“I am doing everything right.  I exercise, I know what to eat, I don’t eat sweets or junk food, I’ve given up soda, I exercise…and still, I am not losing weight!!”

Sound familiar?  We have clients on our weight loss program who have sometimes hit walls with their weight loss and sincerely experience the same frustration.  

Additionally we have also had some clients puzzled by weight re-gain after substantial weight loss despite “doing everything I did before when I lost the weight.” 

Upon exploration of their current habits, indeed it seems they are doing “everything right” based on research-backed habits…that is, until we dive into their weekends.

Clients are not being deceptive, rather, the pattern of loosening up on the weekend in terms of inconsistent meal planning, indulgence of “not that much” alcohol, eating out with family and friends where “I could have ordered this (VERY calorie dense food) but chose this (still high calorie food just a little less so)” and having “a little” of this or that…these small but cumulative deviations feel “earned” and inconsequential against the background of a well-planned, disciplined week.  

They don’t really register as potential barriers to success in the minds of many clients.  

But do weekend deviations matter if you have worked hard all week long, week after week?  

Turns out, weight gain on the weekend (Sat & Sunday) despite calorie deficits and weight loss all week long (Monday through Friday am) is a well recognized phenomena confirmed in research. 

How “loosening up” on the weekend is sabotaging your weight loss goals–and what to do instead!

A randomized-controlled trial involving 48 healthy adults ages 50-60 randomized to an exercise intervention group, a calorie restriction group, or a control group, tracked the following for 1-year:

• Baseline weight monitoring DAILY prior to starting the exercise programs or calorie restriction programs
• Daily weight monitoring throughout the exercise or caloric restriction period
• Daily food diaries
• Daily activity levels using accelerometers (Racette et al., 2008)

Findings during the study were notable as follows (Racette et al., 2008):

• • At baseline prior to starting the calorie restriction intervention or exercise intervention, all 3 groups being studied on average gained weight over the weekend days.
    • During the week, they lost some of the weekend weight gain early in the week, but not enough to cancel out all the weight gained on the weekend.  

• This means week by week, despite habits that caused weight loss during the week, they were overall gaining small amounts of weight each week due to their weekend habits.

• After the 2 intervention groups began either their calorie deficit program or their exercise program, findings were as follows:

• • • • Both intervention groups lost weight during the week and both groups stopped their weight loss on the weekend.
      • The exercise intervention group gained weight on the weekend while the calorie restriction group stalled their weight loss on the weekend.
      • Both intervention groups and the control group ate more calories on the weekend days than during the week days
      • Activity levels for all three groups on weekends tended to be either the same as during the week on average, or higher on the weekend than during weekdays.  
        • This shows that weight gain or weight loss stalls on the weekend were not due to decreased activity levels, but instead due to increased caloric intake on the weekends.

• Fat calories increased on the weekends relative to carbohydrates and protein meaning participants were choosing fattier foods on the weekends.

• During baseline measurements the weight gain occurring on the weekends and canceling out the weight loss during the week was subtle week by week, but over the course of 1-year would cause a 9 lb weight gain on average!!  

The pattern of higher weekend caloric intake holds across multiple studies

Another study of 52 middle-aged women followed for one year analyzing dietary patterns on week days and weekends noted that food quality deteriorated on the weekends (Johns et al., 2017).

Additionally, caloric intake increased on weekend days versus week days.

Specifically, findings noted that on weekends:

• Carbohydrate and protein intake DECREASED
• Alcohol calories increased
• Calorie intake was highest on Saturdays (lowest on Tuesdays)
• Solid fats (such as saturated fats, butter, lard from fattier meats) and potato products increased on the weekend
• Healthier options such as beans, whole fruits, orange and green vegetables, yogurt, poultry, nuts and seeds, and whole grains DECREASED on weekends

Holiday and weekend surpluses lead to weight gain which is often not fully shed in between these surpluses

In a study of more than 3,000 participants involving multiple European countries, nutrition patterns were analyzed during the week versus the weekend for one group, during periods of time within each season in another group, or 30 days before and after Christmas for the third group (Toricchi et al., 2020).   

