7 Tips to Stay Consistent on Weekends

A bariatric dietitian’s tips for consistency with post-op eating goals on weekends and days off

I would love to tell you how great I am at staying consistent on weekends, however, this past weekend reminded me why we all need this conversation.

I never considered myself to be a dance mom. Actually, I still don’t, but after her dance recital debut last year, my daughter was hooked.

She talked me into an extra dance class this year allowing her three dances in this year’s recital. We struck a deal. You’re in charge of packing your dance bag and being leotard ready and I will drive you there each week. Cool? Cool.

Then recital weekend came and I completely forgot what a WHIRLWIND of a weekend it is. Rehersal, hair buns, makeup (!?!?!), photos, call times, grab the flowers, who has the tickets, how many seats do I save??

Yes, I forgot to drink water. Yes, I forgot to plan ahead for meals. Yes, we ended up at a pizza restaurant afterward because kids eat free and get ice cream.

PLUS I headed into Monday with a messy house, cranky kids and a list of items I usually do on Sunday to now add to my Monday plans.

What did I learn? That next year I need to be way more ready for recital weekend. Also…that I should share my thoughts and tips on consistency over the weekends. Clearly, I don’t get it right every time. Grace people….it’s for all of us!

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Consistency is key, but weekends are just different

You have heard the phrase consistency is key and sheesh is it TRUE in a weight loss journey.  The truth is, days off of the normal schedule will absolutely change what is consistent.

When you do things differently over the weekend it means you are not consistent in other things. Our brains are great at habits and schedules (which is why we want to build them) so we associate filling water bottles with something we usually do on a Monday through Friday. When we don’t do that thing on the weekend, we don’t remember to fill the water.

I propose what we’re looking for in the weekends is what I am calling “structured flexibility.” We still want to water, fuel and rest our bodies, but it’s going to look different. The end goal is the same, the way we get there might be wonky. And that’s a-okay.

In this blog post, we are going to cover seven tips to hit those goals on days off, while still embracing the beauty of days off.

A simplified plan to outline your day

Yes, planning ahead is the key to consistency.  Trust me (or go ask my husband) that I am absolutely a plan-ahead person. But I also LOVE a break from all the planning.

I don’t want to plan all the time because I’m also tired. And the plans have to change suddenly and my head starts to hurt because I ALREADY PLANNED THAT. One of my favorite things about the weekend, or a trip, is that I can take a break from planning.

The truth is, I can’t totally stop planning. My kids will ask me for snacks. My stomach will ask me for lunch. I won’t feel as good on my day off if I didn’t keep water with me. I have to have some amount of planning.

My goal is to plan loosely with food, water and sleep but stay flexible so that I can change it up if needed.

If we end up at the park longer than we thought and decide to grab Chipotle on the way home – all good. But if everyone is melting down and need to get them home quickly, I have food on standby at home too.

Take-home message number one: Have a loose, flexible plan for the weekend for food and water.

Keep your meal times consistent – but adjust them if you sleep in

The other tricky thing about days off is you might not wake up at your normal demandy-pants time that you do during the week.

My wake times vary from 5:30 am (if I need to fit in a workout) to 7 am if it’s the weekend. Your wake times may vary more than that, although it’s helpful to keep your wake and sleep times fairly consistent.

When you do sleep in, my tip is to eat breakfast within the first hour of waking up and adjust your next meal time accordingly. When you do eat breakfast, make a note or add an alarm for your lunchtime.

Sleeping in might put your meals all over the place and you end up skipping something. Instead, have something when you wake up and then add 4ish hours to that time for your next meal. Don’t skip it.

For example: if you sleep in until 10 am and eat at 10:30 am, still eat something around 2:30 pm and then dinner around 6:30 pm.

Going too long without eating or having no plan makes us extra hungry and more likely to eat too fast, too much and rely on grab-and-go foods. Then we feel crappy and no one wants to feel crappy on your day off.

This might mean packing something with you if you head out of the house. If you’ll be at the softball fields all day pack a cooler with cheese sticks, boiled eggs or some made-up chicken salad to ensure you don’t skip that meal altogether.

