This isn’t Vegas, what happens on the weekends doesn’t stay on the weekends.

But you know that already, don’t you? 

You’re here because you struggle with binge eating on weekends. 

Monday-Friday until about 5 p.m. you’re super dedicated with your workouts and nutrition.

You count calories.

You hit all the workouts you had planned. 

And you make sure to get your daily 7,500-10,000 steps.

But once the weekend hits, like clockwork, everything just seems to crumble like a sand castle on the beach.

You go into it planning to just have one “cheat meal.”

But in the end, you don’t just go over your calories by a little bit. 

You go over them by a mile and a half.

And then you’re always coming out of the weekend disappointed in yourself and filled with regret.

What can you do to put a stop to weekend binging? 

Fortunately for you, I have some good news.

Your weekends don’t always have to fall apart like an old, beat-up car.

These 4 simple tips will help you navigate your weekend like a pro, stick to your calorie deficit, and put an end to your binge eating on the weekends once and for all. 

Why do I eat so much on the weekends?

Everyone’s different but there are a variety of reasons that might explain why you’re binge eating on weekends.

You could be looking at your weekends as this free-for-all hall pass you deserve after “being good” Monday–Friday. 

Maybe a lack of planning is why things go off the rails for you.

Or maybe you’re trying to be perfect and when you can’t be, you just give up trying to stay on top of things.

Regardless of the reason, it doesn’t have to be like that anymore once you start applying the 4 strategies below designed to help you erase weekend binging from your life. 

How to quit overeating on the weekends–4 simple strategies

1. Don’t restrict yourself so much during the week

 

Weights and cardio Monday-Friday, check ✅

Sticking to your calories and eating enough protein Monday-Friday, check ✅

The weekends….

Ehhhh, that’s where things take a turn.

You’re stuck in a pattern of:

• Being super on point during the week
• Binge eating on the weekends and feeling bad about yourself for not being able to stay on top of things
• Starting back up again on Monday

And that cycle just keeps on repeating itself, am I right?

Week.

After week.

After week.

And that’s because…

Deprivation during the week = weekend binging.

The solution?

Start eating with more balance and incorporate some of your favorite foods (yes, the higher-calorie ones like pizza, burgers, chips, and ice cream) during the week so you don’t feel deprived once the weekend rolls around. 

This is how you want your weeks to look: 🥗🍟🏋️‍♀️🥗🏃🏾🌮🥗🥗🏋️‍♀️🍻

Not this: 🥗🥗🏃🏾🥗🏋️‍♀️🍕🍻🍔🍟🍾

Your diet becomes a lot more sustainable when you don’t restrict yourself to only eating foods you deem “healthy” or “good” Monday-Friday and saving those “bad” foods for the weekend.

Let’s get one thing straight, shall we?

Foods don’t have a moral value, there’s no such thing as “good” or “bad” ones. 

I don’t care what it is, any food can be had in your diet in moderation and you’ll still see results.

2. Get a game plan together for your weekends

“By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail.” 

If you want to put a stop to weekend binging and take back control of your life, there isn’t a more relevant saying.

When you don’t have a plan or any sort of direction, it’s easy to justify throwing your hands in the air and saying “screw it.”

Just how are you supposed to get to your destination without a road map?

You create one so you can navigate your weekends like a pro, that’s how.

You literally take out your phone and actually plan your weekends out.

Pre-log your eat-outs, meeting up with friends for drinks, etc, and then build your weekend around those activities to ensure you stay within your calories. 

Let’s say you’re going out to eat with some friends on Saturday night.

Open up MyFitnessPal or whatever calorie-counting app you use and pre-log those meals, drinks, etc right now.

3. Bump your calories up to maintenance one or two days a week

 

As long as you’re in a calorie deficit for the week overall, you’ll still lose weight.

In other words, you don’t have to be in a calorie deficit every single day to see progress.

Eating at maintenance one or two days a week can reduce that pesky weekend binging itch you feel like you just always need to scratch.

Let’s say your deficit calories are 2,500 and your maintenance calories are 3,000.

Here’s how your week could look when you increase your calories up to maintenance:

Obviously, you don’t have to choose the same days I did in the example.

But see how you’re still in a calorie deficit for the week despite bumping your calories up to maintenance for two days?

You should know this though…

Increasing your calories one or two days might mean a taaaad bit slower weight loss.

But if losing weight a little slower makes things more sustainable for you then it’s 100% worth it.

Long-term, you’ll be able to sustain your results. 

Whereas if you keep trying to be in a calorie deficit 7 days a week, 24/7 you’ll just continue binge eating on weekends.

4. Stop looking at things in all-or-nothing terms

If you can’t be perfect with something, would you rather just not do it at all?

“This restaurant doesn’t have the salad I planned on getting so I’ll just have a cheeseburger and fries instead.”

“I don’t have time for my full workout so I’ll just skip the gym today.”

“I forgot to get my favorite healthy snack when I went grocery shopping this week so I guess that means I’m eating chips every day at snack time.” 

That’s all-or-nothing thinking, black-and-white thinking…Whatever you want to call it.

And you won’t kick weekend binging to the curb if that’s your mindset.

Let’s reshape those few sentences above to make them more flexible and realistic so you can stay on track even when things might not be the most ideal. 

“This restaurant doesn’t have the salad I wanted but instead of getting a burger AND fries, I’ll order a burger with a side of steamed vegetables.”

