Weekend Eating can wreck Diets
As most of us have heard, the obesity rate in the United States has increased dramatically over the last 30 years from about 15 percent in the late 70’s to around 33 percent of adults in 2004.
And although this isn’t new information for anyone paying attention, what is new is they’re saying what’s to blame isn’t so much day to day eating, but our Weekend Eating.
Researchers found many of us consume many more calories – about 20% more – on Saturday and Sunday than we do on a typical weekday. Twenty percent may not sound like a lot, but if you typically eat 1,800 calories a day, now that number gets bumped up to almost 2,200.
Since all you need is an extra 100 calories per day to gain one pound in a month, well, eating 20% more on the weekends pretty much gets you there.
The same researchers not only suggest we should chill out on the Belgian Waffles every Sunday, but they also say what can help us from getting so big we need to be buried in a piano is we need to start thinking about how much we eat on weekly basis instead of just daily.
What does that mean? Well, most of us think about how we eat on a daily basis. If we eat a huge Lunch, we’ll most likely have a smaller Dinner to compensate. While that’s a great way to go about things, we can’t forget what we ate yesterday.
If we had a humongous dinner and slab of cheesecake last night, then those calories don’t ‘disappear’ just because the clock strikes Midnight….they’re still with us when we wake up the next morning.
(I know….Bummer)
Since most adults eat between 1,800 and 2,500 calories per day, having a weekly “budget” of calories might be pretty useful. If we think of it in broader terms, that means we have a Food Budget of about 13,000 – 17,000 calories for the week.
Well, since I had a veggie omelet and a piece of French Toast for breakfast yesterday (not to mention the two Mallomars after Dinner), looks like I need to watch what the heck I put in my mouth pretty carefully today.
But the French Toast was so worth it.
OMG…I’d better eat like, two grapes today after how much I chowed down this weekend! LOL!
I think that’s a great way to think about things. When I overeat one day, I really try (try
) not to eat as much the next day.
Definitely something we all need to remember during the holidays!
JackieK – Believe me, you’re not the only one
SusanS – Good for you! It can be hard to do, since once you have sugar, you usually crave it the next day, too!
BachelorGirl – Agreed! They had an interesting point – Weekends do more diet damage than Holidays “because there are more weekends than Holidays”, which is something that makes perfect sense (that I hadn’t thought of in quite that way before).
Good points. We have cut back to only eating out once per weekend to help with this kind of issue. And we usually have breakfast or brunch out, which is typically less calories than dinner. Weekends are a good time to plan/prepare several meals for the upcoming week too so you won’t be impulsive or eat a lot of processed/packaged foods. I’m learning a lot about making ahead of time, freezing and popping things in the microwave for later.
I do like to bake a treat on the weekends though, but lately I’m opting for lighter desserts, like the diet soda cake, a weight watchers recipe. Just add 10 oz of diet soda to a cake mix; bake like normal; then add some fat-free cool-whip topping. Still very tasty but way less fat and caloric intake. We can still have our sweet stuff. We just have to be smarter about it these days. I’m trying to drink more water when that first hunger crave occurs. So far, it’s helping. Hopefully by spring, I’ll see/feel a real difference in my efforts.
Oh one more thing, I read an article after Halloween that experts and dentists recommend just binge eating all that Halloween candy in one or two days instead of dragging it out over weeks. They say it’s better for your teeth and better for you body to just do it and get it over with. So I think the point is, if you screw up one or two days for the holidays, who cares!? Just pick back up with your healthy ways when it’s over and move on.
I’m real bad about thinking of each day as a fresh start. If I blow my diet, I end up figuring may as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day since I’ve already blown it. I know…sucky thinking!
lol, I think that’s the spirit. Make every calorie count, and if you’re gonna go over, it’s gotta be “worth it”! And then you can go back into moderation with the less “worthy” stuff.
well this information is a buzz kill over the holidays!!!! not a surprise but a buzz kill nonetheless since my strategy is always be good during the week and loosen up on the w/end!!! I’ll get back on the ball after the holidays adn this move
good reminders tho Ann!!!
Happy Holidays!
2 long days of pigging out more than erases 5 diet days, maybe 10 diet days! So let’s stop that shit!
Secretia