Well I seem to be in full gear for this morning and just full of ideas
(actually I am just desperate to get my butt in gear and need to make plans)

I don't know if anyone else has this problem but I continously blow my diet on the weekends and ruin all the hard work I have done during the week.

Here are some of the ideas I have come up with for coping with weekends:

1. Get up at the same time as I normally would during the week

By doing this I keep a similar time table as I would on weekdays and don't throw my system off kilter by sleeping in, missing breakfast etc.

2. Eat a proper breakfast

Too often on the weekends I sleep in, miss brekkie, don't feel like eating and end up only having coffee. I find this leads to me making poor food choices throughout the rest of the day.

3. Exercise

I get up every morning during the week and exercise so in order to keep that habit I need to do the same on weekends and not slack off for two days. I find I am energized for the rest of the day and in a better mood when I exercise so I am getting a mental as well as physical boost from it.

4. Take OP snacks and water with me when I go out for the day

I find that if I don't eat regular snacks when I am out I get hungry and crabby (especially shopping in large crowds! ). I think I need to bring things like a protein bar, small baggie of grapes or some baby carrots with me and bring a bottle of water in order to keep my blood sugar up and avoid the urge to tell the entire populace shopping at Walmart to *&^%$# Bite me!

5. Eat out less

My husband and I have developed the habit of not cooking on Friday and Saturday night and subsequently eat out at places we shouldn't. Case in point - chili cheese dogs and a blizzard from Dairy Queen the other night A better plan would be to take out something from the freezer on the night before and making sure it is something quick and easy. If we do go out we will have to only go to restaurants that we know have healthy choices available. Oh... and no more visits to the cursed Dairy Queen!

Does anyone else have any ideas to share?

nope no ideas, i am big bad weekend diet killer. lol but you certainly have some good ideas, and i think i might need to incorporate some into my weekend life. ( taking OP snacks with me, because i have bad habit of breaking down and eating all the wrong things. , or getting up at the same time, and eating breakfast, something i just don't do on weekends)

I've been majorly ruining it on the weekends. I think for me it's a matter of not going to the mall, or out with family and friends. If I just stay home I won't go insane!

I suffer from BBS. Big Breakfast Syndrome. Weekends in my family were always huge. And my Cute Boyfriend thinks that waffles with a ton of syrup is a good idea on the weekends or going out to IHOP or a waffle joint is the norm. So, last weekend I got up before him and ate a bowl of cereal. Foiled his plans!

Drinking is my other faliure. I love to drink on the weekends.... any ideas?

A good rule of thumb is to alternate a drink with glass of water, that way you won't drink as much alcohol and you will stay hydrated.

1. Stuff the refrigerator and freezer with nukeable frozen entrees that are OP for you. I like the Seeds of Change series. If I were a REAL woman, I'd cook in bulk and freeze portions. But then I'd probably be going to jail right now...

2. A pre-cooked chicken and pre-made salads from the deli-- that's almost as easy as FF. And no dire FF joint music. Or the rancid grease smell. Or the screaming, the sweat, the flames. It's the 9th circle of ****, really.

3. Subway isn't too bad, if you're in a food court at the mall-- the danger zone. Don't even sniff the air until you get to the Subway counter.

4. Or better yet, step away from the food court. I have a small, sleek backpack instead of a handbag. Big enough for food and water.

5. Find a restaurant with good choices that delivers. Then run a bath while the SO gets the door. Add a small dry Cab, some lavender oil in the water, and tell the whole frelling world to get out of your head.

Seek, number 5 sounds perfect.

Godess Jessica, drinking on the weekends is a big downfall for me too. what i have managed to do is eat OP before i start drinking, and then NO drunken munchies.
Mauvais : mix water with my cheap beer? it is already half water

Oh, yeah, forgot about that American beer I meant have a beer, then have a glass of water, then have a beer. You won't feel as dehydrated the next day and you will drink less booze that way.

Hmmm....I am guilty of drunken munchies too My best plan is to not keep beer in the fridge at all- I tend to only have one or two after work on a Friday night but beer and hard liqour tend to convert to sugar so it is apparently better to drink red or white wine instead.

