Weekend’s effect on your waistline
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Wondering why you’re not losing as much weight as you’d like? Look no further than your weekends.
Weekends, it turns out, can wreak havoc on even disciplined diet and exercise programs — that’s according to a new study that found that those who reduced their calories or exercised either didn’t lose weight or actually gained weight during the course of a year.
Considering how weekends often find us knocking back a few brewskis or scarfing fried calamari, it should be no surprise that Saturdays and Sundays have the potential for derailing even the best laid diet plans.
The study, published recently online in the journal Obesity, followed 48 men and women; 19 were asked to decrease their daily calorie intake by 20%, 19 were asked to increase their daily physical activity by 20%, and 10 acted as a control group, not changing their diet or activity routines.
No surprise that at baseline — when participants were tracked for a month before the study intervention — everyone showed weight gain on weekends, but not weekdays. ‘During the intervention we suspected that would be less of an issue,’ says Susan Racette, lead author and assistant professor of physical therapy and medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
But it wasn’t. The calorie-reduction group lost no weight on weekends, and the increased-exercise group actually gained weight. The consistency of off-the-diet-wagon weekends surprised Racette: ‘I didn’t think we’d see such a clear weekend effect. ... People allow themselves a little flexibility on the weekends.’
Less structure is one reason for the diet downfall, she believes — life is less regimented on the weekend and days tend to be filled with more social situations, such as parties and eating out. ‘It’s difficult in a social setting to calculate calories,’ says Racette.
But weekends don’t have to prompt a loosening of the belt. Racette advises you to be more aware of what you’re eating and not overindulge. Planning ahead is a good idea too — eat less during the day to allow for a small splurge later on. If going to a sports event, bring healthful foods instead of being tempted by notoriously high-calorie concession stand fare. And don’t forget to weigh in before and after the weekend to keep track of any uptick on the scale — even small amounts can add up over time. You can also bump up the exercise to counter the effects of that chocolate-dipped macaroon. Don’t lie, we saw you eat it.
‘Greater consistency from day to day is very helpful,’ says Racette, who adds that some people woefully underestimate how many calories food really has. ‘Even beverages make a difference,’ she says. ‘There are extra calories in soda and alcohol.’
Waiter? A Diet Coke with lime, please.
-- Jeannine Stein