Do you struggle to stay on track with healthy eating on the weekends?
Have you ever started the week intending on eating healthy for the entire 7 days?
You might crush your goals Monday-Thursday… but, by Friday all bets are off.
You indulge Friday-Sunday and by Sunday evening you’re regretting it.
Monday morning you start the cycle all over again.
Does this sound like you?
You’re not alone!
This is a common roadblock in so many mamas’ journeys to getting fit!
In this post, I am going to share 3 common reasons women struggle to stay on track with healthy eating on the weekends and how you can rid of them easily!
3 Reasons You’re Struggling To Stay On Track With Healthy Eating On The Weekends [+ 3 ways to stick to your diet!]
1. You’re restricting too much Monday-Thursday
The most popular reason you’re struggling to stay on track with healthy eating on the weekends is that you’re focusing on eating way too “clean” during the week. You eat really “good” Mon-Thurs with salads, egg whites, chicken, rice, vegetables, etc. Then, the weekend rolls around and you’re overindulging on everything you REALLY wanted to be eating all week: burgers, fries, donuts, pizza, chips, candy, ice cream, wine, etc.
Do this instead!
Let yourself indulge every single day. YES — every day of the week. The key to eating healthy long-term is finding a healthy balance where about 80%+ you’re eating nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods and 20% of the time you’re not overthinking what you’re eating and just enjoying yourself! Usually, that’s 250-400 calories a day (a donut, some fries, chips, ice cream, etc). Then, you won’t feel the need to binge these foods once the weekend comes!
I teach mamas exactly how to eat like this inside my Nutrition Made Easy Course! Sign up HERE.
2. You’re using food to cope with stress and overwhelm
Another reason you go completely off your diet each weekend is that you’re using food to deal with stress that’s built up throughout the week. Weekends are usually seen as a time to unwind, lay back, and relax… which is true! But, with this resting mentality, we start to feel feelings and many mamas turn to food to cope with these feelings in order to get some quick pleasure and happiness.
Do this instead!
When you’re stressed and overwhelmed, find a few activities that give you the same pleasurable result that eating your favorite foods does. For me? That’s brain dump journaling, working out, meditating, talking to a positive friend, and spending quality time with my kids. Everyone is different, so find what behaviors work best for you!
3. You’re “winging” your diet every weekend
The third reason many mamas struggle to stay on track with healthy eating on the weekends is that they’re not planning their food in advance. When you hear “meal planning” and “meal prepping” many of us immediately think of the work weekdays and plan mostly for those. But, the weekends are just as important as those days! Eating completely off track every weekend will always negate any work done during the weekdays. So, it’s time to reel it in.
Do this instead!
Instead? You need to include Friday-Sunday when planning for the week. Make sure you have healthy options for meals and snacks planned throughout the weekend days. You can still indulge! I recommend my clients eat out 1x a week, but still keep calories in check or go over by maybe a few hundred (it won’t hurt you!). What WILL hurt you? Eating out all weekend long and consuming tons of processed, chemical-filled foods. You’ll always feel like garbage by Sunday evening and stuck in this cycle each week.
That’s it! Staying on track every weekend isn’t difficult if you start to apply these strategies: include your favorite treat foods 7 days a week, find non-food ways to cope with stress, and plan ahead for the weekends!
Let me know below in the comments if this blog post was helpful!
Leave a Reply