By Krista Scott-Dixon
In my world, weekend overeating (and over-drinking) was ‘just what people did’. But when I let go of this behavior, the cycle broke. I dropped the emotional baggage that came with it, improved my health, and lost weight.
Sure, I was “good” all week. But weekend overeating? That was my jam. Every Friday around 5 pm, as I waited for the bus after work, I’d start to salivate. The end of the work week meant red wine, pizza, a giant bag of chips, and bad movies. It was a Friday ritual.
Sometimes I’d call my husband while waiting. What should we get on the pizza? They do that really good pesto sauce with goat cheese. What about extra sausage? Friday night, when I got to eat whatever I wanted, was the highlight of my week. My job was stressful. The commute was long. Coming home, dumping my stuff, and crushing some fast food and drink was my way of unwinding.
However…Friday became a gateway drug to the rest of the weekend. I ate big breakfasts on Saturdays before I went to the gym, and big lunches afterwards. I went out on Saturday nights for drinks and a heavy meal. Or stayed home for more takeout and movies on the couch. Then came Sunday brunches, of course. And picking up some of those amazing cookies at that little coffee shop on Sunday walks. And, naturally, you close weekends with a big Sunday roast… because it’s Sunday.
Because it’s Friday. Because it’s Saturday. Because it’s Sunday. Which bled into: Because it’s Thursday night. Technically close enough to Friday. Friday-adjacent, and good enough.
In my head, the weekend was a time where “normal rules” didn’t apply. It was a time to relax, put my feet up, and let the soothing couching, crunching, and chewing take me away. I’m not talking about compulsive bingeing here. That’s where you have episodes of eating massive quantities without thinking, almost like you’re on autopilot.
People with binge eating disorder feel disassociated while overeating and that can be hard to break without help from a doctor or therapist. But for me, it wasn’t that. Rather, mine was the kind of overeating where you’re all-in: a deliberate, convenient, stress-fueled, often social, habit.
My social circle was happy to support it. I had brunch buddies and pizza pals. As far as I was concerned, going hog wild was just what people did on weekends. Looking back, I also know that in the face of a stressful job and overwhelming responsibilities my overeating ritual made me feel sane and human.
After a while, though, weekend overeating started to suck. As every overeater knows, the joy of runaway indulgence comes with consequences. You feel physically uncomfortable, bloated, perhaps even sick to your stomach. Mentally, you feel crappy. Guilty. Regretful. Maybe angry at yourself. Or just angry in general.
And while weight fluctuation is inevitable when you’re trying to get in shape, if you want to stay healthy and fit, or make fitness and health a permanent part of your lifestyle, then weekend overeating will definitely sabotage your goals. Aside from the obvious extra body fat or stalled performance, there’s other unwanted stuff. Like your joints hurt because of inflammation from last night’s junk food/sugar-fest. Or you’re too full to move or workout properly. Or you lie awake in bed with metabolically-driven sweats, huffing in small breaths around the mass of food in your belly.
Yet the cycle can be hard to break. I tried to get it under control. I started cutting deals with myself, such as, if it’s “real food” then it’s okay to overeat. (Cue jars of almond butter, spinach pizzas, and all-you-can-eat sushi.) During the week, I trained harder. Ate Spartan. Tracked low and high calories in a spreadsheet. But every starvation attempt was inevitably followed by an even bigger blowout on the weekend.
The cycle continued; my health and fitness goals remained elusive. How did I finally break free? Maybe not how you think. I didn’t use “one weird trick”, or biological manipulation, or reverse psychology. Rather, I developed a healthier relationship with food… and myself. Here’s how:
Strategy #1: I aimed for “better” instead of “perfect”. I’ve seen it in so many people. They want to follow the “perfect” diet. So they adhere to strict meal plans (to the last measured teaspoon) Monday to Friday. And, the whole week, they worry incessantly about screwing things up.
By the weekend, though, the willpower wears down. They’re so sick of restrictive eating and can’t wait to eat food they’re more used to. Bring on the weekend binge! For most of them, there are only two options: perfect or crap. So the logic follows: “It’s Saturday, I’m out to lunch with my family, and I can’t have my perfect pre-portioned kale salad like I usually do, so instead I’ll just overeat a giant bacon cheeseburger and a huge heap of fries.”
If you take “perfect” off the table, things change. You feel empowered because there are now other options. Instead of kale salad vs. five servings of a really bad idea, there’s: “I’m actually in the mood for a salad with my burger because I had something that wasn’t as healthy at that work lunch yesterday.”
Therefore, my solution: Always aim for “better”. Throughout the work week and the weekend, I started to consider my health and fitness goals, what I was in the mood for, what was available, etc. I came up with a definition of “good enough”, and aimed for that.
Remember: The decent method you actually follow and get results from is better than the “perfect” one you quit.
Strategy #2: I gave up on “Cheat Days”. Monday through Saturday is all about being faithful to your diet. But Sunday… That’s Cheat Day. Oh, Cheat Day. The happiest day of your week. You wake up on Cheat Day morning like a kid at Christmas. Go hog wild all day long, eating all the stuff you didn’t permit yourself at other times. As evening nears, you start to freak out. OMG! Cheat Day is ending soon! So you eat (and maybe drink) even more. Because tomorrow, it’s back to reality. Back to fidelity and compliance.
Sure, some people may find the idea of a weekly Cheat Day useful both mentally and physically. If this is you, and it works for you, then by all means continue. But for most of the people, having one Cheat Day means the rest of the week is food purgatory.
My solution: I quit the Cheat Day routine, and instead worked on my misguided thinking about food so I would choose wisely all week long.
