How are you meant to lose weight with a weekend social life?

[zabuzabu]

I can stick to any diet you throw at me, Monday morning - Friday evening. I do well and lose weight throughout the week.

But every weekend is always packed with seeing friends and family, there is always somewhere to go or something to celebrate - and this means dinners and lunches out, wine and so on.

What are you supposed to do?

I am now the same weight as I was a year ago, despite a year of dieting.

Would introducing exercise combat the weekend thing??

I have the same thoughts. I'm not currently exercising so that might help. When I've successfully lost weight in the past I wouldn't eat normally if I was going out drinking. Just something like vegetables. I'd also not eat what I fancied off the menu; I'd have the low calorie or whatever option. I'd also exercise a lot. It worked. I don't really want to live like that now though. Was thinking of eating less in the week to compensate. I normally do 1200 calories on mfp .

I use My Fitness Pal and if we are out at weekends I just have a lighter breakfast & lunch if we are out for dinner for example. Also I choose to have a pudding less often than I used to and consider whether to always order the thing with the most cheese on it, like I used to always do. I still enjoy the eating out though and don't pick a salad or vegetables. Just maybe not a starter and dessert.

To be honest even if we're not out my weekend calories are way over the aim, because of a few wine or beers and nice treats at the weekend. Averaged over the week it is ok. I have lost almost 3 stone in under a year with just cutting out excessive snacking and watching portion sizes. I love food so restricting what I eat/drink with a 'diet' wouldn't work for me.

I'm sure I'd have lost weight quicker if I stopped drinking and didn't indulge so much at the weekend mind you...

I am on around 1500 calories on MFP.

Have you tried 5:2? Doesn't suit me but I know lots of people have found it great.
Limit the meals out to one a week? Alternate wine and water? Step up the exercise?

Oh and choose carefully on a menu!

If I have to eat out in restaurants I stick to steak and salad and I have wine glasses of Perrier. If I'm eating at other people's houses I apologise to them in advance that I won't be eating much and why. Everyone has been very supportive.

I have tried 5:2, but it didn't work, because I thought that on your days off it really was unrestricted eating, but then I found out you had to be limited to say 1500 cals on those days too, so it was basically a 7 day diet!

I think I'm going to have to up the exercise!!

I do 5:2 two weekdays, then the other weekdays tdee - 20% (which works out at about 1600 for me) with about an hour's light/moderate exercise on non-fast days and my weekends look like this:

Friday - low cal breakfast and lunch, few wines, nice tea
Saturday - egg and spinach omelette, low fat yoghurt than off to the gym for my most intense workout of the week - ten minute jog to warm up, then eight minutes running, 4 minutes rowing, eight minutes cycling and four minutes on the stepper thing. I then do it again for six and three minutes respectively but at higher intensity, then again for four and two minutes at maximum intensity.

Then I'll do some free weights and go for a circuitous walk on the way back,

Then I eat and drink what I like on Saturday.

Sunday I'll go for a swim and a walk and eat at tdee.

If you are losing weight during the week then in theory by sticking to tdee at weekends you should keep the weightloss. In reality this might only be a few 100 cals a day more than during the week when you are dieting though, so a couple of glasses of wine might use those cals up alone. Maybe tell yourself you will try logging weekend cals for a month. The other option would be to allow youself one weekend cheat meal (wine included) with no cal or carb counting but for any other family things coming up on that weekend you would need to be on diet mode and wine free.

Loosing weight is all about what you eat, exercise has little to do with it. Exercise will tone you and make your body look different but won't help you loose weight.