I have always counseled my clients to allow themselves one meal a week to eat the foods they may consciously avoid when trying to lose weight. For most people, that may mean going out to dinner on a weekend evening and splurging a bit: having dessert, or maybe a tasty appetizer or the homemade lasagna you have been craving (note I wrote OR- this is not a license to gorge). While this kind of controlled “splurge” rarely if ever impacts weight loss efforts, unfortunately, many people take this one meal splurge to mean a weekend of overeating.
A recent study published in the journal Obesity confirmed this trend. Their study followed 48 adult subjects for one year, asking them to keep a food journal throughout the year. The study demonstrated a 36% increase in calorie intake on Saturdays alone, compounded by a significant decrease in physical activity on Sundays. Imagine the impact of taking in more calories one day, and then exercising less the next!
If you have felt stuck with your weight loss, and feel you have great exercise and eating patterns throughout the week, you may want to explore this problem further. Keep a food journal over the weekend (some of my clients are afraid to do this- and there is a reason why!) to track where you go awry. And, although you do not need to kill yourself with exercise on Sundays, don’t sit on the couch the whole day either. A pleasant walk with family, a game of tennis with friends, swimming at the beach; these are all light activities that still burn calories and can make a difference in your weight loss efforts over time.Denial is not just a river in Egypt. Weight loss takes incredible diligence 90% of the time. An occasional controlled splurge, a day off from hard exercise- these are all smart ways to balance your efforts. But if your weekends are a license to gorge, you need to change this, or your weight loss goals may not be achievable.