The weekends can be a double edged sword when trying to stick to your weekend diet plan.
They’re the time of the week where you’re typically off of work, get to relax, and have some fun.
But with that also comes some temptations that lead to the weekends ruining your diet.
And if you give into those temptations, your progress can diminish quickly.
My Experience with Weekend Overeating
Back in the day, the weekends would be an all you can eat buffet for me.
I’d starve myself so much during the week that by the time the weekend came, I was like a shark in bloody water.
I was a pro at weekend binge eating.
Add on getting zero sleep from working an active job where I had to wake up at 3 in the morning, working out 5-6 days a week, and starving myself during the week to get as lean as possible, I just wouldn’t give a fuck by the time the weekend came.
That was my weekend diet plan – the fuck it mode diet.
Since I was so hungry, I had no control.
I’d easily finish a whole pizza no problem.
After that, I’d dabble in a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and polish that off.
So we’re probably looking at an easy 5,000 calories I’d put down just between dinner and dessert in one night.
Let me tell you… I’d feel like complete dog shit afterwards.
It sucked.
My stomach would be so full that I’d lay on the couch, contemplate life, and swear I’d never eat anything again.
Then the next day I’d try to “burn it all off” to make up for what I ate.
I would wake up at 6 in the morning to complete a fasted HIIT workout to burn off the food I ate.
This cycle repeated itself for probably somewhere around 1.5 – 2 years.
Maybe you’re going through something similar.
If you are, this article is for you.
Here are a few tips to help you stick to your weekend diet plan for weight loss so you can make amazing progress and NOT be miserable.
1. Worry About the Week BEFORE the Weekend
“Ok but Bob, you just said this article is for people who can’t stick to their weekend diet plan… so why should I worry about the week? I would’ve read an article about ‘How to stay on track during the week’ instead.”
Well keep reading… there’s a reason for this.
A lot of peoples problems aren’t necessarily the weekend.
It’s what’s causing weekend overeating, which is the week leading up to it.
Let me explain.
What I see a lot of people do, and what I did, is be extremely strict with their diet’s during the week.
- Very low calories
- Only healthy bland foods – no fun foods.
- Skipping Meals
- Fasting in the morning for too long
- Crazy workouts
On the surface, this makes a ton of sense.
Things are more structured during the week.
- You wake up at the same time.
- Maybe you get the kids ready for school.
- Have your coffee and some breakfast.
- You head to work all day, take a lunch, and then finish out the day.
- Then you come home, eat dinner, and relax.
Rinse and repeat.
Therefore, it’s easier to stay on a routine. And since it’s easier for you to stay on a routine, it’s easier for you to be more strict.
The more strict you are, the better progress you’ll make, right? RIGHT?
Not necessarily.
The problem is that you restrict yourself so much during the week, that by the time the weekend comes, you’re deprived and ready to chow down on some food.
Therefore, you have trouble sticking to your weekend diet plan for weight loss.
You end up going over board and eating away all of the progress you’ve made during the week.
But here’s the thing…
Even though this is very common, there is a simple solution. ..
The solution to sticking to your weekend diet plan for weight loss is being less strict during the week.
That way it’ll make it easier to be more on point on the weekend
Look at this example:
Let’s say you have to eat LESS THEN 14,000 calories per week to be in a calorie deficit.
- Monday: 1,200 Cals
- Tuesday: 1,200 Cals
- Wednesday: 1,200 Cals
- Thursday: 1,200 Cals
- Friday: 4,000 Cals
- Saturday: 4,000 Cals
- Sunday: 3,000 Cals
- Total: 15,800 Cals
Instead, what if you bumped up your calories during the week so that you ate less on the weekend?
“Wait… you’re saying to eat more during the week so I eat less on the weekends?”
Hold up… look below:
- Monday: 1,800 Cals
- Tuesday: 1,800 Cals
- Wednesday: 1,800 Cals
- Thursday: 1,800 Cals
- Friday: 1,800 Cals
- Saturday: 2,000 Cals
- Sunday: 2,000 Cals
- Total: 13,000 Cals
See the difference? That’s almost a 3,000 calories which can make or break your progress.
1 lb of fat is roughly 3,500 calories… so you’re basically missing out on 1 lb of fat a week from your weekend overeating.
