A few months ago I reported on an article in Science Daily that proved weekends tend to be bad news if you’re trying to watch your weight (see, “Weekends Ruin Diets”). After a weekend out of town (and away from the kids) relaxing, dining, and generally putting all “rules” aside, I thought I’d revisit the theme of “weekends killing your weight loss efforts and offer a few more words of advice.

First, it is okay to take a break from your routine. Even I welcome a “day off” from being good from time-to-time. It is fun to enjoy a rich dessert on a special occasion, skip an intense workout in lieu of a relaxing stroll, and give yourself permission to put your regular “rules” aside. The hard part is staying within reasonable limits and getting back on track before all of your hard work goes down the tank. Self-discipline is hard, and often we are all-or-nothing creatures of habit (we always keep to a strict regimen, or we shuck the whole thing entirely).

• The trick to getting right back on track after a weekend of putting rules aside is to, well, set up another rule, such as: “My next meal today will be as healthy as possible,” or “I will round out the weekend with a long walk or a jog.” Notice how I didn’t use the word “Monday?” Don’t wait until Monday to hit the reset button. When you give yourself permission to suspend healthy habits until Monday, you set yourself up for more rule-breaking than is necessary. Get back on track before Monday comes, if at all possible.
• If you aren’t planning to exercise on the weekend, do something! Rake leaves, mow the lawn, go on a nature walk, play tag with the kids, go for a bike ride. Getting some form of physical activity will help counter the affects of less-healthy behaviors. You’ll also feel less guilty about skipping your workout if you at least do something active.
• Don’t binge. Eating a bit less healthy from time-to-time is fine, but don’t go overboard and say, “well, I already messed up, I might as well eat the whole cake.” You’ll feel terrible later, physically and emotionally, so stick to moderation.
• Before Monday comes, sit down with your planner and schedule your weekly workouts, plan your healthy meals, and set a small goal for yourself. Don’t let one “all-rules-out-the-door” weekend ruin what could be your best workout week ever. Focus on what is ahead of you, rather than what you didn’t do, or ate too much of, yesterday, the day before, etc.

Remember, the trick to long-term weight loss success is consistency. Balance the not-so-good days with good days (preferrably, more good days than not), try to get some form of physical activity every day, even if it is a walk around the block, and stay positive!

Have you ever considered how many calories you consume throughout the day, or even the quality of those calories? What percentage of them are carbohydrate, fat and protein? Are you getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals? Logging what and how much you eat is a proven tool for losing weight and keeping it off. In fact, a researcher at the Kaiser’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore found that keeping a food journal can double weight loss! Hear that? Double it!

Tips for keeping track

1. Keep a journal handy (i.e., “in the kitchen”) and record what you eat right after you eat it. If you wait until the end of the day, you’ll likely overlook something you ate earlier in the day.
2. Record your healthiest choices first. When you have to smudge the list of healthy foods with some not so great choices, those choices really stand out, motivating you to keep the list to ONLY healthy choices the next day.
3. Don’t give yourself a bad grade if you slip up. Everyone has a bad day. Leave it at that, and move on to the next snack or meal, concentrating on making better choices going forward rather than fretting over the past.
4. Try not to reward yourself with food. When you have a string of healthy-eating days, it might be tempting to have a large dip of Ben and Jerry’s as your “prize.” Don’t do it! The short-term yum-effect isn’t worth the guilt you’ll experience later. Instead, treat yourself to a manicure, or a movie with friends (sans the popcorn and treats, of course).
5. Don’t get bogged down with specifics right away. For the first couple of weeks, just get in the habit of writing down what you eat at least three days out of seven. Then, graduate to an online log that allows you to choose quantities of specific foods. These sites will tabulate your calories, nutrient intake and give you an accurate idea of what is missing in your diet, or what you’re getting too much of.

Here are some sites to try:

My Food Diary
My Calorie Counter
The Daily Plate
My Fitness Pal
Spark People
Calorie Lab

Are you a “workout wonder woman” during the week, then watch Saturday, (and then Sunday) go by without even a sideways glance in the direction of the gym? Do you eat like a world-class athlete during the week, devouring heaps of veggies, fruit, lean protein, Omega-3s, the works…then lose all self-control the minute the sun rises on Saturday? It may be that you’re being too good during the week. Just as people tend to gain weight during holidays, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine found that the same holds true for weekends, especially for those who follow weight loss regimens that are too strict. Subjects in the study’s diet group did great during the week, losing weight as expected, then stopped losing weight on the weekend as food intake increased. Participants in the exercise-only group actually gained weight on the weekend. Check out the full story at Science Daily.

Here are some strategies for maintaining your momentum through the weekend:

1) Plan, plan and plan some more. Weekdays are typically very structured, requiring great planning skills if you want to fit in every workout and eat healthy too. Because weekends are more relaxed, there is a natural tendency to let your guard down and say, “ah, what the heck, one more bite of Ben and Jerry’s won’t hurt.” Planning ahead for scenarios that tempt your willpower will help you stay on track. You can’t avoid every birthday party, company picnic or neighborhood potluck, but you can still make healthy choices.

2) Don’t skip workouts. Try to get at least one, 60-minute bout of exercise in over the course of the weekend, or two 30-minute sessions.

3) Drink alcohol in moderation. Alcohol and weight loss don’t combine well anyway, but add to that the fact that alcohol lowers your willpower.

4) Weigh yourself on the weekend. This will help keep weight in check, and act as a visual reminder that all calories count, so make them nutrient-dense calories, rather than empty calories like sugary, starchy, fattening snacks that counter all of the hard work you did during the week.

It won’t be easy, but come Monday, you’ll be ahead of the game, rather than hitting the “reset” button!