Interestingly, across all nations involved in the study, all showed the same week day weight loss patterns during the week followed by weight gain on the weekends.  

Weight measurements were consistently highest on Sunday, Monday, and Tues following weekend gain patterns, and lowest by Friday am, only to repeat the gaining cycle again on the weekend (Toricchi et al., 2020).  

There is no surprise that in the Christmas study groups across all nations studied, weight measures at the beginning of December versus on January 2nd all showed weight gain following Christmas (Toricchi et al., 2020). 

 

What is interesting is that while some of this excess weight gain following Christmas was shed in the subsequent months, participants still had a weight surplus by the end of March compared to their weight measurements in the beginning of  December.  In other words, the weight gained in the month of December was still not fully shed in the three months following Christmas (Toricchi et al., 2020).

Seasonal variations showed men tended to lose weight in summer months whereas women did not.  While causative factors were not studied in this study, researchers suggested that men may be more physically active during summer months compared to women (Torricchi et al., 2020). 

Ways to escape the weekend and holiday weight gain trap!!

Being consistent on weekdays and weekends is key, and can be enjoyable as well!!

In the National Weight Loss Registry which tracks habits of participants who were successful at losing at least 30 lbs and were successful at keeping it off for at least a year, it was found that dietary pattern consistency was a major factor in predicting success.

Dietary pattern consistency means little variation day to day including on the weekends in terms of food choices and meal patterns.  

Finding snacks and foods that you LOVE and that ALSO support your weight loss and weight management goals is key to success.  There is no need to indulge when every day you are eating foods you love. 

Fortunately, the foods linked to weight loss and weight management also happen to be delicious!  For example, research consistently links plant-based nutrition patterns to better health outcomes and lower body weight (Melina, Craig, & Levin, 2016).  These foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. Skim dairy products may be useful sources of lean protein as well.

So for example:

• Snacks consisting of:
  • Mangos, berries, bananas, apples, pears, melon, citrus, etc 
  • Walnuts or dry roasted or raw mixed nuts (keep nuts to 1 handful per day ideally for weight loss) with mini dark chocolate chips are great options.  
  • Salty cravings can be addressed with Triscuits, Air-popped popcorn dusted with avocado oil and sea salt and seasonings (such as Old Bay) among other options.
• Meals such as:
  • Whole wheat pasta, Barilla protein pasta, lentil/ chickpea pasta, or edamame pasta with lots of veggies tossed into the sauce, 
  • Rice bowls with veggies and beans (use brown rice or 50/50 brown rice / white rice mix), 
  • Whole wheat or corn tortillas with brown rice, fajita veggies (use spray oil for cooking), and beans,
  • Smoothies, 
  • Asian style stir fries with shellfish or tofu and / or beans, 
  • Salads with shell fish or tuna steaks and/ or beans, 
  • Overnight oats with skim greek yogurt, berries, flaxseed, 
  • Egg white omelets loaded with veggies like onions, peppers, tomatoes, salsa, with whole grain toast and many other options, or eggs plus oatmeal plus fruit.
• Beverages such as:
  • Coffee with Starbucks almond milk creamer (avoid sugar or syrup add ins) or cocoa and cinnamon
  • Green tea/ black tea/ oolong tea with honey or matcha tea or unsweetened altogether, or mint or herbal teas
  • Sparkling fizzy teas like Nixie brand sparkling teas, or kombucha instead of soda for those that don’t mind sour, tangy beverages

These are just a few ideas of options that are good any day of the week, including weekends.  Most restaurants offer eggs, oatmeal, whole grain toast, yogurt, and fruit.  Further, most restaurants have an array of salads with seared shellfish or chicken breast…keep dressings towards the mustard/ or vinaigrette or add your own olive oil and vinegar, keeping the oil as low as you can.  

Some restaurants offer bean burgers, veggie platters, extra servings of veggies, pasta with tomato sauce, minimize cheese and meat when doing pasta, etc.  

