Surviving the weekend

I posted in my journal that I have a strategy for surviving the weekend, which is usually my downfall.

What strategies do you have over the weekend that make your weight loss successful?

Here's my plan for this weekend:

1) I'm going to actually plan out every meal. Just like I do on the weekdays.

2) Carry snacks in my purse/car. No getting too hungry.

3) Will not let the husband take me "snack" shopping. I will stand my ground and tell him that if he wants snacks, he can get it himself and eat it before he gets home.

4) If we go to the movies, I will have cut up apples or pears. And smuggle in a water bottle.

5) Exercise on Saturday and Sunday. Even if it is just a quick walk with the dogs. However, I do plan on getting in at least one hot yoga session.

I have a few but I have a few qualms about one of yours.

If your husband wants snacks he has to eat them before he gets home? Wouldn't it be easier in the long run to devote some time to finding some snacks you can both enjoy that won't ruin your diet?

We were discussing similar things over in the gamers group back when I joined:

http://fatsecret.co.uk/groups/gamers-the-gathering/Posts.aspx?t=61528

My favourite snacks tend to be things which can be dipped. So it was relatively easy to replace the high calorie ones for low/lower calorie home made versions, and store bought salsa isn't terrible in a pinch. Pretty much the only ones I've never managed to make entirely myself are Taramasalata and Guacamole. Tzatziki is nice and easy to make for example, and the home made version with very low fat yoghurt is vastly lower in calories than any store bought version. Similarly making houmous-like dips with canned beans can be tweaked to your exact taste leaving out the hugely calorific oil and tahini paste.

And a decent veggie platter is better looking than a bag of chips IMO. And a cheap mandolin takes out most of the work in making the platter.

Anyway: I entirely agree about planning your meals out. It gives you something to base your day around.

And I try and make sure I DO something. Even if "something" is walking down to the high street and having a coffee, at least I am outside burning calories walking and not vegetating on my sofa. My worst tendencies to snack are when I'm on the aforementioned sofa watching something mindless on the TV

Museums are also a good way to burn a day wandering round (And being in London it's great as most of the museums and galleries are free).

But whatever I do I try and ensure I have nice packed lunch (again in a pinch celery sticks and a jar of store bought salsa works at a pinch for little calories) are vastly better than buying an overpriced lunch that you can only make an guesstimate of the calorie count.

Essentially if I plan to do something I'm not going to get bored and do something I'll regret later.

I am gluten-free. If my boyfriend wants non-gluten-free snacks, he has to eat them out before he gets home.

Because my husband is an honest-to-goodness saboteur. We've had a discussion about this and he thinks it's funny. And I'm not taking any more of his BS.

He finds it funny? Want me to send you my cattleprod?

Not much of a boyfriend if you ask me. I have a suggestion as to how you can easily lose (rough estimate) 170 lbs overnight.

Excellent response King.

I try to delay lunch til a little bit later, and make it a combination lunch/dinner, especially if we're eating it out.
This can work since breakfast usually comes out later on the weekend.
It saves the calories of an extra meal and gives a little leeway for the extra calories one consumes on the weekend.

I struggle more on the weekends too & try to plan my days as best I can. I check restaurant menus before we go if we're eating out. I also recently read the book, "Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat", about Mindful Eating which has helped a lot, especially when eating something that I'm not sure of the calorie count. Checking in here on FatSecret has been a huge help too & if anyone is interested, there's a group called Operation Weekend Watch where we check in throughout the weekend to give & get support.

The movies on Sunday afternoon kicked my butt last weekend! I had a sliced mango in the fridge to take w but I forgot it in all the hullabaloo trying to get out the door. And everyone else had chocolate and were kind enough to share when I shamelessly begged. So much for good intentions huh? This weekend I'm going to focus on getting a cardio session in each morning first thing and then going to spend as much time as possible outside. Also not going to let myself get hungry...planning meals is a lot harder for me on weekends bc I have more choices. Weekdays @ the office are no-brainers, protein bars & shakes, fruit, & tea bags are all I have here. Fortunately my skinny junk food eating BF is being really cooperative about only junking away from home these days. Love the suggestions here so much!

To actually answer your question about handling the weekend:

I have developed something I call "Indulgence Diet", which is based on a whole lotta different things I have compilied from FatSecret and other places. In many ways it's like the Spike Diet, and it helps me not only drop kilos but also stay sane over the weekends.

Essentially, I skip a few hundred calories every day, and allow myself more on Saturday. Sunday is back to normal. It could as well be Sunday or any other day.

It's not ALL that simple though. It takes some calculating to get it right - and you'd still need to count all the foods you eat. Otherwise you risk going too high and undo what you've worked hard to accomplish all week.

If you want the juicy details on the whole thing check out this:
http://bit.ly/nqFOrg - it's not spam. I'm not asking you to click any ads or buy anything. Don't worry.

My weekend plans are to plan, plan, plan and pray! I try to get to the gym so that I have a workout in so that my day goes better. I also try to make my weekend foods similar to what I eat through out the week. I start my day with a protien shake. My lunch during the week is a steamer veggie pack and a greek yogurt and my dinner is sensible, usually a lean meat and veggie. I try to keep to that as much as possible. I lose better during the week, because I am teacher and can only eat at certain times and the weekends are not as stuctured, but I try to make them structured if possible.