If weekdays your eating is on point, but weekends are a licence to binge, read this!
During the week you strictly measure out portion sizes and scrutinise labels. But come 5pm on Friday, happy hour quickly morphs into a wine-fuelled dinner. Soon you’re polishing off the last bites of Gorgonzola gnocchi even though you’ve been full since starters – and you keep powering through to dessert. Saturday, Sunday… same script, different menu. But on Monday morning, it’s green juice all round.
Diagnosis
Your cheat day is becoming a binge weekend. “Weekends are not as structured as weekdays, so most people lose it and overdo things,” says dietician Kim Hofmann. Your blow-out can add up to thousands of kilojoules without you knowing.
READ MORE: 4 Simple Tricks That’ll Help You Crush Those Cravings
Work it out
We love clean plates! Even if you don’t want that last bite, you take it. “Most people don’t know when they’re full, so they’ll just keep going until the plate is empty, especially if it’s a delicious meal that they’ve paid for,” says Hofmann. Try starting with less on your dish. You can’t eat what’s not there.
READ MORE: Learn How To Control These 5 Fat Hormones And Kiss Cravings Goodbye
Keep tabs on yourself
Win Half The Battle
Try adding half a plate more veggies or salad and take away 20 percent of the main meal. Eating veggies and salad with each meal really helps to keep you satiated.
Don’t Clear Up
In one study, volunteers ate more chicken wings when the bones were whisked off the table than when the evidence was left to pile up in plain view. Leftovers serve as a boney reminder of how you eat. This keeps you from mindlessly eating more, says Dr Brian Wansink, lead author of the study.
Mind The Vino
Alcohol can make for uninhibited eating. If you enjoy a glass of wine, have it at the end. Offset kilojoules by choosing fruit or a low-kilojoule dessert – with a glass of bubbly.
Looking for more heathy eating strategies? Here’s how to order off a fast-food menu without completely wrecking your diet, plus 40 foods that’ll upgrade your diet, instantly.
