I’m a big fan of the weekend, but who isn’t right? I’m one of those kinds of people who have grand plans of tackling ALL the projects. But in reality, I get maybe two things done. Everything always takes longer than I think! Don’t get me wrong though, I am also a big fan of taking some time over the weekend to relax. I am a self-proclaimed foodie and part of relaxing to me usually involves some kind of good food and a refreshing adult beverage. Nothing feels more chill to me more than a glass of red wine, a plate of meats and cheeses, and some bread with dipping oil. Anyone else with me on this one?
The weekend can easily be a time when we tend to loosen the reins a bit and possibly overindulge. One challenge I consistently hear from clients is that they eat well during the week but when the weekend hits the preverbal wheels start to come off the bus. It can also be too easy to let one indulgent meal turn into a full day that spills into the whole weekend. While it is important to stay consistent with your diet to see results, it’s also important to understand how to enjoy your life without completely dismissing your fitness goals. This is a lifestyle change which means that we need to allow for life to happen!
You don’t have to choose between enjoying your weekend or staying on track with your fitness goals. There are a few easy things you can do to help you stay on track with your diet over the weekend and still give you the flexibility to enjoy yourself as well. I have put together 6 simple things you can do to help you keep your weekend in check but still allow you to enjoy yourself.
1. Hit your protein
It might seem that I am always harping on eating your protein. Maybe I do but only because it’s so important. Eating enough protein has multiple benefits including a higher thermic effect of food, improving and retaining muscle tissue, improving satiety after a meal, as well as being linked to improving fat loss. You can read a more in-depth explanation of each of these benefits here.
Because protein helps you feel more full after your meal, you want to make sure you are planning out and hitting your protein intake for the day. This can be one key element to making sure that you don’t overindulge. You can also try eating your protein source first at each meal. Again, to help with feeling full and reducing your likelihood to overeat.
While our bodies tend to thrive on consistency, you can, on occasion, be more flexible with your carbs and fats. Meaning that as long as you are hitting your total protein intake, the rest of your calories can be divided up amongst carbs and fats as you’d like for the day. This is helpful because if you are like me and love the meats and cheeses then you are likely going to consume more fats than a normal day. If my total calories for the day are 2000 and 580 of those are my protein intake (145g x 4 g/kcal) then I have 1420 calories left to divide up between fats and carbs. This just allows me a little more flexibility with my food choices.
2. Plan out at least two meals for the day
I’ve said before that a failure to plan is a plan to fail. A little bit of planning can go a long way for your weekend success. We tend to eat more freely over the weekend and this can easily lead to overeating. We might be really good about planning our meals for the work week but then let it slide for the weekend. Simple planning out your first two meals for each day can really make a difference for your overall weekend success. You can even adjust your meals so that they are lower in carbs and/or fats knowing that you might be going out to eat that night and will likely eat more.
3. Pick your treats and indulgences ahead of time
This goes along with planning out your meals. We don’t always know exactly what we are doing for the day or going to eat later on. However, you might have an idea of something you’ve been craving or really looking forward to eating. You might be going out to your favorite place and know that you want to have their specialty dessert or that craft beer you love. Whatever your indulgence you can plan accordingly. Just go ahead and calculate the macros and subtract from each macro total for the day. This allows you to have a better visual of what your actual consumption will be for the day. You will also do a better job of staying on track. You’ll be able to stick to your planned one or two indulgences instead of eating everything in site.
4. Don’t skip your workout
I know it can be super tempting to give in to the weekend and all of its indulgent potential. Stay strong my friend! I don’t want you to think of it as “earning” your food. We fuel our bodies we don’t punish them with exercise so that you enjoy some indulgent treats. But we can be smart about our training and our food consumption. Very simply weight loss is a result of calories in verse calories out. Since we know that we might indulge in some extra treats later in the day we can help to balance that potentially higher caloric intake with a higher caloric output.
Getting your workout in earlier in the day is one of the best ways to increase your daily caloric output. A good strength training workout will deplete some of your muscle glycogen stores which are the fuel for your workout. You can put those extra carbs to good use helping you recover and replenish your fuel source. You could also add in a little extra cardio as well to assist boosting your caloric output for the day helping to compensate for those higher calorie treats later on.
5. Get enough sleep
This might not seem like a big deal when it comes to weight loss but it can actually be an important factor in staying on track with your goals. When we don’t get enough sleep our body releases certain hormones that can cause fluctuations in weight as well as an increase in hunger and appetite. In addition, sleep deprivation has been linked to obesity and inflammation. If you are trying to lose weight, not getting enough sleep can lead to a decrease in loss of fat and an increase in loss of lean body mass. Basically, the opposite of what you want to happen! So enjoy your evening but make sure you either get to bed on time or plan for a late night by sleeping in.
6. Drink Enough Water
It seems like whenever someone hears you are trying to lose weight they tell you to make sure you drink lots of water. Well, this isn’t bad advice, especially when it comes to helping you stay on track over the weekend. Drinking water throughout the day and particularly 30 mins or so before your meal can help stave off hunger and prevent you from overeating. Staying hydrated throughout the day also helps with your fluid balance. Typically, more indulgent meals tend to have a lot more salt than you normally consume. An increase in salt consumption causes more water from inside our cells to be pulled into the bloodstream and then excreted causing dehydration. Drinking enough water can help replenish and balance out your fluids.
Everyone is a little different regarding their hydration needs. Take your body weight in pounds and multiply by 2/3. This is a good rough estimate for the amount of water you should aim to consume in a day. Keep in mind that you want to drink more water if you live in a hot environment and/or tend to sweat a lot and of course during higher intensity exercise.
We all look forward to the weekend and like to decompress from a week of hard work. You should be able to let loose and enjoy yourself without the risk of completely sabotaging your weight loss goals. This might sound too good to be true but I promise that it’s possible. Applying these 6 tips you can achieve that coveted balance of progressing towards your weight loss goals and still enjoying your life with family and friends.
Until next time…
Xx
Allison
