How to Quit Overeating on the Weekends

By Brittney Redstone – Inspired by Precision Nutrition

If you’re trying to lose weight, the first thing so many people will tell you is that exercise is 25 percent of the equation, while, eating is the other 75 percent. This leads many people down path of routine eating and sometimes an obsession with self-implemented rules. If you have a Type A personality, you are well aware that rules and routines are your best friend. However, if things don’t pan out exactly the way you’ve expected then you either freak outdoor simply say “screw it.”

Working a Monday through Friday job can cause an immense amount of stress and can often-times become slightly mundane.

(If you are blessed with a job that you are ecstatic to go to every day, then congratulations— you’ve made it!) But for many people, you sit still for eight hours straight, then sit in traffic for another hour, then force yourself to go and move your muscles through intensive workouts and conditioning. This routine comes with an eating pattern. Breakfast at nine, lunch at one and dinner when you get home from your workout.

Then the clock hits five on a Friday evening and sitting in traffic usually entails some form of drooling over what you’re going to eat that night. The junk food possibilities are endless. You eat unhealthily with the repetitive mindset of “you deserve it,” or “you worked so hard.”

Friday night turns into big Saturday morning breakfasts and a cocktail-filled dinner before a night on the town, followed by fattening intoxicated munchies. Sunday morning hangovers can only be cured by more fattening grease and Sunday dinners are typically big family style meals. The dread of Monday is right around the corner so, naturally, you get in any last-minute foods while you still can. You may feel bloated, nauseous and sometimes even pain. You are filled with regret and remorse as you lay your head down on Sunday night and think about how you’ve just ruined everything you’ve worked so hard for during the week.

If this sounds familiar (or identical) to what you go through on a torturous, weekly basis, don’t worry. You are certainly not alone. You don’t deserve to feel that way and this article is here to help you out of this vicious cycle. Make a few minor lifestyle changes and notice how your physical and mental health improves tremendously!

The first tactic you can try is getting rid of the “perfect” eating mindset during the work week and turn it into a “healthy” eating mindset.

Eat foods you normally wouldn’t allow yourself to eat, in healthy forms. Basically, instead of intensive restriction during the week and excessive overeating on the weekends, find a middle ground and learn to live that way seven days a week. If you are allowing yourself to eat more than you normally would during the week, your body wont have the urge to crave uncontrollably on the weekends.

The next tip to implement into your everyday life, is taking away scheduled meal times and eat when your body is hungry.

Pack healthy snacks in moderate amounts and eat them between meals if your stomach starts to growl. Our bodies are smarter than we give them credit for, so perhaps, we should listen to them on occasion. Food is your body’s main source of energy and when that energy runs out, it tells you so that you can replenish yourself.

Another strategy you can try is getting rid of cheat days.

Once you are on a more regulated eating schedule and your body is being given the fuel it needs, you wont have the temptation to overeat on the weekends. Weekend meals should feel similar to weekday meals in the sense that the rules don’t apply for either time frame. Find the balance or “gray area” that fits into your personal lifestyle.

The last approach you can take in order to put an end to weekend overeating, is to stop justifying your poor choices.

When you’re in the moment of eating too much, any excuse will suffice. “I was bored, I was at a party, I was on vacation, I was hungover.” But at the end of the day, you have the ability to shut those thoughts down. That’s the beauty of being human, you have control over your choices even if they are difficult to make at times.

To sum it all up, give yourself a break during the week and your weekends will be much more enjoyable.

You will give yourself the ability to live in the moment without obsessive food thoughts consistently consuming your brain. Food can be enjoyed any day of the week as long as its in rational portions. The truth of the matter is, you have the ability to live your life to the fullest extent if you give yourself a little more leeway and a little less freedom. After all, life is all about balance.