If I eat healthy during the week, can I splurge on weekends?

Hi there, this is Jonathan Clark from Lose Weight For Scotland – it’s my mission to Crush Obesity, Add Years To Your Life & help you to Look Good Naked!  I challenge Scots to lose 10 lbs of fat or gain 10 lbs of muscle, even if they’ve tried everything else, and it’s guaranteed.

One of the questions I get asked all the time is If I eat healthy during the week, can I splurge on weekends?

A: Saturday and Sunday represent about 30 percent of the week, so too many slipups will put you on bad terms with the scale. Dieters in a 2008 study dropped pounds during the week but stopped losing weight on weekends because they ate too much. 

It’s easy to cancel out five days’ worth of healthy eating with a weekend food fest. Consistency is key. Consume a similar number of calories on Saturday as you would a week day, she adds. Weigh yourself Friday and again on Monday. Any weekend weight gain is a sign you went overboard. On weekends, be sure to eat breakfast. Studies suggest that people who eat breakfast eat fewer calories later in the day. And give in to a treat during the week, so you don’t have the urge to splurge on Saturday.

A lot of experts recommend having a Cheat day – that’s one day in the week, usually at the weekend, where anything goes.  You can eat whatever you want.   It feels like a treat and gives you a reward for all your hard effort during the week.  So the idea is to deprive yourself of sugary snacks and cake til the cheat day [usually the weekend] and then savour every bite before you start another week of good behaviour.  That usually satisfies the beats for another week, and the spike in calories keeps your metabolism high cos your body doesn’t think its in survival mode – it thinks its found an oasis of plenty in the otherwise dry desert!  I know what you’re thinking – eating rubbish can help you lose weight!  Welcome to paradise J  Enjoy your cheat day guilt free.