Struggling...
 

I started WW on Thursday November 18th. The first week was fabulous, I lost 2.8 pounds. Since then I gained: .4 - the week of Thanksgiving and 2 pounds the week after Thanksgiving.

I've realized that my problem is the Weekends! I do really well during the week mostly because what I take to work with me is what I eat. I plan my food M-F and I do really well. Once I leave work on Friday it's a totally different story. I seem to just lose control. I know that a large part of my weekend badness is beer. My fiance and I enjoy drinking IPAs and they are usually a part of our weekend. We don't drink to excess, we just enjoy good beer.
Also this time of year there are parties, where I try to make good decisions, but you never know how the food is prepared and chances are it tastes so good because it's make with everything I shouldn't be eating right now.

I would love to know if anyone has suggestions for my tough weekends. I know that the next few weekends are going to be even tougher with the actual holidays occuring. I don't want to continue to move the scale in the wrong direction!

Thanks so much!
Diane

Plan, Plan, Plan for the weekends.

You know what you do so you look at your week, work out your FPs/WPAs and look at earning some APs on weekends.

You plan and guestimate as best you can on the food and journal.

Just a thought, but could you possibly cut out the beer in favour of lower calorie alcohol?? I know it's not the same, but you can still relax/unwind/have fun but use up less calories.

It's hard because at the end of the day you still want to have a social life don't you?

Good Luck.

I still drink on the weekends so it can be done. I don't drink as much now as I did when DH and I were going out every weekend but all it takes is planning.

I had the same problem you had.. not with alcohol (I don't drink) but come friday around 6pm, I would just fall off my diet and wouldn't get back on until Monday morning...

Last month on several weigh ins I had gained 3lbs total ( up and down ) I told myself it was time to stick to the diet, or it's not going to happen.

I save all my Flex Points for the weekends.. I use 5 for friday and half of my APS that I earn, 15 for saturday and the other 15 on sunday. I make myself choose healthy foods when I go out.. I realize that seeing seeing that number go down on the scale was far more important that eating some greasy hamburger or cheesy pizza...

I told my mind I have to do this.. and I did and I'm doing it right now.. I finally look forward to weigh in.. I know that if I gain, like I did the week after thanksgiving (.5lb) that it wasn't important and that staying OP was.

You can do this.. Anyone can do this.. you just have to want to do it.

Here was a typical day for me when I went out to the bar on Friday night:

BREAKFAST:
1/2 cup Egg Beaters + all kinds of zero point veggies + salsa = 1 point

LUNCH:
Large salad with all kinds of zero point veggies or a zero point veggie stirfry done in PAM = 0 points
Salsa for the salad for a dressing or soy for the stirfry = 0 points
Orange or apple = 1 point

DINNER:
2 grilled Chicken legs w/o skin = 2 points
Baked Potato topped with salsa = 3 points
2-3 cups of zero point veggie = 0 points

So that was 7 points and some days I'd toss in 4 more points for dairy other days I wouldn't....so max 11 points.....that left me (even at 20 TPs a day it leaves 9 points) much to get to my minimum along with any FPs/WPAs and APs I had for the day for PARTYING!

Now it is not the best nutritional wise but it helped me a lot. I did manage to get in 5 servings of fruits and veggies...some protein...usually dairy...all my water and still enjoy myself.

Thanks so much for the advice girls.

I like the plan that cowboyupchick posted. I think I may start to use it myself. I don't go out to the bars much these days, but we have a keg at home. That makes it easy to grab a beer. However, it's in our finished basement and if I don't have to go down there for something else I don't really think about the beer. The weekends when our friends are over is when I'm down there and the pitchers are flowing.

Losing weight is something that I want desperately and I'm trying to make changes so that I can accomplish my loss by next October. It's tough right now because there's so much to do given the holidays. I have a feeling that things will be easier in January when all I'm doing is working and going to school.

Have a wonderful holiday!
Diane