Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
#164 - Win the Weekend: My 15 Tips to Stop Undoing Your Hard Work in Two Days
733 Plays17 days ago
If your Saturday and Sunday keep undoing the hard work you've put in Monday to Friday, this episode is for you. I'm re-recording my "Winning the Weekend" episode because so much has changed — particularly with AI — and I wanted to share a fresher, more practical perspective.
Studies show people consume around 500 extra calories per day at the weekend — roughly 1,000 extra calories that can quietly bring you out of a deficit, leaving you feeling like you're trying so hard and getting nowhere. The good news? Winning the weekend doesn't mean restriction or skipping social occasions — just a little forward planning so you can actually relax and enjoy yourself.
In this episode, I share my updated 15 practical tips for winning the weekend without sacrificing your social life — from banking calories and using AI to eat out with confidence, to drinking strategies, prep tips, and the one question to ask before every decision.
Winning the weekend isn't about being perfect — it's about having a plan, being consistent, and enjoying your life without undoing your progress.
00:00 — Welcome & why winning the weekend matters 02:37 — Planning equals power 03:28 — Tip 1: Think weekly, not daily 07:34 — Tip 2: Plan ahead and do it now 08:32 — Tip 3: Pre-log the night before 11:09 — Tip 4: Check the menu in advance 12:21 — Tip 5: Use AI to guesstimate calories 15:24 — Tip 6: Dessert hack & the "safety Freddo" 17:42 — Tip 7: Plan and track your drinks 19:03 — Tip 8: Prep food for the day after 19:49 — Tip 9: Don't be an ostrich — track it 22:07 — Tip 10: Keep normal habits up to your occasion 23:29 — Tip 11: Bring prepped food on busy days 27:02 — Tip 12: Boost your steps and NEAT 28:08 — Tip 13: Weekly journaling and reflection 29:50 — Tip 14: Drop the guilt, choose intentionally 31:16 — Tip 15: The danger is in the dose 33:13 — Recap & final thoughts
Links & Resources:
- Learn more about KHH coaching here
- Subscribe to my weekly coaching newsletter here
- Access my FREE calorie calculator here
- Connect with me on Instagram here
- Connect with me on Facebook here
- Connect with me on TikTok here
- Connect with me on YouTube here
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit.
Music b LiQWYD Free download: hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb [http://hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb] Promoted by FreeMusicPromo [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbycji-eySnM3WD8mbxPUSQ] / @freemusicpromo
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Importance of Weekend Management
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. Today's episode, we are going to talk about winning the weekend. Now I know any of you who have been listening to the podcast week after week will know that I have actually all already done an episode on the weekend and it's just one that I really want to re-film because it's really important. it there's a lot of newer information that I want to share particularly around AI and in general I just want to give my fresher perspective on it and it is one of the things that I really do feel holds people back from reaching their goals and moving forward in the direction they want to go.
Weekend Habits Impact on Health
00:00:43
Speaker
So we are going to go through my 15 practical tips to stay on track again if you've heard this before please stay tuned and see what
00:00:52
Speaker
opinions I might have changed about this and what you can take moving forward to start winning the weekend. So first of all the weekend is obviously two days Saturday and Sunday And it is really, really possible for you to undo all your hard work in the other five days. So if you have been on point, staying within your calories, getting your movement in, really good food quality, your sleep's on point, your hydration's on point, and then Saturday and Sunday just slip away from you, you really can undo all the good in the week in two days because it's a significant percentage of your week you mightn't necessarily put yourself into a a calorie surplus. You know, if you've been in a deficit for that those first five days, you mightn't necessarily end up in a surplus due to the weekend, but it's definitely going to slow down your progress in relation to being in a deficit and fat loss. And you could actually be just keeping yourself in maintenance and feeling like you're trying so hard and getting nowhere. Okay. So it needs to be planned hundred percent. Um, also to consider that on average, studies have shown that the average amount of extra calories per day at the weekend is 500 calories. So on average, people are having 500 extra calories on a Saturday and 500 extra calories on a Sunday, which is a thousand extra calories over the week, which is enough to bring you
00:02:20
Speaker
to maintenance or close to it. So even if it's not stopping your your fat loss progress, it's definitely slowing it down. So imagine if your weekends were on point, how much more efficient you'd be losing body fat and how much quicker you'd actually start moving in the direction that you want to go.