So, my challenge to you is to start your week off strong.
Have a powerful Monday vs a restrictive Monday and that’ll set the rest of your week and weekend up for fat loss success.
Then the rest of the week, eat more damn food.
The goal is not to eat as little as possible to make the quickest progress.
The goal is to eat the most you possibly can while still making progress.
To do that, take your goal bodyweight x 12.
That number will give you a good starting point of how much to eat for your calorie deficit.
Also, don’t be scared to have some of your favorite foods during the week too.
A big mistake that I made was thinking certain foods were exclusive to the weekends.
So by the time the weekend came, I was deprived and wanted to binge.
But once I realized that I could have those foods during the week in moderation, it made me want them less during the weekend and all together.
You CAN absolutely have the cookie at night if you’d like.
Or even have the bowl of cereal as long as you measure it out and fit it into your calories.
Shit, I just had a bowl of fruity pebbles last night after dinner.
Because calories are what matters most.
And if you hit your calorie goal, you’ll be good.
The less strict you are during the week, the more likely you’ll be able to stick to your weekend diet plan.
2. Start Your Weekend Diet Plan With a Healthy Breakfast
Start your weekends days with a big hearty and healthy breakfast.
The thought process behind this is that when you start your day off with a healthy breakfast, you set the tone for the day.
This’ll make it 10x easier to stay on track the rest of the day.
Plus, you’ll end up feeling pretty damn good the rest of the day too.
And when you feel good, you associate that with what you’re eating so you’re more likely to want to keep feeling good and making healthier decisions.
So, within the first 1-2 hours of waking up and having a coffee (I prefer only cream for me), eat a solid breakfast consisting of:
- A Protein
- Healthy Carb
- Fruit/veggie
It doesn’t need to be anything crazy either.
I understand you may be limited on time and are not a gourmet chef.
A lot of these recipes you find online are great except they take half of your morning to make.
If you have time and patience to do that than great! But, if you don’t…
Then quick and easy options are the way to go.
For example, one of my staple breakfasts is something that takes me 10 minutes max to make. It’s packed with protein and fiber too so I’m pretty full afterwards:
- 2 Eggs and Egg Whites with some cheese
- Oatmeal with a cut up apple and cinnamon
- Either some toast or greek yogurt with berries (depending on how I’m feeling)
And that’s basically it. Super simple, super tasty, and it helps me stay on track with my diet on the weekends.
3. Plan Your Weekend Diet Plan in Advance
Remember from before when I said staying on track during the week is much easier because it’s structured?
Well, typically your weekends are unstructured which makes everything harder.
Because you end up becoming reactive vs proactive.
Instead of having that healthy breakfast, you end up skipping breakfast.
Instead of having that healthy lunch, you end up eating mac and cheese.
Then you’re still hungry so you end up eating half a bag of chips to temporarily fill you up.
By the time dinner comes around, you’re starving like Marvin from South Park…
And even though you know that getting the salad from the restaurant is the best choice for your weekend diet plan…
You end up getting the burger, fries, and mozzarella sticks for an appetizer instead because the cravings and hunger are too over powering.
And to top it off, you mine as well finish off the whole sleeve of Oreos when you get home because why not? You’ll just get back on track tomorrow. (Even though you know that’s not true).
See how this can reallllllly fuck you up? This is why planning your weekend diet plan is so important.
Because a plan gives you structure.
Just like you plan to save for vacation or plan to have a baby. You’re much better prepared and less stressed out then doing those two things right on the spot.
Planning out your weekend diet gives you a guide to follow which makes it so much easier to stay on track with your diet.
And that way when they moment comes to eat, you already know what you’re going to eat.
You’re going off of logic vs the hunger and craving emotions of how you’re feeling in that moment.
For example, you’ll think “Man, I’m so hungry and I’m so pumped to have that stir fry for dinner that I planned on making.”
Versus…
“Holy shit I’m hungry. I don’t have anything planned so I’m just going to order a pizza because it’s quick and easy.”
See the slippery slope?
So plan out:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
Just like you would during the week because the weekend is arguably more important.
What About Going Out to Eat?
I understand that you live a normal life that doesn’t revolve around fitness.
