It was recently pointed out to me that there are 104 weekend days during a year. Also -think of all the possible special occasions: birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, family reunion, restuarants, weddings, showers, celebrations at work, business events, benefits, celebrations, parties, funerals, vacations and more.
Wow - that's alot of potential places to overeat if we allow ourselves to.
I am working on changing my mindset of thinking: 'I am entitled to make exceptions for weekends and special occasions.' Almost everyday could be a special occasion!!!
Lately, I've been allowing myself a couple extra hundred calories at an occaision - I don't always 'use' it - but, I have a choice. This approach has been mostly helpful.
But - I have to ask my self - If I eat extra 200 calories food at an event - will I keep eating alot the rest of the day? Will it cause me have a hard time to get back on the plan. Is it worth it?
What about you?
Last edited by Beverlyjoy; 05-04-2010 at 10:36 AM.
This reminded me of a post that I made early in my journey. I am cutting and pasting part of it below. We were having a "treat" day at work and when I did not participate a co-worker said to me, "It's just one day."
Quote:
That got me to thinking about “It’s just one day.” I hear that a lot so I started listing all the “special” days that are “just one day.”
Super Bowl Sunday
Valentine's Day
Easter
Mother's Day
Father's Day
Independence Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Birthday
Loved ones’ birthday (large family)
Anniversary
The retreats at work
Going out with friends
I think that having a “It’s just one day” mentality is one reason that I failed at weight loss in the past. There can easily be 2 “special” days a month. One “special” day can make me lose a whole week’s worth of work. Even worse, it stops momentum. No wonder I had such a hard time stopping cravings, I could not stay on plan long enough to let my body adjust. This time around, I am not giving into “special” days. I stay on plan and believe that it has made a huge difference.
It was over a year ago that I said that and I still believe it. My plan is an average of 1200 - 1300 calories/day for the week. So if I want to have a "special day" I balance out the higher calorie days with the lower ones. It seems to work for me.
I don't live with a standard work week and I only work part time so weekends arent' difficult for me. but holidays are.
I think this year I'm going to stay on plan (or account for) added calories...I get derailed SO easily. That "just one day" turns into a month or two pretty quickly...
I don't consider weekends a reason to go off plan, so that part isn't an issue. I do allow for a little bit of flexibility for special holidays but that doesn't mean letting myself go crazy. It's more about allowing myself very small portions of special foods, but balancing out things so that I'm still on plan in terms of calories overall. So I might go slightly high on the day itself but I'm make sure to stay low a few other days. And it's definitely just for the one event, not the entire day, so I'll also cut back on other meals that day to make it all work out.
For me, the important thing is that I don't consider myself "on a diet." I'm changing the way I eat for life, and I don't plan to forgo these foods for the rest of my life, so it's more about putting them in their proper place, which is to have them rarely and in small quantities.
I also end up bringing food to parties, etc. - as a way to share the work, but also, so I know I will have some choices that I can eat comfortably since I knew exactly how they were made and what the calorie count is.
I am dealing with this now too... My friend wants to go out for dinner this week to celebrate her spring semester being over. Mostly I think it is just a social night because we don't see eachother much. At first I was thinking, "It's just one night. If I gain a few pounds then I can just work them off again..." But really, I don't want to deviate too far off plan. So, today I posted a thread with some meal options and am asking for opinions. I don't want to go overboard every time I go out with friends and this is something I seriously struggle with. Especially with things like drinking. I am not really a drinker and could take it or leave it... but I always feel the pressure to order a drink when out with friends and that is sooooo many calories. Ugh...
There was a post in another thread somewhere on this board by rockinrobin (I think).... that put how you are eating like a financial budget.. if you gave into your wants as often as all of those listed above... you would be over budget for the week/month/year. Why is it ok to give into a want we can't afford when we will just be paying the intrest on it for weeks.
I did go out and get pizza on my birthday with my family, but rather then eating the entire personal pizza myself then ordering dessert... I split a personal sized pizza with my son and ordered a small salad to start. Just drank tea no soda or alcohol. I felt like I indulged a bit got to enjoy one of my favorite foods, but didn't blow the day or week in one sitting. That is the way I want to handle "special occasions". I have a wedding I am going to in a couple of weeks... it is a cake and champagne reception.... I LOVE CAKE... but rather then getting a big peice for myself... I will pick up a smaller piece and share it with my husband and son. (my toddler could eat a whole piece by himself, but I don't want him having the problems my husband and Ihave so he gets to learn moderation at an early age )
I don't use weekends as a free for all either or special occasions either. For me - I pick and choose the times that I would allow myself a treat and those were few and far between. I realized that there are ways to celebrate those time and it didn't have to be about consuming more calories than I knew were good for me.
I think my biggest splurge was after I reached my goal and I eat about a 1/4 of a piece of peanut butter pie. Felt guilty and sick afterwards lol Realy not worth it!
Weekends are never off plan for me on purpose. We just went away for 3 days and while I wasn't crazy about the counting of calories, I didn't go off plan with something I wouldn't normally eat.
Weekends are normally my best days, I tend to do great when I am at home.
Weekends have been a problem for me in the recent past not so much because I ate off-plan, but because I simply did not move enough during weekends to create an ongoing calorie deficit. I was burning probably 500 more calories on weekdays and letting myself sloth out on weekends. That, coupled with my Friday night "special dinner" (where we usually cook something a little special and I eat a few hundred extra calories) meant that weekends ended up being a wash--so all of my calorie deficit for the week had to come from the weekdays. And that meant slow loss. Yes, still loss, but slower than I wanted.
So recently what I have done is become much more regulated with my weekend food. I still have my Friday night special dinner--that is very important to me. I look forward to cooking it and eating it with my family every week, and it's a reward for me--not a reward for working on weight loss or fitness, simply a reward for making it through a work week. But on Saturday and Sunday I have been making sure my food is much more similar to weekdays, rather than being laissez faire about what I eat. That way, my nutrition is better on those days and the calories are easier to control.
Then, I have also made sure that I am getting much more movement in on the weekends. In April I began exercising each and every day, so I'm burning more calories off that way on the weekends; also I'm working on doing more housework and such, especially on Saturdays.
Holidays and birthdays and such don't really concern me much. I really don't go off-plan then, because so much holiday food involves sugar and white flour, and those things are "forever no" to me. At holiday gatherings I choose the veggies and the meat and that satisfies me and keeps me well in range on my calorie and nutrient goals.
Weekends have always been an issue for me. Friday was always my delicious food, sit on the couch, and relax time. This would kick of a weekend of mindless eating out, snacking, etc. Now, that I don't have this form or recreation and relaxation, I find myself mourning my loss! Crazy, huh?
Weekends have always been an issue for me. Friday was always my delicious food, sit on the couch, and relax time. This would kick of a weekend of mindless eating out, snacking, etc. Now, that I don't have this form or recreation and relaxation, I find myself mourning my loss! Crazy, huh?
Crazy, yes, but I'm right there with you! Food was my way of winding down on Friday nights & then that would just start a whole weekend of me eating what I wanted & saying I'd "start again Monday."
And special occassions can quickly steer me off course as well. So going into Mother's Day weekend, I'm trying to inform myself on where we're going, look at their menus ahead of time, & plan what I'm going to order, including what alterations I can request to make it as healthy as possible. Instead of just saying "screw it! It's only one day!" (which inevitably turns into more!), I am going to plan for success!!!
Special Occaisions/Weekends
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