Field notes · Eating for fat loss
Weekend eating: why Monday to Friday isn't enough
Weekdays are easy. There is structure, a routine and no one offering you a beer at 2pm. Then Friday arrives.
Dai Manuel · Coach Moose · Vancouver
The arithmetic
If you run a modest deficit Monday to Friday and then eat and drink freely for two and a half days, you can wipe out the whole week without doing anything dramatic. A few drinks, a takeaway, a big brunch. None of it feels like much. Together, it is the difference between progress and a stalled scale.
Keep the weekend, change the shape
Keep your usual breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Keep the protein. Decide in advance which one meal or event is the treat, and enjoy it properly. Set a drink number before you go out, and alternate with water.
Move more on the weekend, not less. A long walk with the family or a hike costs you nothing and buys you a lot.
Common questions
- Why am I not losing weight when I eat well during the week?
- Weekends often erase a weekday calorie deficit through extra drinks, takeaways and larger meals. Keeping a normal breakfast and protein at the weekend and planning one treat meal usually fixes it.
Sources
- Weekend dietary patterns in adults. Racette et al., Obesity, 2008.