00:02:38
Speaker
Planning equals power. So planners, pre-planners consume significantly lower calories and even on social occasions. And that is what the studies have shown. So as I always talk about organization and planning and structure, it doesn't make you rigid and boring. I promise you that it really does set you free. And the weekends can still be enjoyed. They don't have to be restriction. They don't have to be painful and difficult. They just need to be organized. As much as we like to not have to plan and structure and organize at the weekend, If you do that, let's say on a Friday, then you can relax into the weekend with the structure in place. You'll actually enjoy it more and you'll feel better in yourself and you'll be delighted that you actually made it through staying, you know, with a little bit of control and structure.
Calorie Budgeting Strategies
00:03:25
Speaker
So let's get on to these 15 tips for winning the weekend. Number one, think weekly, not daily. So your calories are over the whole week. So your daily calories multiplied by seven is your weekly budget. So let's just say you're on 2000 calories a day, 2000 multiplied by seven, seven, two a 14, 14,000 calories in the week. As long as you are within 14,000 calories, By the end of the week, you will lose body fat if 2000 calories per day is your calorie ah your deficit calories. Now, obviously, your deficit calories might be 1600 or 1700, or they could be 2200, depending on the person. Your deficit calories are going to be different. Now, as I always say, you are unsure of what your deficit calories are, go to the show notes in this episode. I have a free calorie calculator. You can click that and it will calculate your calories, your maintenance, your fat loss calories, your muscle building calories. It'll give you all of that information and it'll give you the macronutrients, protein, carbs, and fats to aim for as well. So just to give you an idea where you're at.
00:04:27
Speaker
Anyway, back to this weekly budget. So we'll use 2000 because it's easy for me to multiply. If you then decide, right, I've got something on at the weekend. I'm going to bank some calories. You can bank up to 200 calories per day from the week to put towards the weekend. So if you save 200 calories,
00:04:48
Speaker
And you own, instead of eating 2000 calories per day, you eat 1800 calories per day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. That's 200 multiplied by five, which is 1000 calories to give you a safety net if you're eating out at the weekend.
00:05:00
Speaker
Now, never save more than 2000 calories per day. because what's happening then is you're getting into restrict and binge cycle. OK, so if you're being super restrictive midweek, like restrictive eating always leads to overeating. Eventually, even if your willpower is strong for a certain period of time, it will always lead to overeating. So you don't want to restrict too much. You also don't want to do this banking calories strategy just for the sake it. Like I'd much rather you be properly fueled and nourished.
00:05:33
Speaker
Every day, you know, give or take 100 or 200 calories, you know, depending per day. So if one day you're over by 100 calories, you might be under but by 100 calories another day and it evens out. And rather than like restrict, restrict, restrict, restrict and have massive amounts of calories at the weekend, because that doesn't help either.
00:05:52
Speaker
So it is trying to keep as structured and balanced. And you don't want to save more than 200 per day because then it's very, it's very, very difficult to be fueled, to be nourished, to have enough protein, to get enough healthy fats, to get everything that you need to have energy and function properly, train properly and have the energy to go for your walks and feel good. And, you know, health is the baseline here at all times. So never
Avoiding Calorie Restriction Pitfalls
00:06:14
Speaker
more than 200 calories per day. And, you know, that mightn't seem that much if you're on 2000 calories a day.
00:06:19
Speaker
But if you're on 1600 calories a day and you're saving 200 per day, that's only 1400 calories per day and midweek, which is very low. So you really only want to be doing this banking thing.
00:06:31
Speaker
when you have an occasion on on your normal weeks you really want to just get used to just kind of a little bit more structure all the way through the week give or take 100 or two where needed you know but what my point is you don't need to freak out if you go massively over your calories one of the days like just say instead of your 2000 calories one day you end up having 2600 by accident and you know things just got away from you sure the other there is You can be able to take 100 or 200 calories from the other days and it will balance out throughout the week. It's you know, it it doesn't have to be. Don't ever like try and make up for being over calories all within the one day. It needs to be spread out. You want to be keeping your calories as high as possible, basically.
