One of the hardest parts of coaching people through a weight loss journey is undoubtedly the weekend.

Its amazing how many people can stick to a nutrition plan or diet Monday-Friday and then BAM the weekend hits and it all goes out of the window.

I use to get frustrated by this as a coach

However, when you actually delve into the exact reasons as to why this happens it becomes easier to coach people through it.

Most people lead very stressful and busy lives with kids, work, cooking, cleaning etc

People generally get more time on weekends as they do not have to work.

You know the scenario, the rushing around all week to get the kids ready for school, then get to work, get home, cook dinner, sort the kids out before finally sitting down for an hour, eating your own meal and then getting into bed before repeating again for 5 days a week.

Suddenly Saturday is here and there is no rush, the kids can chill out a bit and everything is generally a little bit more relaxed.

Now i appreciate that is not the case with everyone.

So what happens in our minds is this

We have a stressful week, we finish work and all we an think of is relaxing and unwinding over the weekend.

Why not hey, we deserve it

Rightly so!

This blog post is certainly not here to tell you, you cant do that.

However, lets look at things from a weight loss point of view

You have had a great week, you have avoided the temptations, you have exercised and are feelin gpretty good with your efforts.

The weekend hits and that unwinding translates into sitting down and having a glass of wine or other alcoholic drink once the kids are in bed, maybe even going out for a meal or even a take away.

Saturday comes and you get the same feeling, after all you have been working so hard all week so once again the wine comes out, you relax with your food again, that leads to some chocolate coming out after dinner whilst watching tv or a film

Sunday comes, more wine and big stinking roast dinner followed by desert.

Before you know it, all your hard work from Monday to Friday seems so long ago and you are now worried that all your hard work has been wasted.

Quite honestly, it probably is

Since Friday and across the weekend you have probably consumed a minimum of an extra 2000 calories in processed food, sweet treats and alcohol.

For an average female that’s a days worth of calories.

So you start again Monday and the cycle goes round again and again and again.

So, why does this happen and what can you do about it?

Now i want to start by saying that you need to be aware that this is happening, the more you hide the fact that is actually happening the more you will get frustrated with your weight loss results and how you feel.

This is not about a night out with friends, its about regularly going off plan over weekends.

Once you have accepted it is happening you need to come up with a plan of action.

The biggest reason this happens is the change of routine people have.

We answered it above

Weekends are more relaxed and therefore our routine’s are more relaxed, we dont plan for the weekends and we leave everything to chance.

99% of people will choose the drink and takeaways, trust me!

Now, if you are on a weight loss journey because you genuinely want to lose the weight, you feel crap about yourself and really want to end this cycle, here is what you need to do.

You need to come up with a Monday-Friday routine that works for you in regards to food and then a Saturday and Sunday routine that works for you and keeps your weight loss goal in mind.

Now, most people reading this will say

OMG How boring i am never going to be able to drink again, i enjoy a drink on the weekend and it relaxes me.

Well shock horror, i like a drink on the weekend but it needs to be managed.

This mindset to me is the number 1 problem people have

No one is telling you you will never drink again, that’s the way you perceive the information

I have stages we work on with clients

Weight loss stage

This is the stage where the biggest changes happen and the routine needs to work consistently, not 5 days a week, 7 days a week. It takes your lifestyle into account and your goals.
The odd night out during this stage is fine and is discussed.

The aim of the weight loss stage is to get you to maintenance stage.

Maintenance Stage

A stage where you have changed your habits for the better and are leading a healthy lifestyle.
More treats and a slightly more relaxed approach can come in and we work on making you happy overall.

The problem is, most people dont ever hit Maintenance Stage because the are not consistent enough with the weight loss stage.

The other thing to take into account, is most people’s diets are far too restrictive in what they eat and therefore they end up binging.

Lets take an average shake and bar diet that keeps you around 1000 calories a day, you constantly fight hunger every day of the week because you are not eating enough.
There is only so much of that your body and mind will take before you crack, have a blow out and end up eating and drinking the whole world in one weekend.

A weight loss plan should always contain foods you enjoy within reason and yes, the odd drop of alcohol if thats how you want to live.
Most of the time its just a case of talking it through with your coach.

Im a big believer that this is why most of the regular diets out there that you can sign upto fail, because they are too restrictive and also because people dont actually have someone they can talk to about there individual situation.

So, be aware of your weekends and ask yourself if they are hampering your weight loss and if so Why?

If you genuinely dont like the way you feel and are not happy with your weight at some point in your life you need to make that weight loss goal a priority.

What separates the people getting results from the people not getting results?

Consistency!

If you need any help or would like a chat about this please feel free to get in touch.