After a long week of getting up early to hit the gym before work, making the effort to order (or pack) a healthy lunch every day, and diligently avoiding the box of donuts in the break room and that candy bowl on your neighbor’s desk, there’s nothing wrong with relaxing a little and indulging in a treat or two on the weekend, right?
That’s exactly the kind of thinking that could be sabotaging your diet. Research shows that the majority of people eat more on the weekends than they do on weekdays, whether they’re dieting during the week or not. The average person eats 400 calories per day extra on the weekends, and it’s significantly higher for “dieters on break.” All that extra indulging can result in 12 plus pounds per year or more, which means that even if you’re really strict about dieting during the week, you might still end up breaking even, or even gain weight, if you’re over-indulging on the weekends.
So what’s a girl to do if she doesn’t have the willpower of steel? It’s important to let yourself indulge in your favorite foods every now and then (so you don’t burn out on the diet altogether), but instead of giving yourself a total weekend pass, have your favorites in controlled amounts and make a point to find fun ways to boost exercise (like playing sports, taking the dog to the park, or meeting a friend for a jog) to help burn the extra calories.
(Via QualityC on stock.xchng)