00:07:14
Speaker
But it does just remember consistency beats perfection as well. So it isn't like it's never going to be exactly 100 percent. And that's OK, too. But it's not this rigid thing where it's like I have to hit this number every single day.
00:07:29
Speaker
Just think about over the week and you'll fall into a natural balance that works well for you. Tip number two, plan ahead and do it now. Set aside time every week. Like I explained in the organization episode, you want to set aside time every single week to be planning a ahead of yourself. You're always being a day, two days, three days, if not the full week ahead of yourself. But if you know you've got an occasion on next weekend and it's currently Saturday and you're listening to this and you know that next Saturday night you're going out for dinner and drinks with the girls. now's the time to plan for that i'm going to save 100 150 200 calories every day from monday through to saturday so that i have that safety net for eating out because as we know eating out is a lot of calories and we should be able to do it every now and again obviously if we have a fat loss goal we want to kind of minimize unnecessary eating out but we don't want to be skipping social occasions because we're on a fat loss journey we can do it but it does just take a little bit of planning It also means that you can look up the menu beforehand, which we're going to get into as well in one of the other points.
00:08:32
Speaker
Tip number three, log your calories the night before. OK, so I know this is, again, something that I talk about in the organization and planning episode, but it's something that people tend to do midweek. They log their calories the night before. They're really organized. And then come Friday night, it's just like switch off.
00:08:51
Speaker
And I get that, you know, when it comes from it being a busy week and you've finished work for the week and you've got the weekend off, but the weekend is equally as important to continue to log the night before. So on a Friday night, when you sit down and you are wrecked and you're like, oh, what have I got on tomorrow?
00:09:08
Speaker
I don't know if your Saturdays or if your kids are in sport, your Saturdays are like mine and you're on the go all the time. Where am I going? Who's going where? What are we doing? What am I eating? And just kind of get your get your calories planned and be organized for that busy day ahead. Or maybe have a quieter day and you're like, all right, I'm going to get and I'm going make a brunch. I'm going to do whatever it is and just have those calories tracked.
00:09:31
Speaker
You'll know exactly where you stand heading into the new day. And it's not set in stone. You can adjust and change as necessary as you go about your day and things come up. But it you will, I 100% guarantee you, you will not go over your calories as much if you've got them tracked than if you didn't track them at all, even if you do end up over them a little bit.
AI Assistance in Calorie Management
00:09:54
Speaker
Okay, so this point, but tip number four and tip number five are the reasons why I'm rerecording this episode because AI has changed the game for this and it has never been easier to eat out and stay within your calories. And this is what I'm going to go through. Now, again, it does take the forward planning. And, you know, the banking of calories, because regardless of whether you know what calories are in the food that you're eating out, you need to have enough calories there to be able to cover it. A main course alone when you're eating out can be anywhere from 800 to 1600 calories. We're talking about a lot of calories and that's just a main course that doesn't include dessert. It doesn't include starters. It doesn't include alcohol. So we need to be organized enough to have the calories banked if we want to stay within.
00:10:37
Speaker
Now, when it comes to the eating outside of things, I'm not talking about special occasions. Like if you've been working so hard and you're so structured all the time, a special occasion should just be relaxed and enjoyed. But if, you know, quite regularly you're out quite a lot, there's always a lot going on at the weekend. We want to get to grips on most of our weekends, because if you can't just switch off and do whatever you want every weekend and expect to get results, you can do it every now and again. And it sometimes it's actually even good for you to do that. But what we're talking about is kind of the everyday, the day in, day out kind of weekends. Tip number four, check the menu and guesstimate. OK, every restaurant has their menu online now. OK, this might seem seem obsessive, but look, you have a goal. It's not you're not going to obsess over it on the night. You're not going to be the girl that's going go. How many calories in this when you're sitting at the table? Don't be that girl because that's not cool. But do just look up the menu beforehand. See what's available. Decide what you're going to have. Head in with a plan.
