I am .7% from being in a ¨normal¨BMI, and I just can´t seem to keep it together on the weekends. It frustrates me to no end. All week I am perfectly OP, and then the weekend hits and s*it goes downhill.

I won´t even go into what I ate this weekend Im so disguested with myself. Last night I was so angry over my binge I tried and failed at making myself vomit (don´t worry I have never done it before, but was so upset over what I put in my body I wanted it out). Today I was super good until tonight when my sweet tooth kicked in and I binged again. (I did an hour on the stairstepper today though, but my binge tonight was counter-productive to all that hard work)

I just can´t keep it together weekends. I´m really starting to not look forward to them. I think most of it is emotional, and boredom. I´ve had a rough few months, and my DH is deployed and family stuff...bla bla bla. I try to stay busy and not think about food, but it doesnt work..

How do you all keep from eating back what you lost during the week on the weekends?

First of all well done for the weight you have lost don't lose sight of that. I hope you praise yourself when you do well through the week just as much as you kick yourself at the weekend. We only notice our mistakes and unplanned munches! I do seem to eat more sweet things in my downtime! Food is comforting and don't the manufacturers know it personally as a former purger I am working on stopping beating myself up and having a "may as well jack it in attitude". Would it be worth trying to accept your desire for sweet treats and try to plan some in to your DANGER times? I know some folk avoid sugar etc in their house but personally I find a little does me good. Most weeks I do go overboard once or twice but I always get back on the horse. HTH.

Think about exactly what it is on the weekends that is different for you. For example, is it unstructured time? Is it because you're hanging around certain foods more? What have "weekends" meant for you in the past, eg a time to party? For each person it is different. II think once you know that it will be easier to solve the problem.

The weekends tend to be rough for me as well.

There's that feeling of relaxation we associate with days off, like no rules apply anymore and we get to enjoy ourselves. It's a psychological thing really, along with the fact that maybe friends come over for dinner, we get eating out invitations, we have a loose, more permissive schedule. It gets harder to plan meals, or stick to healthy food options, but not impossible.

I'd say the key is to not allow yourself get too hungry, because when you're starving it's like an overeating disaster waiting to happen; plan a couple of snacks throughout the day and make sure there's no junk food in the house.

I also tend to get huge cravings over weekends. I spent the past two weekends dealing with them (with some success!) by chewing sugar free gum, drinking floral tea, and using really good smelling lotion. A lot of my cravings have to do with smell instead of wanting to taste the actual food so I've been spending a lot of time smelling the foods while chewing something instead of actually eating it.

Boredom and strong emotions (I know you're going through a lot with your SIL and stuff) are huge triggers for binges. Please please please be kind to yourself and don't try to compensate for overeating with purging. Are you overdoing it because you feel restricted during the week? Could you aim for "maintenance calories" or "cheat meals" etc in hopes that it would make you crave food less?

I always seem to be surrounded by "bad" foods around me on weekends, but I try and either eat a little in moderation and make sure it's within my calorie allowance, or I remind myself constantly that I worked freaking hard all week so I shouldn't ruin it with 2 days of eating.

Long weekends are the worst though, everyone always wants to go out and do things so it makes resisting harder, but I find if you have the right mindset of achieving your goal, you should find that as motivation on it's own not to binge.

Congrats on your weight loss so far! You're doing great!!

I agree it is not the weekend itself. You need to find out what is creating that void, pp suggested unstructured time. That could be a good reason.

make a plan for your weekends.

Also, treating yourself to a cheat day is not counterproductive, it can actually help reset alot of your hormones and keep your body's metabolism revved. MANY movie stars use that method to keep thin. something you may want to think about.

I totally understand where you are coming from. I started out thinking that the weekend would just be "off-plan" days for me to reset my metabolism. However, I go way overboard and spend the rest of the week trying to get off the excess pounds/water weight that I accumulated on my weekend binges. I am a few pounds away from a normal BMI, and I am pissed at myself because, not only can't I seem to get there, but I know that I could have gotten there months ago had I not been binging every weekend. On the other hand, had I kept to my calorie counts 100% with no cheat days, I might have just given up the whole thing in frustration due to cravings or a plateau, and never gotten to a normal BMI. That's what I always did when I went on highly restrictive diets in the past. So, maybe psychologically, I need those cheat days, even if it means slower weight loss?

Weekends are killer for me too. Saturday is my planned cheat day, but I've been really struggling with not letting it leak over into Sunday. I'm not willing to give up my cheat Saturdays, but I have to get it together on Sundays. For some reason though, I have no issues getting back on track Monday, and eating on plan for the rest of the week. It's those damn Sundays!!

Hi everyone,
I'm not sure if this string is still active...I'm new to the site, and to this board, but not to weight problems -- I'm a lifer there. ) My weekends AND nighttime are all my weak points. (Sorta leaves very little time I'm NOT on the prowl for snacks/sweets, and that is pretty much the reality.) And, as in-tuned as I feel I am to most things, particularly w/ my body, I can not, for the life of me, figure out any pattern to my binge/cravings. Except for they seem clustered at night... and weekends. I joined this board b/c I really need support in trying to gain some self control. (As a snapshot of my background, I have a 4 y/o daughter and a 5month old son - I'm very blessed, thanks to God & modern science - but I'm nursing and milk supply is my first priority, as much as I truly yearn to lose the 50-60 baby weight lbs I'm still carrying.) I loved reading the tips in this thread and would love to learn more about how you all cope...

Congrats and best wishes to all,
Jill

Man, I do this SO much. I really only have 2 strategies for dealing with it:

1. Have higher calories on weekends. At around maintenance or slightly above. Plan to have my normal meals I eat throughout the week, plus some kind of treat/indulgence.
-or-
2. Plan out everything I'm going to eat, have it prepared and ready to go by Friday afternoon. This helps to take away the "will I, won't I, let me think about it" aspect of it. (Once I've gotten to the point of debating if I'm going to binge, it's a pretty sure bet I WILL binge.)

It's worked out a lot better for me than just resolving to be 'good' on the weekends. I still struggle with it, but it helps to have a plan of action.

I also have a really hard time on the weekends. Especially at friends get- togethers and places where I can eat the whole time I am are there. I also have a cheat day. I know others here have said I should get rid of it, but I honestly believe its the only reason I have had the will power to stay on this plan and lost 55+ lbs. If I didn't have something to look forward to then I am not sure it would have stuck. Like the one poster said...try to just stay at maintenance on the weekends. Eat and enjoy, but just don't binge. I find that pre planning where I want to eat out on Saturday night and looking at their menu online sometimes helps. I try to pick the best thing that looks good but is also somewhat healthy and lower calories. Then I can still have a little wine too. :-) Which is something I love to do on the weekends!

I used to really struggle with this. I had to take 'planned cheats' out of my schedule. They were just snowballing into something I couldn't control.

Being on plan 100% of the time is much more sustainable for me. If a big event comes up, I give myself more leeway. But never just because it's Saturday. I'm back to tracking my calories and meals beforehand. If I didn't plan for it, I don't eat it. I may ease off again in few months... but strict control works right now. I was letting myself get too sucked into the "you're a healthy weight, it's no big deal" self-talk. It wasn't getting me to my goals!