And that means you’ll be going out to eat sometimes to enjoy yourself – as you should.
Make sure to plan it out beforehand so you set yourself up for success.
This way, you know what you’re ordering and you’re able to choose the high protein and healthy option that’ll help you stay within your calories.
If you wait to go to the restaurant to decide like most people, you’re more likely going to make the wrong decision, eat more than you want, and complain again that the “weekends ruining my diet”.
Plus, you can better plan the rest of your day around going out to eat so that you can still stay within your calorie goals for the weekend.
For example, if you know dinner is going to be around 800 calories…
And your total calorie goal is 1,800 – 2,000 calories…
You know you have between 1,000 – 1,200 calories to eat the rest of the day – whether that’s before or after.
Another thing to keep note of is what you eat before the restaurant can help massively prevent weekend overeating.
One thing that has worked well for myself and clients is loading up on fiber and protein before you eat out.
This will come in handy because it’s very filling, low in calories, and help you eat less later on.
These are all important things for staying on track during the weekend and losing body fat.
4. Avoid Cheat Meals
Now, before you freak out, I’m not saying to eliminate your favorite foods. You can and should still be able to enjoy yourself in moderation (more on that in a minute).
But the thing you should eliminate is the word “cheat” from your vocabulary.
By saying cheat day, it implies that you’re doing something wrong or bad.
It implies that you’re eating “bad” foods that will ruin your progress.
As a result, you now feel bad about these foods, about yourself, and try to avoiding them in the future.
Yeah, not good.
Eating “unhealthier” foods is not cheating.
You know what’s cheating?
Not being loyal to your spouse.
Or Steeling money.
Or purposefully betting on the other team and playing like shit so you lose.
Those are cheating and are morally wrong to do.
So stop describing foods as “good” or “bad”.
There is no moral value to it. Food is just food.
Oh, and another thing…
Stop saying “I can’t have x food”.
When you tell yourself you can’t have something what happens? You want that thing even more.
You’re not a child dude. You can have whatever the hell you want because you’re a grown ass adult.
Instead, you’re CHOOSING not to have that food because it does not align with your goals in that moment.
If you wanted that food, you can 100% have it with the understanding that it will slow down your progress and you may not feel the best.
And if you do choose to have it, that’s also the right decision knowing the consequences because sometimes that’s worth it too.
For example, when I look at pizza now I ask myself “How am I going to feel after eating this?”
Sometimes it’s an “Even though I may not feel amazing afterwards, it’s worth it to me.”
Other times it’s “I really want it but I know I’ll feel like shit so I’m choosing not to eat it.”
This takes the emotions out of it and allows you to make a decision that’ll line up with your goals.
So take the word “cheat” and “can’t have” from your vocabulary.
Put your main focus on eating healthy most of the time and sprinkling some fun foods in there from time to time to make it more sustainable for you.
Flexible dieting and the 80/20 rule:
Basically, 80% of the time you eat one ingredient whole foods and the other 20% you can eat whatever the hell you want.
Because as you know, CALORIES are what matter most to lose fat.
As long as you’re in a calorie deficit, regardless if you eat an apple or an apple pie, you will lose fat.
Now, you can definitely go overboard but the point is you 100% can and should still enjoy your favorite foods in moderation.
So what’s moderation look like?
Well, that’s having 2 Oreos instead of the whole sleeve. Probably not the best example because that’s a lot easier said than done lol.
It’s having 1 serving of ice cream instead of the whole container.
It’s having 1 cookie instead of 3.
It’s have 2 pieces of pizza instead of the whole box.
It’s being able to go out to dinner with friends or your spouse, enjoy a few drinks and delicious food, and get right back on track afterwards.
Because you know for a fact one meal doesn’t make or break your progress. Just like one meal on track doesn’t automatically make you lean and mean.
Now, if you’re more of a numbers person unlike me, let’s look at what the 80/20 rule would like…
Let’s say you eat around 2,000 calories per day to lose weight (this is just a random number for simplicity).
80% of 2,000 would be 1,600 calories. So, this is how much you’d want to eat from whole foods.
So your proteins, fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc.
20% of 2,000 would be 400 calories. This would be how much you can eat from whatever else.
So your cookies, chips, pizza, Oreos, etc.
