It’s the weekend again! Your plans will likely involve going out somewhere with family or friends. While in town, you will most likely end up consuming more calories than your body actually needs, and thus gaining some weight.
According to studies of what people eat on the weekends compared to what they eat during the week, many people consume up to 400 calories more than usual on the weekends. Over an entire year, those extra calories add up to 6 pounds of weight gain!
Don’t let the “weekend weight gain” happen to you. Follow these four tips to stay one step ahead.
1. Plan in advance
Instead of abandoning your healthy eating regimen as soon as Friday night rolls around, allow yourself only one meal on the weekend that you can cheat on. Think about where you will go and what you will eat during the weekend, and choose the place or event where you will allow yourself to enjoy yourself.
For example, you may decide to have a few cocktails on Friday night or a calorie-packed brunch on Sunday, but you can’t do both.
2. Resist the urge to sleep late.
If you stay in bed until noon on a Saturday or Sunday, your circadian rhythm will be completely altered. You’ll feel like you’re starving when you finally wake up, so you’ll likely eat a lot more than usual for lunch and for the rest of the day.
Of course, you still have to do your best to get those 8 hours of sleep, just go to bed early enough not to get up later than 10:00 am
3. Exercise with a friend on Saturday mornings.
Why is exercising with a friend so important? Simple: because if you make arrangements with your friend to meet up for exercise, you are much less likely to skip training.
Okay, so why should it be Saturday morning? The answer to this is simple too: because if you know you have to get up on Saturday morning and exercise, you won’t be stuck drinking alcohol (which also contributes to weight gain) until the wee hours of the morning on Friday night. . A workout on Saturday morning also helps you set a healthy tone for your weekend, which can prevent you from choosing unhealthy foods later on.
4. Spend part of your weekend doing something active
As an alternative to your Saturday morning workout, you may prefer to plan a weekend activity that burns calories.
You may want to walk or jog on a nearby trail, hit a bike path, or take an afternoon or a full day to explore an unfamiliar neighborhood on foot. When you get out of these adventures, remember to pack a lunch made up of the healthy foods you eat during the week.
In conclusion …
One final note: did you consume even more calories than you should over the weekend, despite your best efforts to avoid it? If so, you can make up for it by consuming fewer calories for a day or two. Try replacing one or two meals with a protein shake.