Beer really puts it on, not for nothing do they call it a beer belly. You could try saving beer for dance nights only. Sometimes we go clubbing and I'll have a few, but I'm dancing to hard rock or metal for 3 or 4 hours. So I burn some of it off. The worst thing is to sit around watching the game on a Friday with a beer and a pizza. Just keep the stuff out of the house, otherwise it continually whispers sweet nothings at you until you're hypnotized. Beer has a lot of mojo.

hehehe. The drunken munchies.

sounds like an 80's band name.

never thought of that! Bwaaaahahaha!

I think I'm going to totally eliminate the words, "Friday, Saturday, Sunday" from my vocabulary because even just the word puts me in the mindset that it's "cheat time"!!! I'll just call friday "monday", saturday "tuesday" and sunday "wednesday".

I've been thinking about my weakspot (eating out) and I think what I need to do are several things:

1. put that nasty picture of me (in biker shorts and a sports bra...gag) in my wallet w/my credit card.

2. type up a list of acceptable restaurants, list acceptable menu choices with their nutritional info (if possible) and carry THAT around with me.

3. have a few meals frozen already so if I feel like being lazy it's microwave time. Also, maybe have a list of things I can grab at the store (like that salad idea) and type it up and put it on the fridge. Often when I am lazy, I suddenly can't think of any healthy options or they don't sound appealing to me. If I have very structured rules and options, I think I will do better!

Good topic...I love the ideas people have.

My new weapon against weekend eating out is veggie hotdogs and whole wheat buns with sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup. I know that it is not a nutritional powerhouse, but at about 170 calories I can have two loaded with sauerkraut in about 10 minutes. It makes it really hard to justify eating out.

Goddess Jessica: I too suffer from BBS syndrome. I have three weapons against it since I am hopeless against getting up earlier than Bryan. The first thing I do is suggest that we have smoothies for breakfast in the comfort of our own home, whih works about a quarter of the time. If I plan ahead I will mix up the dry and wet ingredients for waffles in seperate containers the night before, then mix them together in the morning. If I am eating at home I can put a smaller portion on my plate and not feel like I'm wasting food. If we simply must eat out I steer us clear of IHOP and Denny's and we go somewhere that I can get a lox bagel and Bryan can get his waffles, French toast or pancakes. Sometimes, though I just can't resist the siren's call of those big pancake breakfasts, then I just try to account for it the rest of the day.

I have never eaten veggie dogs before and keep looking at them when I am at the grocery store but I always hesitate buying them. I don't expect them to taste just like regular hot dogs but would like to give them a try. Are they any good? Is the texture okay?

On the weekends, sleeping in is a joy! So I do that and plan for a decadent OP lunch...something that takes a long time to make so that I can look forward to it all week! Two weeks ago it was the Arugula and Basil Pesto pasta from the SBD cookbook, last weekend it was a chicken, apple, and walnut salad with blue cheese. Heaven! We have the same dinner every Saturday, and since both DH and I are homebodies, it's something to look forward to. We have filet mignon (I get them free from school to supplement my WAY below poverty income), broiled tomatoes with pesto, and a grain dish (if I didn't have my starch for lunch) along with a salad. Last weekend we had fresh strawberries dunked in semi-sweet chocolate along with coffee mixed with SF hazelnut syrup for dessert, but we usually have a PB cup (SF fudgesicle, 2 T natural PB, 2 T Fat Free Cool Whip). We could have wine with it, but neither of us really care about it and right now have none in the house.

I guess I'm lucky in not liking beer...I don't crave it. Only drink it under duress, so it's not an issue. But I hope those of you who find it an issue can find a way around it! I love cookies and chocolate, so I just don't have them in the house...that helps.

I like your idea of taking OP things with on shopping trips, Mauvais...less blow ups at the Wal*Mart is a great idea!

I wonder if planning on fun activities that don't harm the diet would make the weekend more fun but also more fit? Like going on a hike with a group (our local park does guided hikes each weekend with a different theme), going for a nice bike ride (pack a great picnic), gardening, doing crafts (keeps the hands busy).