00:11:32
Speaker
You will end up ordering much more intentionally. You'll feel far more in control when you actually arrive. And you don't have to go what you think is the healthy option. You can have what you want to have. You can have a burger and chips. You can have a steak. You can have the roast chicken and creamy mashed potatoes. You can have whatever you want.
00:11:51
Speaker
But just have looked up the menu in order to know how many calories are, what you're going to have and how many calories are in. What I will say is like if you're eating out, Like if possible, just stick with the main course.
00:12:03
Speaker
And especially if you're going to have some alcohol, just the main course. If you don't drink cal alcohol, maybe you want to go main course and dessert or starch as a main course. But you don't to like you're not going have the calories, even with the banking of calories to do all three courses and alcohol. OK, just decide what's important to you and what you're going to have and and stick to it.
00:12:19
Speaker
And this leads me on to tip number five. Once you've looked up the menu and you have decided what you're going to have, you're going to take a photo of the of the menu. You are going to put that photo into your AI app, whatever AI app you use, whether it's ChatGPT, I use Claude, it doesn't really matter. There's loads of them. Gemini is another one. Whatever AI you use, put the menu into your AI app and say, hi.
00:12:44
Speaker
How many calories do you think is in this chicken curry or whatever it is that you're having? And your AI app is going to give you a breakdown of what's in it, what the protein, the carb and the fat content is. If it doesn't, you can ask them for the macro breakdown as well. and it'll give you a range of it. I would guess that this meal is probably between 800 and 1200 calories or something like that, but it will give you something to track. Okay. So take a photo of that and then put that, it's still going guesstimate because remember your AI hasn't seen you the actual meal yet. Okay. So it's a rough estimate and always go the higher range. Okay. Like don't be like, Oh, I'll write in the lower one. Always go the higher range.
00:13:23
Speaker
And then when you're out for dinner, take a photo of your meal. And you're not going to, you're not going to do this at the dinner table. Like you'll take the photo and then that's it. You get relaxed and you enjoy your night. Don't actually do this next part while you're at the dinner table. Cause like I said, it's not cool. People don't particularly enjoy it. And you don't want to be talking about calories and how many calories are in different things when you're out for dinner. When you get home, whether you want to do it that night or the following day, it doesn't really matter. Re-enter the photo of the menu and the photo of the actual meal into your AI app and ask again.
00:13:55
Speaker
And when AI can see the actual meal, like the size and what's in it ah based on what the menu says, it's going to give you a more accurate reading and then you can adjust what you pre-tracked. So it might be a little bit more, it might be a little bit less, but it'll, it'll,
00:14:11
Speaker
You'll be able to adjust it and you'll know where you stand with it. And that's the best way to guesstimate when you're eating out. Like the advice I used to give on this was, you know, try and find a ah big chain of restaurants that, you know, if you're eating at an Italian restaurant, look up Milano's and the calories in Milano's. Now, I know anyone listening who's in the UK, you lucky ducks have your calories on the menu. We don't have that in Ireland. I don't know about anywhere else in the world. I do know when I go to the UK, I just think it's brilliant that calories is on the menu. I wish we had that in Ireland. And I know even at that, it's still a guesstimate. But when it comes to actually tracking it, then you just need to search like chicken curry restaurant, let's say, and find one that's similar calories to what AI has given you. But this is going to make it so much easier to eat out. Now, remember, it is still a guest, but please don't do this for your other eating. Like where at all possible, when you're eating at home, weigh, measure and track properly on MyFitnessPal. And don't be just like letting AI do it for you and the kind of...
00:15:09
Speaker
it's It's not going to be as accurate as when you weigh out, you know, 60 grams of rice, of dry rice, and then you you'd let you track 60 grams of dry rice. Most of the time you're eating at home, you're being accurate. When you eat out, use AI.