“I don’t have time for my full 60-minute workout but I have time for a quick 20 to 30-minute one.”

“Chips are definitely okay to have in moderation but I can work with what I have to choose healthier, more filling options for a snack.”  

See what I mean?

You don’t want to look at things as “I need to either be all in or all out.”

Something is better than nothing 100% of the time.

Things won’t always be perfect and that’s okay.

Perfection doesn’t drive results, consistency does.

5 simple tips to minimize hunger and quit weekend binging 

1. Find lower-calorie alternatives of your favorites

For the most part, when it comes to workout length or the number of exercises you should do, more doesn’t equal better. 

But it does when it comes to having lower-calorie alternatives to your favorite foods.

You get MORE food on FEWER calories so you can be more full.

Feeling full and satisfied = no more weekend binging.

There are plenty of lower-calorie alternatives out there that still taste amazing so it’s not like you’ll have to eat something that tastes like sandpaper or plastic just to save calories. 

Here’s one…

I use Bolthouse Farms Caesar dressing instead of a regular, higher-calorie brand. 

Would you look at that?

Bolthouse Farms contains less than half the number of calories as normal Caesar.

As I mentioned, you can eat more because it’s fewer calories. 

Or if you want to save calories you can because you’re consuming fewer calories for the same amount of food.

It’s a win-win either way.

That’s just one example but I think you get the idea.

It doesn’t just have to be single foods either.

Let’s say you’re making a homemade recipe like lasagna.

Are there recipe alternatives out there that are lower-calorie, still taste good, and can help you hit your macro targets?

You better believe there are.

For recipes like those, I highly recommend you give the following people on Instagram a follow:

If you’re on Instagram, I highly recommend giving these people a follow:

• Stealth Health Life (@stealth_health_life)
• Michael Kory (@michaelkory)
• Tasty Shreds (@tastyshreds)
• Fair Fit Eats (@fairfiteats)
• The Flexible Dieting Lifestyle (@theflexibledietinglifestyle)

2. Drink more water

You can never go wrong with water…

1. Water has zero calories.

2. Our bodies sometimes mask thirst as hunger, so while you may FEEL hungry, you’re really just thirsty.

Diet soda, a water flavor enhancer like MiO, or Gatorade Zero can also be good for satisfying sweet drink cravings. 

3. Do the fruit test

Next time you think you’re hungry, pick a fruit like an apple, banana, mango, peach…It really doesn’t matter.

Ask yourself, “If this is all I had to eat in my house, would I eat this piece of fruit right now?”

If the answer is no and you wish that piece of fruit was a hamburger or something like that, you’re probably not all that truly hungry.

If your answer is yes then, yep, odds are you’re actually hungry.

4. Try the 20-minute test

 

Sometimes, we get caught up in the moment, and for whatever reason, the first thing we turn to is food.

But similar to the fruit test, are you ACTUALLY hungry?

Simply wait 20 minutes before grabbing something to eat.

If you’re still hungry after that 20 minutes, go ahead and eat something.

5. Center your diet on protein, veggies, and fiber

This doesn’t just apply to weekend binging.

It’ll be much easier to maintain a deficit when you eat like this during the week too. 

 

Protein

Foods high in protein fill you up, are key to muscle growth/maintenance, and increase your metabolism.

 

Fiber

Similar to protein, fiber keeps you fuller for longer and has a ton of amazing health benefits.

For example, you lower your risk of heart disease by 9% for every 7 grams of fiber you eat.

You also lower your risk of breast cancer by 5% for every 10 grams of fiber you eat.

 

Vegetables

Nothing’s changed from when you were little and all the adults in your life told you to eat your fruits and veggies.

They’re still healthy and good for you.

In terms of weight loss, veggies are high-volume (you get to eat a lot on not-that-many calories). 

How to quit weekend binging FAQs

Is it okay to binge eat once a week?

From a weight loss perspective, that depends.

It all comes down to calories.

You may be able to binge once a week and still maintain your calorie deficit, in which case, you’d still lose weight.

But from a relationship with food perspective, weekend binging doesn’t set you up to have a very good one at all, so I’m very much against it. 

Odds are, if you have this one day a week when you’re just binging, you’re basically telling yourself “Today is a day I get to have all the foods I didn’t allow myself to have during the week.”  

You’re still stuck in this cycle of being super on point for 6 days or however long it is and then just going crazy once you reach your “cheat day.”  

That’s the sort of all-or-nothing mentality you want to break free of.

What should I do after an indulgent weekend?

Let’s say one weekend you ate more calories than you intended to…

There’s only one rule you need to follow…

Do not, under any circumstance, try to “make up” for anything.

So what you indulged a little this weekend?

You don’t need to sweat it out, do extra cardio, or add strength training sessions to your workout routine.

I go into way more detail about what to do after binge eating in this post.  

Will a weekend of bad eating ruin my diet?

One weekend of not sticking to your diet won’t undo all the progress you’ve made, the same way one weekend of being on point with your nutrition won’t get you super lean, fit, or make you skinny. 

Now, if you’re always engaging in “cheat” weekends every single week, that’s a different story.

But a weekend every once in a while where maybe you ate a little more than you wanted?

Naaaaa.

That’ll just end up being the tiniest, most minuscule little blip on your weight loss timeline.