When we have a bad day, it doesn't erase the rest of the good we have done
Mary
Try to figure out why it's happening and then plan for it to not happen. Is it staying in with access to a fully stocked cupboard/frig? Then go out. Is it eating out? Restaurant meals are just calorie bombs, even when you're careful. If it is, then stay in.
Is it a lack of a plan? I always feel like I succeed so well on weekends because I plan it like an ordinary day - I don't treat them as special. I know exactly what I'm going to eat for breakfast/lunch/snacks (dinner is sometimes at a restaurant) and it helps me stay on track.
Are you eating too little during the week and your body is just helplessly trying to get enough calories to get by? Look at your calories during the week and make sure you are eating enough good foods. In the past, I dieted with a lot of low cal stuff and diet foods, my body was NEVER satisfied and I was always restlessly wanting to eat. Is your diet too strict? Do you get tired of it and want to eat different things? Change it up, try new recipes, try new spices, fix a favorite comfort meal in a healthier way. Try a new fruit every weekend! Find a favorite healthy food and only have it on the weekends - I absolutely adore home made pizza on a whole wheat boboli crust. I love it so much, I only eat it on "special" occasions, even though it's perfectly healthy! You can indulge and still be good. Maybe make the weekend special - pretty plates, candle light, something to eat you love, make your healthy weekend eating an event to look forward to.
Are you eating too many empty carbs early in the day? To clarify - I don't think "carbs" are evil AT ALL. I eat a lot of carbs. BUT, I have found if I start the day with cold cereal or a bagel or eat pita chips or crackers, it just triggers a non stop eating frenzy. I'm just careful with those kinds of foods early in the day especially.
Are you accountable for your weekend? Can you eat more freely because there is no one around? Start being accountable - even if it's just to yourself. If I know I have to write down a cinnamon roll, I am much less likely to eat it. At one time, I had a calendar and every day I worked out and ate well, I got a sticker. I loved looking at all the pretty stickers lined up and I really hated to miss a sticker (sounds silly, but it worked for me).
Something is different for Friday/Saturday - planning, lack of planning, staying in, going out, accountability, not enough calories, eating different kinds of foods - pinpoint the difference and focus in on it like a laser. No sense undoing a week's worth of hard work. You want two steps forward, not two steps back - because you will just stay in the same place.
How much do you want to lose weight? Do you want it more than binging on the weekends?
hi,
What did you binge on? Get it out of the house if you can!!
Get out of the house, get active, I notice I eat when I am bored, when I am just in the house, so get out and get active.
You can do this!
cheryl
Still Binging on weekend...same ole same ole.
I binged like crazy both Saturday and Sunday. I just can't seem to stop this on the weekends. I have listened to all your advice, but it still happens. I am not giving up. This coming weekend WILL be different, no matter what! Just venting.....