Take-home message number two: Have an idea of what time you will eat your meals, adjusted if you slept in

Water is your best accessory every day of the week

If you’re anything like me, water is the first thing to get thrown off over the weekend.

This is where an easy-to-carry water bottle really comes in handy. You can buy a water bottle carrier with a strap if you’ll be out and about quite a bit. Throw some ice packs in a cooler bag if you’ll be in and out of your car a lot.

(I have a couple items on my Amazon list for things like this!) *link*

Line up your fridge with water bottles and set timers if you’ll be around the house. Many patients will fill a pitcher with how much water they need to drink in the day and fill their glass with that. They know the goal is to have it finished before the end of the day. Visual tracking can be helpful when tracking ounces gets tricky (and it’s your day off after all).

Remember,  you can drink until your first bite of a meal. If you’ve had bariatric surgery, you’ll want to avoid fluids during your meal and 45-60 minutes after to keep your hunger better controlled.

Take-home message number three: Plan for water if your usual water plans aren’t the same on the weekends

Lean into leftovers

When we’re around the house over the weekends, this is my favorite time to clean the fridge and get rid of leftovers.

At lunchtime, I pull out everything, open all the lids put out plates and tell the family it’s leftovers lunch.

I love this because it clears my fridge in time to restock on Monday when I do my grocery order. I can also see what we need to use up and add that to my menu writing for the week.

Take-home message number four: Make one of your weekend days a leftover clean out day for lunch and/or dinner

*P.S if no one picks one of the leftovers and it’s more than 2 days old, toss it. No one is going to eat it.

Plan activities with movement in mind

Weekend plans can be so weather and Seasonal dependent and some times of the year will lend themselves to activity.

Spring and Summer activities tend to be outside and require lots of walking. Yay! Though if you have a weekend with rain or cold, consider what will get you out of the house doing something you enjoy that will also move your body.

This is another reason why I like to make my movement goal a “minutes per week” approach.

If I want to get 120 minutes of movement in during the weekend and I get it all before the weekend, everything else is a bonus! And if I didn’t get my goal yet, I can incorporate it into my weekend plans.

Take-home message number five: Consider movement goals and/or plans that keep you active (especially if you have a sedentary week)

Incorporate relaxation…enjoy the weekend. That’s healthy too!

After the dance recital weekend, I was reminded just how much I need my weekends to have some pause. The rest, the easing up of schedules, the time to pick-up and organize is essential for me heading into the week.

When I don’t have time to breath, pause and organize, my week is super hurried (and stressful). Seeing as how stress is not fun, not good for my health, and triggers eating *more on stress eating here* I think it’s best I keep space in my weekends.

Let that be a reminder to us all! We need our days off to include some actual time off.

Take-home message number six: Make space in your weekend plans, ask family to help you protect some downtime for yourself

Keep an eye on bedtimes and alcohol

Before we go, let’s also chat about managing social situations, alcohol and bedtimes.

Sometimes weekend plans include staying out later than usual, being offered drinks and navigating what others are inviting you to eat or drink with them.

Around the holidays I dive into this topic more so such as politely declining foods. For today, my tip is to know your plans and tell someone.

“I want to head home by 10 pm so I can get some sleep tonight.”

“I am going to have one drink after dinner, but I need food in my system before I order something.”

Be confident in your choices and share with a safe person that will help you feel supported. Your choices are your own and you know your goals. You can absolutely enjoy the weekend festivities while naming your limits.

Take-home message number seven: Be confident in your limits for bedtime and drinks, tell someone supportive to encourage you to keep them

Everybody’s working for the weekend!

Weekends, trips and days off are a beautiful thing. They are even more enjoyable when you FEEL your best! You don’t have to have it perfectly planned and organized (I don’t) but covering your basics will help you feel topnotch and ready to go.

Make a loose plan, stay flexible, keep meal times, stay hydrated, lean into leftovers, make active plans, relax and set your limits on social plans.

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