Another weekend is here, yay! Naturally, it’s that time to relax and ‘stretch your legs’ after a week full of activities. However, while rest is very welcome, those prolonged periods of inactivity can trigger all sorts of desires for food, especially in portions that are not exactly waist-line friendly. This may not matter much to some people, but for those of us on a permanent weight management journey, we must be careful in controlling that desire.
It doesn’t even help that weekends are typically filled with all kinds of parties and owambes, increasing the temptation we face. Think about Friday Happy Hour and all those liquid calories. Phew!!!
So, the million-dollar question is: how do we navigate this ‘all-I-wanna-do-is=EAT’ weekend drama?
The first thing I say to those on my weight-loss squad on the
weekend would be this:
Have a plan and stick to it
This sounds really basic, but until we are intentional about anything, we would hardly find the results that we so desire. Let your meal plan include a solid weekend plan too. I would typically put cheat meals of choice for my clients over the weekend. But I also tell them to plan for the treat and not just be casual about it.
On the other hand, there must be a commitment to stick to the plan. Having a plan is not automatic victory over weekend binging temptation. It just means you have a place to direct your emotions and appetite too, as opposed to letting it wander aimlessly, and landing on just any food available.
Usually, the time to make the plan is before the weekend comes upon you. Then armed with that plan, you can then shop accordingly and be ready in advance.
Now, the next thing is:
Get busy
I don’t mean busy as in the kind you have been all week with your job. I do mean the kind that at least keeps your mind from wandering. If you have worked at a job all week, maybe you can spend some good time over the weekend working on yourself. You could take up a hobby, a course, volunteer somewhere, hang out with friends over stuff that is not solely food-focused. There are many non-food ways to connect, and a simple Google or Pinterest search will give you some great ideas. I typically like to spend the weekend doing some physical activity that involves my kids. We could go swimming, or to Parks and Arcades littered around Lagos for kids.
Idleness of the mind and body usually leads to boredom of the belly and sometimes, we misinterpret boredom for hunger, and we satisfy it with junk or overeating, something that drinking some water and relaxing would have helped. Before you think this is not practical, think about situations where you lose 3 kg during the week and add 4 kg over the weekend.
Finally, don’t forget that for some kinds of temptation, once you taste it, you will want it. So to put it simply…
Don’teven start
There is one temptation I constantly battle, Nuts!! Many times, once I taste groundnut, I literally must
finish whatever is left of the bottle. It is like opening a tap with a faulty head, and so it just keeps flowing. I sometimes wonder why many of us hardly have such desires for Apples and Cucumbers. It is mostly Chocolates, Small chops, Nut and the likes. All high-calorie foods with a tendency to ruin our weight loss journey where we cannot apply the brakes.
So, I challenge you today, if you can’t claim full control and discipline over any food, turn back that battle right at the gate. Don’t think you can invite it in and let it out as you will. No, ma’am. If you taste it, you will like it, and you will not be able to control it so don’t start.
Weight loss is a real fight and we need to get out all our Arsenals out and blazing if we are going to win this battle once and for all. The result is oh-so-worth it.
And the best part? When you achieve your desired weight, you can relax some
of these rules. The keyword is, relax! Not totally lose control over the weekend, if not you will
be right back where you started.
So, grab your green and flavored teas darlings, and cheers to the friggin’ weekend.