The Weekend - How to Stay on Track

I hear it all the time.. "I'm really consistent during the week, but then on the weekends, everything falls apart and I'm derailed with my food. It's like starting over again every week."

You see, when we have a consistent schedule (you wake up at the same time, grab breakfast, go to work, get lunch around the same time, and come home to dinner) it's easy to follow the plan you've created. But when the weekend hits and you're out enjoying yourself, go out for dinner, or see friends and family, it gets difficult.

If you've been working on your nutrition for a while, you know that the weekend can create a big issue. You feel crappy come Monday morning,  you feel like you're starting over, and you might even been super inflamed from the junk you ate and drank, not to mention you may see a little weight increase. 

To tackle these less than ideal weekend habits, try looking at your weekday habits as well. 

1. What level of perfection are you striving for? When tackling a new nutrition plan or diet, many people think it has to be "perfect." If you adhere to strict meal plans Monday through Friday, chances are you fall apart by the weekend based on shear willpower breaking down from striving for that perfection constantly. If you can't have the perfectly constructed meal you're used to, you figure why not go all out cause it doesn't matter. Or you start to Mae compromises because you did so well all week. Sound familiar?
   
   Instead, focus on creating a balance that is good enough. Following a decent plan with some give and take is better than quitting the "perfect plan" every weekend. This will go along ways in terms of your mental state as well.
   

2. Let go of the food rules. You know the drill... These are the foods you can and can't eat. Here's when and when you shouldn't eat those things, or how much you should be having. Try letting go of those. Otherwise when you go out with friends and everyone orders pizza, your mentality of "I don't eat carbs" turns into "f*** it" and you go WAY overboard.
   
   When all you think about is these rules you've created, when they are no longer in the picture during the weekend, you no longer have anything to guide you, and binging happens. Instead, ditch the rules and feed yourself based on hunger. When you're craving something, it's because your body needs something. Feed it!
   

3. Forget about "cheat day." Everyone wants to know..."Do I get any cheat days? What should I do on cheat days?" Some people find this practice really helpful for maintaining a more strict regimen, but many people also find that they go out of control in anticipation of getting back to their regimen.
   
   If you get rid of designated cheat days, and instead eat what you feel like throughout the week, you'll likely naturally begin to make conscious decisions about what you're eating and do so in accordance with what feels good to your body. Ever had way too many sweets on your cheat day? Bet you didn't feel good. But you don't want to feel like that all the time so you'll back off and find some moderation. Without that feeling of scarcity, you won't need to binge or go nuts any day of the week.
   

4. Be responsible for your choices. Own up. Here's another common scenario. You ate salad every day this week for lunch and you turned down that birthday cake at the office, so come Saturday you're going to order a big dessert no matter what. Since when did we start making these trade off like children bartering for our food?
   
   These types of mind games only undermine your health. You ate all those salads because you have a health goal in mind. Is eating a big dessert for no other reason than because "you've earned it" really aiding in achieving those goals? Probably not.
   
   Own your decisions. If you feel like eating an entire pint of ice cream, recognize that you might feel gross afterwards, bloated the next day, or feel guilty about it. You can also acknowledge that you're okay with all those consequences in that instance. That probably won't be the case all the time. But you won't be surprised by the outcome either.
   

5. Stop rationalizing or making excuses for yourself. The weekends create a lot of obstacles for us: you get busy, or you were bored because nothing was going on, you had to work, you were traveling, or just sitting at home, or you had social events to attend. These are all rationalizations for why it's okay for you to fall off the wagon. Sorry, tough truth here.
   
   Stop finding excuses and rationalizing your decisions and dig deeper into why your behavior changes on the weekends. Are you bored? Are you happy? Are you sad? Look for these reasons and you'll probably start to notice some patterns. One way to break the cycle is to find the pattern and then actively make adjustments to address those needs rather than bingeing.

This stuff can be tricky and it's not always easy to figure out. Take on one step at a time to create a fully healthy lifestyle that includes your weekends and removes the guilt and crummy feelings come Monday morning.