Now, it takes some practice and consistency to learn how to do this but now you know that it CAN be done.
And my oh my how relieving is that knowing you don’t have to give anything up completely?
5. Eat Meals High in Fiber and Protein
Remember from before how I said to load up on protein and fiber rich meals before going out to eat?
Well, that’s because these are the two most filling macronutrients.
This rule applies to basically any day of the week.
So you mine as well get use to eating these foods because they are your “cheat codes” to staying on track during the weekend.
I know. I know. I just said don’t say the word cheat but this warrant’s the use of it.
You’ll want your diet full of them because the more of these you eat, the fuller and more satisfied you’ll be.
You may also notice your cravings decrease when you eat these foods.
And another one of my personal favorites… if you’ve eaten a lot of protein and fiber throughout the day, those fun foods will fill you up quicker.
So maybe it is possible to only eat 2 Oreos instead of the whole sleeve.
For example, if I eat a filling breakfast and lunch, I am way less likjley to over eat dinner and want desssert.
However…
If I skip one of those, I’m more likely to eat more than I wanted for dinner and dessert.
So not only does fiber and protein help you make better decisions…
But when you do eat… you don’t want to eat as much.
6. Give Yourself a Weekend Diet Plan Challenge
Sometimes all you need is a challenge to prove to yourself that you CAN stay on track during the weekends with your diet.
Because knowing you CAN do something is extremely powerful.
Maybe you give yourself some little prize at the end too like new clothes, shoes, or even some weights to workout at home!
The point is, set a challenge to have a perfect weekend.
This doesn’t mean every weekend has to or should be perfect either.
Its just a tool to show you that you CAN do this.
That means…
- No Alcohol.
- No going out to eat.
- No dessert.
Just straight up sticking to your home cooked meals that you have PLANNED out.
This is a great way to not only get on track but stay on track as well.
Because sometimes in order to earn the right to be flexible, you have to be perfect.
7. Hire a Coach to Help With Your Weekend Diet Plan
Yes, I am a coach.
Yes, I am a little biased.
But heres the thing….
I’ve hired my own coaches in the past to teach me and hold me accountable.
I also know what it’s like to work a full time job, raise a baby boy, and grow a business.
So I know what it’s like to be one busy mother fucker.
And having a coach can take all of the guesswork away, and provide extra accountability and support in order to help you stay on track during the weekend and with a busy schedule.
Having someone in your corner that’ll do whatever they can to help you succeed is empowering.
Final Thoughts: What if You Go Off Track from Your Weekend Diet Plan?
Listen…
You will go off track.
You will over eat.
It’s going to happen.
But, the best thing you can do is put it in the past and get right back on track and use it as a learning experience.
No need to “burn it off” or “fast for 2 days”. That’s the worst thing you can do and will only make the problem persist and keep your weekend diet tires spinning in the mud.
Instead, you must realize that you did nothing wrong and that one day does not determine your progress – just like one day on track doesn’t make all of your progress.
You just ate a little more than usual. It’s just like getting a D on one of your tests but A’s on all of the other ones. You’re still averaging an A or B at worst which is pretty damn good.
And that’s the main point – it’s all about consistency and not perfection.
And rather than beating yourself up about it, gain your confidence back by getting back on track.
Ask yourself…
- What you can learn from it?
- What do you think led to this happening?
- What can you do differently next time?
And the next day when you wake up, eat a big healthy breakfast even if you’re not hungry.
This’ll help fix the problem and change your mindset because with a big healthy breakfast, you’re going to get full and get back in that mindset of getting back on track.
And since you ate a decent amount of food, your hunger will regulate over the next few days and you’ll notice that you won’t be as hungry (plus you’ll probably move more naturally from the extra food).
One thing to remember is to just give it your best.
You won’t be perfect and that’s ok.
Even doing something is better than nothing.
So, don’t get caught in the all or nothing mindset of it either has to be perfect or fuck it.
Even ordering a salad before dinner is better than no ordering it.
Remember, you don’t have to be perfect.
You just have to be better than average.
You got this!
-Bob
Ps. Any questions, I’m here to help!
Pps. If you want help on your fat loss journey, grab my Free Fat Loss Cheat Sheet HERE.