HELPFUL TIPS to QUIT WEEKEND OVEREATING

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has been guilty of overeating on my weekends! For many years I would follow a super clean eating plan all week and then when the weekend hit I'd drink like a fish and eat every piece of junk food I could get my hands on. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was gaining weight as I was killing myself with running most days and a very lean diet on weekdays.

Once Friday afternoon came around I'd grab potato chips, ice cream and chocolate and hunker down binging as a reward for being so good all week. I'd repeat the same unhealthy eating on Saturday and sometimes Sunday night, when I wasn't out drinking way too much. I couldn't seem to break this habit as I considered the overeating as my 'right' after such a gruelling week of nothing bad - no chocolate, no artificial sugar, no chips, no dairy, not even a cracker that contained gluten. 

It was all going very well, except for two pretty major negatives: I felt terrible emotionally and physically. I was bigger than I'd been for years, I was tired all the time and I felt very unstable mentally. I would beat myself up after every overindulgence on the weekends and then I'd go right back and do it again the very next night or the next weekend. I was stuck in a vicious cycle that I couldn't get out of, like being in a terrible relationship. When I hit an all time low emotionally, I decided I had to make some changes. Here's how I quit overeating on the weekend: 

1. I stopped boozing. 

Now I know a lot of you are probably reading this and thinking 'she is crazy, I'm not giving up alcohol!' Now that's completely your choice but I am just telling you what worked for me. By cutting out the booze, I felt a 100 times better mentally, which meant that I didn't reach for junk food as a way to 'soothe' and 'comfort' myself. When I didn't drink, I didn't eat bad food, as I was more aware and conscious of my eating decisions. When I wasn't hungover, I didn't reach for greasy food and sugary drinks, as I felt so good that I wanted to get up and exercise and enjoy the day. And as I started to slow down and eventually stop the drinking, I started to like myself and respect and value my body much more. The hard cold reality is that your body will not be healthy if you drink like a fish. I used to love the feeling I got when I'd had a few or gotten drunk, however now I am in love with the feeling I get when I wake up and feel fresh and not hungover. 

2. I started eating the occasional 'bad' foods during the week. 

When I changed my mindset from Friday, Saturday and Sunday not being my 'cheat' days, I started to allow myself to eat the occasional 'bad' food during the week. I allowed myself a small piece of dark chocolate some nights, a slice of homemade banana bread after lunch and the occasional savoury chip during the week. At first I felt guilty doing this, as my week was meant to be solely 'clean eating'. However, a strange thing happened. It would get to Friday and I wouldn't feel like a whole massive bag of corn chips, as I had a few chips the day before. I didn't want a whole block of chocolate, as I had a bite of dark chocolate after lunch a few days ago. Please don't misunderstand me, I still ate very healthily during the week, but I allowed myself a little treat here and there, instead of thinking to myself; 'I'll save that burger, those fries, those lollies, that chocolate and that ice cream for the weekend'. This strategy worked almost sub consciously, as my brain would tell my stomach 'you had a slice of cake yesterday so how about you have no sugar today'. Plus I felt like I was never depriving myself. 

3. I experimented with food

On days that I felt like a slice of banana bread, I would make it myself. On days that I wanted an ice cream, I would make myself a thick smoothie and freeze it. When I crave hot chips and burgers, I cooked them up in my kitchen. This way I knew exactly what ingredients went into everything I was making. I made the ingredients as healthy as I could, as I knew that if I bought these products at a restaurant or bakery they would be filled with worse ingredients. To make sure that I didn't get bored with the healthy food I made, I experimented with different meals most days. There's nothing more depressing and more unappealing to me than poached chicken breast and steamed broccoli everyday. There is no way that I could sustain eating that day in, day out and therefore I never expect my clients to either! Instead I constantly reinvented my eating, often making different salads, using a variety of vegetables, homemade dressings, meat and legumes. 

4. I stopped beating myself up

When I allowed myself some 'bad' food, I worked hard to not beat myself up or put myself down. I learnt how to 'own my choices' and enjoyed eating something naughty instead of making myself feel guilty about it. Once I stopped talking to myself negatively, I found that I often didn't want to binge on the junk food I was eating and instead just wanted to enjoy a small amount of it. 

5. I ate slower and drank more water 

I taught myself how to savour my food, especially when it was a treat. I would eat very slowly and then would drink a glass of water and sit for a few minutes before reaching for more junk food. Often I'd find that I would feel very full after my little treat and wouldn't need anymore. This would stop the automatic binging. 

As I write all of this, I realise that I wrote in past tense! Just incase any of you picked up on that I still follow all of the above tips presently and must say I never feel deprived of any food. I also feel the healthiest, the most in shape and the happiest I can ever remember being!  I do occasionally have a night in when I feel the urge to binge on tim tams or chips, however often after eating a few very slowly I don't keep going. Give a few of these tips a try when you next feel the urge to binge!

x Emily 

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