In my world, weekend overeating (and over-drinking) was ‘just what people did’. But when I let go of this behavior, the cycle broke. I dropped the emotional baggage that came with it, improved my health, and lost weight.
Sure, I was “good” all week. But weekend overeating? That was my jam. Every Friday around 5 pm, as I waited for the bus after work, I’d start to salivate. The end of the work week meant red wine, pizza, a giant bag of chips, and bad movies. It was a Friday ritual.
Sometimes I’d call my husband while waiting. What should we get on the pizza? They do that really good pesto sauce with goat cheese. What about extra sausage? Friday night, when I got to eat whatever I wanted, was the highlight of my week. My job was stressful. The commute was long. Coming home, dumping my stuff, and crushing some fast food and drink was my way of unwinding.
However…Friday became a gateway drug to the rest of the weekend. I ate big breakfasts on Saturdays before I went to the gym, and big lunches afterwards. I went out on Saturday nights for drinks and a heavy meal. Or stayed home for more takeout and movies on the couch. Then came Sunday brunches, of course. And picking up some of those amazing cookies at that little coffee shop on Sunday walks. And, naturally, you close weekends with a big Sunday roast… because it’s Sunday.
Because it’s Friday. Because it’s Saturday. Because it’s Sunday. Which bled into: Because it’s Thursday night. Technically close enough to Friday. Friday-adjacent, and good enough.
In my head, the weekend was a time where “normal rules” didn’t apply. It was a time to relax, put my feet up, and let the soothing couching, crunching, and chewing take me away. I’m not talking about compulsive bingeing here. That’s where you have episodes of eating massive quantities without thinking, almost like you’re on autopilot.
People with binge eating disorder feel disassociated while overeating and that can be hard to break without help from a doctor or therapist. But for me, it wasn’t that. Rather, mine was the kind of overeating where you’re all-in: a deliberate, convenient, stress-fueled, often social, habit.
My social circle was happy to support it. I had brunch buddies and pizza pals. As far as I was concerned, going hog wild was just what people did on weekends. Looking back, I also know that in the face of a stressful job and overwhelming responsibilities my overeating ritual made me feel sane and human.
After a while, though, weekend overeating started to suck. As every overeater knows, the joy of runaway indulgence comes with consequences. You feel physically uncomfortable, bloated, perhaps even sick to your stomach. Mentally, you feel crappy. Guilty. Regretful. Maybe angry at yourself. Or just angry in general.
And while weight fluctuation is inevitable when you’re trying to get in shape, if you want to stay healthy and fit, or make fitness and health a permanent part of your lifestyle, then weekend overeating will definitely sabotage your goals. Aside from the obvious extra body fat or stalled performance, there’s other unwanted stuff. Like your joints hurt because of inflammation from last night’s junk food/sugar-fest. Or you’re too full to move or workout properly. Or you lie awake in bed with metabolically-driven sweats, huffing in small breaths around the mass of food in your belly.
Yet the cycle can be hard to break. I tried to get it under control. I started cutting deals with myself, such as, if it’s “real food” then it’s okay to overeat. (Cue jars of almond butter, spinach pizzas, and all-you-can-eat sushi.) During the week, I trained harder. Ate Spartan. Tracked low and high calories in a spreadsheet. But every starvation attempt was inevitably followed by an even bigger blowout on the weekend.
The cycle continued; my health and fitness goals remained elusive. How did I finally break free? Maybe not how you think. I didn’t use “one weird trick”, or biological manipulation, or reverse psychology. Rather, I developed a healthier relationship with food… and myself. Here’s how:
Strategy #1: I aimed for “better” instead of “perfect”. I’ve seen it in so many people. They want to follow the “perfect” diet. So they adhere to strict meal plans (to the last measured teaspoon) Monday to Friday. And, the whole week, they worry incessantly about screwing things up.
By the weekend, though, the willpower wears down. They’re so sick of restrictive eating and can’t wait to eat food they’re more used to. Bring on the weekend binge! For most of them, there are only two options: perfect or crap. So the logic follows: “It’s Saturday, I’m out to lunch with my family, and I can’t have my perfect pre-portioned kale salad like I usually do, so instead I’ll just overeat a giant bacon cheeseburger and a huge heap of fries.”
If you take “perfect” off the table, things change. You feel empowered because there are now other options. Instead of kale salad vs. five servings of a really bad idea, there’s: “I’m actually in the mood for a salad with my burger because I had something that wasn’t as healthy at that work lunch yesterday.”
Therefore, my solution: Always aim for “better”. Throughout the work week and the weekend, I started to consider my health and fitness goals, what I was in the mood for, what was available, etc. I came up with a definition of “good enough”, and aimed for that.
Remember: The decent method you actually follow and get results from is better than the “perfect” one you quit.
Strategy #2: I gave up on “Cheat Days”. Monday through Saturday is all about being faithful to your diet. But Sunday… That’s Cheat Day. Oh, Cheat Day. The happiest day of your week. You wake up on Cheat Day morning like a kid at Christmas. Go hog wild all day long, eating all the stuff you didn’t permit yourself at other times. As evening nears, you start to freak out. OMG! Cheat Day is ending soon! So you eat (and maybe drink) even more. Because tomorrow, it’s back to reality. Back to fidelity and compliance.
Sure, some people may find the idea of a weekly Cheat Day useful both mentally and physically. If this is you, and it works for you, then by all means continue. But for most of the people, having one Cheat Day means the rest of the week is food purgatory.
My solution: I quit the Cheat Day routine, and instead worked on my misguided thinking about food so I would choose wisely all week long.
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