Alcohol in general should be kept to a minimum.  1 drink per day maximum for women (1.5 oz liquor, 5 oz wine, 12 oz standard beer) and 2 per day for men, but even at these amounts, alcohol induces inflammation and can produce changes progressively towards liver disease (Aberg et al., 2023). 

What you measure, you can control…7 days a week daily weights beat even 5 days a week weights!!

In a study of 74 patients doing a weight loss intervention where they received weekly emails and were instructed to track food and weight themselves daily, findings showed (Steinberg et al., 2015):

• Those that weighed themselves daily lost nearly 13 lbs more on average over a six month period than those that weighed themselves five days a week on average.

This is notable because 94% of participants in the study were weighing themselves at least 5 days a week, though this dropped to 76% for 6+ days per week.  Even weighing themselves 5 days a week did not produce the same results as daily weights seven days a week!!

In fact, the weight loss percentage of those weighing themselves 7 days per week was more than double the percentage of those weighing themselves 5 days per week (9% versus 3.5% body weight reduction) (Steinberg et al., 2015).

Compared to those that weighed themselves less than 7 days per week, those that weighed themselves 7 days a week had greater adherence to weight loss promoting behaviors such as:

• Lower reported daily average calorie consumption by 500 to 1000 less calories per day 
• Less snacking between meals
• Less restaurant meals and less fast food episodes
• More likely to exercise 30 minutes or more 
• More likely to remove high calorie foods from their home and office
• More open to adopting new habits 
• More consistent with boosting daily step counts

While it may be true that those that weighed themselves 7 days were “more motivated” or “more disciplined” than those who weighed themselves 5 days a week, weighing 5 days a week still requires discipline.  

Researchers concluded that the consistent accountability of daily weights supported the greater adoption of lifestyle habits seen in those committed to daily weights (Steinberg et al., 2015).  

Summary

Consistency is key when it comes to long term weight loss and weight maintenance.  While this may sound obvious, it is clear that the default mode for most people is to loosen up on weight loss habits during the weekend days.  

This includes people who are actively engaged in weight loss programs or interventions.  

It is quite common for people to feel confused and frustrated concerning their weight loss progress or lack there of.

Given the consistency across nations in terms of weight gain on the weekends or weight loss stalls on the weekends, even in weight loss intervention studies, it shows that the weekend deviations from good habits is a major cause of weight loss sabotage.

Daily weights 7 days per week may help maintain motivation and conscientiousness regardless of holidays or weekends ongoing.

The key is consistency regardless of the day if your goal is to achieve your goals!  

By Donovan Carper MSN RN CPT CHC

References 

Åberg, F., Byrne, C. D., Pirola, C. J., Männistö, V., & Sookoian, S. (2023). Alcohol consumption and metabolic syndrome: Clinical and epidemiological impact on liver disease. Journal of hepatology, 78(1), 191–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2022.08.030 

Jahns, L., Conrad, Z., Johnson, L. K., Scheett, A. J., Stote, K. S., & Raatz, S. K. (2017). Diet Quality Is Lower and Energy Intake Is Higher on Weekends Compared with Weekdays in Midlife Women: A 1-Year Cohort Study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(7), 1080–1086.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.01.012 

Melina, V., Craig, W., & Levin, S. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), 1970–1980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025 

Racette, S. B., Weiss, E. P., Schechtman, K. B., Steger-May, K., Villareal, D. T., Obert, K. A., & Holloszy, J. O. (2008). Influence of weekend lifestyle patterns on body weight. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 16(8), 1826–1830. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2008.320 

Steinberg, D. M., Bennett, G. G., Askew, S., & Tate, D. F. (2015). Weighing every day matters: daily weighing improves weight loss and adoption of weight control behaviors. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115(4), 511–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.12.011 

Turicchi, J., O’Driscoll, R., Horgan, G., Duarte, C., Palmeira, A. L., Larsen, S. C., Heitmann, B. L., & Stubbs, J. (2020). Weekly, seasonal and holiday body weight fluctuation patterns among individuals engaged in a European multi-centre behavioural weight loss maintenance intervention. PloS one, 15(4), e0232152. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232152