How many of you eat well in the week and then blow it or feel like you’ve blown it on the weekend?
The guilty feelings from the weekend blowout then makes it easier to eat well mon-thurs before you do the same next weekend, and the next one …. and the one after that.
A lot of people find themselves in this boat, I am myself a lot of the time.
Why is it so much harder to be healthier on the weekends?
Most people have a different mindset, the weekends are there to relax and have a good time (apparently, I work every weekend 🙁 ).
Am I saying don’t relax and have a good time? Not at all.
Am I saying don’t eat any bad foods? Nope I don’t think so.
The key is moderation.
I’m guilty on more than one occasion of having a little treat on the Saturday night and before I know it it’s Monday morning I feel like crap and I’ve eaten loads of junk through the weekend.
The weekend is a good time to allow yourself some treats from your hard work in the week once you’ve got into a good routine.
Tips To Stay On Track During The Weekend
Planning – 100% top of the list. Plan what you are going to eat for each meal during the weekend and stick to it. If you leave it to chance you are more likely to eat bad.
Don’t keep bad foods in the house – If you don’t want to eat them don’t buy them. If you’re planning on having a treat why not decide what you’re going to have e.g. pizza and then ice cream for dessert and then just go out and buy pizza and ice cream. Enjoy it, savour it and then move on.
Plan 1-2 treat meals – Don’t make it a whole weekend. Plan 1-2 treats and eat like you normally would around it. Try and get a high protein and fat breakfast each morning or you could even fast in the build up/after a treat for 12-18 hours.
Learn some healthy recipes – Don’t think you have to eat salad on the weekends. There’s tonnes of healthy recipes out there for nice meals e.g. homemade burgers and sweet potato chips, healthy curry, homemade pancakes, homemade cookies there’s loads. Once you’ve learnt a few of these they can make the weekends a much healthier occasion without sacrificing your enjoyment. Plus I find things taste nicer when you’ve cooked them yourself (most of the time).
Limit your alcohol – Don’t need to cut it out completely but if you’re serious about health and staying/getting in shape then you don’t want to go overboard with the alcohol. As well as the bad things in alcohol it’ll also make you feel rubbish the next day plus it affects your appetite. How many of you crave a salad after 5 pints? More than likely it’ll be a greasy kebab!
So there are a few tips which will hopefully help you get through the weekend unscathed.
Eat some healthier treat foods enjoy them and then back to normal in the week.
Once the weekends are sorted if you’re trying to lose weight everything else will fall into place and you’ll see some serious results.
Jamie ‘Not Living For The Weekend’ Stedman
