Beating “Blow It On The Weekends” Syndrome

January 29, 2010

I have a new client who, having just turned 50, gave herself six weeks of personal training for her birthday. She is training with me at 6am two mornings a week and has been very dedicated.

At first glance she is still in relatively good shape, having retained most of her physique and all of her personality from her high school cheerleader days. Her goal is to lose fourteen pounds by March 1st, a very realistic goal. Like many women in her (our) age demographic, she is not very overweight, but with one or two pounds per year creeping up, she was heavy enough to have a strained relationship with her waistband and to feel like a C- bodywise.

After three weeks passed and several thousand additional calories had been burned in our predawn workouts, I was stumped because the scale had only budged one measly pound. I encouraged her to keep a food diary to chart her eating. Last Monday, she handed over her diary and in one glance, my heart sunk.  I knew she was suffering from the dreaded chronic disease that is sweeping this country more insidiously than any swine flu. This syndrome alone is responsible for keeping millions of folks (and me occasionally) stuck at a higher than desirable weight.  It’s called “Blow It On The Weekend Binge” Syndrome.

Take a peek at her journal from last week:

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MONDAY:

Started my day at 5:30 a.m. Toughest part was the first five minutes out of bed, but found it was well worth it. Got my day (and week) off on the right foot. Got on the scales and am determined to lose 2 lbs by next Monday! Ate 3 well-planned meals and ended it with a good night’s sleep. This week’s going to be different!!

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TUESDAY:

Met with Penny and started Day Two with a bang. My weekend bloat is finally gone and feeling strong. Although she is quite shrill at 5:59am and I find that coffee helps me make it through the morning. But I’m still sticking with my food plan and resisted cookies the kids brought home from the bake sale. Yay, Me!

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WEDNESDAY:

Took a long walk with the dog to start my day right. Very busy with driving carpools but I was smart and brought some healthy snacks in the car so I wouldn’t shovel food into my mouth from the pans on the stove when I got home. Good for me for having a plan.

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THURSDAY:

Ok, 5:30 came very early this morning, but since I already paid for it, I couldn’t cancel my training session. And so glad I didn’t because I am really feeling stronger! Ran out of healthy snacks at home so I made sure to stop at the grocery store on the way home so I don’t blow it by eating the left over chocolates that I forgot to throw out.

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FRIDAY:

Whew. It’s finally Friday and I am Woman Hear Me Roar! I really have some momentum going into the weekend. But.  I am feeling like I need a little reward for such a dedicated week of working out and eating right. Penny said to lay off the liquor if I want to see the scale drop but, hey, I won’t see her until next Tuesday. One goblet of Pinot Grigio can’t hurt. Plus I deserve it. It’s Friday, right? Then the kids ordered pizza on one condition, that they wouldn’t let me have more than one slice, but of course, I am the boss so I accidentally finished off 2 more pieces in front of them and 1 more in the kitchen and about 4 crust bones that I found in the box. Then, since I’d already ruined the day’s calorie control, I finished off the Oreo Cookie ice cream in the freezer.

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SATURDAY:

No weigh in today because #1 I feel bloated from all that pizza and #2 that would remind me of my goals that I was supposed to but didn’t stick to. Plus my head hurt from either the wine or the carbs so I skipped my workout. Not to mention the gym is a zoo on the weekends. So to avoid the hassle, I just hung out on the couch until dinner. Then since I’d lost all my motivation, and since we were at a great restaurant, I had 2 more (ok, it was 3) glasses of Pinot and although Penny had recommended ordering first at a restaurant so that I wouldn’t be tempted to order what everyone else was having, I didn’t want to be rude. And after actually hearing what everyone else was ordering, I couldn’t resist. But Man, were those Stuffed Shells delish. Then since I can’t drink coffee late at night, I had to be polite and order the cheescake, so my girlfriend wouldn’t think I thought she was being a pig by ordering dessert for herself. Oh well, so I blew it today- it’s Saturday for Criminy Sakes. Can’t a girl have a little fun once in awhile?

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SUNDAY:

I don’t know which felt bigger this morning- my head or my belly. Ouch, that food certainly didn’t taste good enough to justify the  gross  feeling I woke up with. I sat morosely in church and vowed to start again tomorrow. And since I’d already blown it I took the kids to McDonalds for lunch (much to their silent, delighted shock) and ordered up a Big Mac and a chocolate shake (small) to help my hangover. Oh yeah and it was cheaper to order the Super-Saver meal instead of just the burger and shake so I had fries too-to save money. What a mind screw! I promised myself that I’d skip dinner to make up. Went home and took another nap although I’d had 9 hours last night. Woke up in a fog and since the kids wanted Chinese food for dinner and I was too whipped to cook, I said “Sure, why not!” since it seemed healthier than McDonald’s, really. Sesame Chicken doesn’t actually have 900 calories and a day’s worth of heart-clogging fat. Does it?

Does this sound like anything that happens in your life?If weekends are why you are not losing weight try these tips.

Think of them as your

Weekend Beat the Binge Survival Guide

1.Exercise. Do something active each day. The earlier the better.

2.Plan ALL your meals ahead. It’s a pain, but weekends are too loosey goosey and if you want to weigh less (or at least not weigh more) on Monday, you need to know what food is on your menu for the day. Nuff said.

2a. Tell a someone in the house what your food plan is. Just to have a bit of accountability.

3. Don’t engage in all-or-nothing thinking. If you eat something off your plan, get right back on your regimen at the next meal.

4. Stay motivated. Do this by giving yourself a non-food treat, like a manicure or a massage or a matinee.

5. If at all possible, have sex! After all it IS the weekend.

6. Lay off the liquor. Only if you want to lose weight, sleep well at night and/or feel good in the morning. Otherwise, have some.

7.Order first in a restaurant. If any one thinks you are rude for jumping in, maybe they’re not good enough friends to be spending your weekends with.

8.Weigh yourself on both weekend mornings. Just so you are not in denial or delay-the-truth mode.

When was the last time you woke up on Monday feeling terrific and energized? If it’s been a while, promise me you’ll give my Survival Guide a try. If you can start to manage your weekend eating, your Monday mornings will be something you might actually look forward to. Did I mention, you may also lose a pound or two.

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