UGH.

I cannot believe this. Although I have only officially been following a "plan" for a few days, I have spent the last few weeks being more conscious of what I am putting in my mouth and where I am putting my feet.

I do just fine during the week, maybe a little struggling here and there, but NOTHING like it is on the weekends. Everyone is home, everyone is wanting to eat pizza and burgers and crap I know I don't need to eat, I've got my aunt eating ice cream and cheetos while I'm trying to be good, and ugh.

I could normally just avoid all the temptation, because normally, I wouldn't be depriving myself of it! I would now I could have it later if I wanted to. But the weekends seem so hard for me to really buckle down and get down to business.

I'm just so frustrated. Does it ever get any easier?

Sara:

PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN

I can't say it enough. It's the only thing that gets me through a weekend. If you write down exactly what you are going to eat and when, it's much easier to stick to. Let every one else eat what they want, you stick your plan! If you leave the house, make sure that whatever food is on your plan for that time period is coming along with you. Give yourself no reason to stray and no excuses either.

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I totally agree...planning is the way to go. I work front desk at a hotel, and right now things are so slow, that besides watching t.v., all my coworkers ever do is eat! And not just 'eat' but bring to share. Chips, cookies, periogies, cake, ice cream, fried chicken, everyday its something new. I can't stand it. The way I combat is this - I have taken over a drawer in the fridge and its full of 'Sarah-food', its healthy and they dont want it. Also, I only eat what I bring from home. I bring yogurt, fruit, nuts, cheese...and if I don't bring it, I dont eat it. This has saved me, and helped me lose these most recent 2 pounds.

You can do it!

Thanks, guys.

I took your advice and pulled out a brand new journal and I made a food-plan for tomorrow. Everything from breakfast all the way to evening snack. I hope planning really helps me, because right now, I feel out of control. I know I'm not, I know I have control over my habits, but if I stop thinking, I feel like I could easily be out of control.

I'm also going to list my exercise goal for the day, and if I make it, I'm going to put a sticker there. So, I need to get stickers now.

For me weekends get harder because there's not enough things going on to keep my mind off food. I like to keep sugar free candies on hand. When I'm feeling like I want something bad or just want to have a good flavor in my mouth I get a candy. It really helps. My mouth is busy and my brain thinks I'm eating!

Another thing that I plan is my dinner for the week. My husband and I have a small white board on our fridge and before we go to the store (while we're making our list), we decide what we're going to eat on each night of the week. It makes like a menu for us. "Specials of the Day", haha. That way we only shop for the supplies we need, and we found that it helps keep us on target. Otherwise, it gets away from us...

I do better with the structure of my work week. Weekends have been challenging as of late. Today I had to leave early in the AM and wasnt getting home in time for my normal lunch time. Fortunately I packed my little insulated bag with my snacks for the morning and along with my drinks I had, I was not starving by the time I got home. I was able to have a nice normal OP meal for lunch and I have dinner just about ready to be served as I am typing here.

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.

it is hard, and that's why we have to be structured. I've found that when I try to 'wing it', everything goes wrong. But you are not alone, I have had to train myself (and my husband) to plan. I lost 20lbs before the wedding (June 30.2007), lost another 10 after the wedding, then gained 20 right back (in 8 weeks!!! )! I decided that I had to do this once and for all - no more yo-yoing. And with that comes structure.

Sara,
It does get easier! The first couple weeks are really hard. Once your body gets used to the healthy food you have been putting into it, it will slowly stop craving the other stuff. I am still tempted to overeat, but absolutely amazingly - I am more attracted to veggies and fiber-rich foods than I am to sweets. This from the person that once bragged that a veggie hadn't touched her lips for 2 months!

Hang in there, take it one moment at a time if you need to. Although I do not always plan my meals, I do plan my snacks ahead of time (since snacking has always been my downfall). I make sure I have several "on plan" snacks available and ready. When I need a snack, my only question is - which one of my snacks do I want. No other foods are an option.
Another help for me - when tempted to snack, I always drink a glass of non-caloric liquid first. This helps me determine if I really need food right now (for fuel), and if the answer is yes, the time it took to drink usually helps me get control and make a healthy choice. It also takes an edge off the hunger.
You CAN do this! One baby step at a time!

Weekends are harder because of exactly that. They are less structured. During the weekday, I am in charge of my breakfast and my lunch. I'm not eating with other people. It's only dinner and evenings where I have to take into consideration my family's food interests.

On the weekend, all bets are off. If I don't have a plan, or at least an idea for what I hope to make, I get so lost SO fast.

For instance, this weekend I knew we were going to a farm festival. I knew there would be normal fair food -- burgers, barbecue, fries, ice cream -- so I absolutely refused to go out for breakfast when my husband suggested it. Veggie-laden omelet and a cup of coffee and milk, and I had a good start to the day. That set me up well for going to the fair, where I walked among the vendors first, and THEN chose among the bad choices to get something that wasn't TOO bad -- pit beef, half the roll, diet soda, and two apples. If I hadn't had a plan (or at least some idea of what the options would be so I could choose among them), I would have gone for a burger and fries in a heartbeat.

Weekends are tough because they are less structured, because we are dealing with family instead of just self, and because we don't always have control over the food options -- where we eat and when.

I agree with Marseille. The only thing that saves me, nine times out of ten, is to plan, plan, plan. Even if it's just a mental go-over on my way to an event, imagining the sorts of foods that may be available so I can make better choices when I see the options that are really there, it all helps.

Oh, and speaking of snacks.. one of my tricks is to stuff a protein bar into my purse on my way out the door. That way if there are no healthy main dish options wherever we're going, I can pick a side dish or two, and eat my protein bar, and be satisfied.

it does get easier, but never goes away IMHO . . . here I am down 40lbs and this weekend in particular is killing me! I haven't done anything too horrible, just parked myself in front of a ginormous ring of veggies and dip -- BUT I've let my mind wander and concocted the most ridiculous meals to eat heheeh any combination of fast food and dessert, it was really fun! as i munch munch munched away LOL

I agree, weekends are definitely more difficult, for all the reasons you've mentioned. Which is why we have to be even EXTRA dilligent. A bad couple of meals during the weekend can mess up a whole weeks worth of hard work. In order for this weight loss thing to work, we simply must get through the weekends without overinduging.

I plan them just the same as during the week. Every meal, every snack. I leave nothing to chance, too risky. I go a little lower on calories during the weekdays, just so I can go a couple of hundred extra calories higher on the weekends, which I find helpful and worth it.

Treat yourself well. Make an extra delicious meal. A wonderful chicken stir fry. Or spaghettti squash with chicken and portabello mushrooms. A divine egg white omlette with sauteed veggies. A scrumptious smoothie. A rich soupl Get some fresh raspberries in the house. Cut up a huge, yummy salad. Have a cup of hot flavored tea in a china cup. Get outdoors, weather permiting. Take a nice walk, go hiking, bike riding. Visit flea markets. Do some activities to take your mind off of food.

It does get easier as you become more accostomed to it. It soon will be your way of life. It'll just be "what you do". Good luck to you. Hang tough. It's soooo very worth it.

Everyone's pretty much said it. Weekends are notoriously harder because they do not follow the same structure as the 5 weekdays do. Plans for the weekdays are easier, because they're usually all the same or very similar.

Everyone's got it right. Make a schedule or plan for the weekends. Even it means a different plan for every weekend at least you'll have something to follow.

I'm even still learning this, and I began 6 months ago. It's tough. But with time, you'll be planning like you've been doing it your whole life!