00:15:23
Speaker
It's amazing. Tip number six, right? when i If I was tracking my calories and I wanted to stay in my calorie deficit for the week. Now, keeping in mind, I don't go out very often. So when I go out, I tend to just relax and enjoy the meal. I don't track it because it's a special occasion. I consider going out for dinner a special occasion. I don't do it that often. But if I was really laser focused on continuing on my goal and I had a dinner out, I would do what that thing about looking up the menu. I would, you know, put my meal into AI. I would track it.
00:15:52
Speaker
I would only go with main course. I don't drink, so I would just have like like Coke Zero, so that's fine. I would only have a main course so that I'd know it'd be in and around a thousand calories or so.
00:16:04
Speaker
I would do use AI to to estimate it more accurately. And what I would do for my dessert, because I'm a dessert girl, I tend not to go starters because I get too full. But with dessert, I would order a latte, skinny latte if possible, 100 calories or whatever. And that's my dessert. And I would have a little Freddo bar or something in my bag. And I would shamelessly, while I'm having my little latte, will have my little Freddo bar because I just need something sweet after my dinner. Just a little small sweet thing. Doesn't have to be anything mad.
00:16:38
Speaker
And I've like, i will have no shame. I will do that. I've just spent whatever I'm going to spend eating in the restaurant. I'm not going to do it. Like, obviously be rude about it. I'll just discreetly take it out of the wrapper and I'll just i'll eat it and I'll have it with my latte. You might even get a little Biscoff biscuit with your latte. And that does it for me. That is if you really are trying to stay within your calories, which is what we're talking about in this episode is, you know, actually being able to win the
Mindful Indulgences & Tracking
00:17:01
Speaker
weekend. So, you know, if you've got a meal on, you want to stay in it, that would be my thing. Or even if you're like, I don't even need the chocolate bar.
00:17:06
Speaker
Nice, nice, fancy coffee can be a lovely, obviously it depends how late your your dinner is and how soon you want to go to bed afterwards. ah you may not want to do that. Even a nice tea or whatever, whatever works for you. But that is just a hack that works. just And I just find it's always no harm to just keep a safety Freddo in your brain.
00:17:23
Speaker
a safety Freddo in your bag, whether you're at your kid's football match, whether you're meeting your friend for coffee, that if someone is like, oh, look at the croissants, are you going somewhere and like, yeah like the scones, the croissants, you're like, oh, I don't want to go over my calories today.
00:17:36
Speaker
You can order the coffee and you can take out your Freddo bar or your little KitKat or your Twix or whatever it is that you like. Okay, so tip number seven is around drinking. This is something that's so much easier for me because I don't drink anymore, but I used to.
00:17:50
Speaker
And the first part of my weight loss journey, I still drank and I used to just track my alcohol. So I totally get this. Have a plan before you out drinking. OK, if you're anything like me, when I drank, I never stuck to the plan and the plan always went astray. But at least if you start with a plan, you have an intention to have a plan. You're probably going to drink far less than if you went out and didn't have a plan at all.
00:18:16
Speaker
Okay. Decide in advance what you're going to drink, roughly how much track the calories in alcohol. Keep it in mind that like a pint of beer is probably about 220 calories a pint, a glass of wine, a small glass of wine, 160 calories, a gin and tonic, about 120 calories, a vodka and a diet drink about 65 calories. Like, so it's doable, but depending on how much you drink, but like you need to make sure that you're tracking it properly in advance. Okay. Okay. And then if you get up the next day, if you've had a bit more than what you had planned, you need to go and track it in. Okay. So that you may not feel like doing it initially when you first wake up, but you know, as the day goes on, do it, like don't sweep it under the rug. Okay. It's really important to just have the plan, have them tracked, even if it doesn't go according to plan.
00:19:04
Speaker
Tip number eight, prep the day after food in advance when it comes to drinking. So if you're drinking, have your food planned and prepped for the following day, especially if you're going to go out and you know you're going have a good few drinks and that you're going to have a bit of a hangover the next day.
00:19:18
Speaker
Have it all ready. Make the next day easy. Like you want to be winning the next day that day. So and don't plan for a salad. You know you're not going to want to just eat fruit and salad and things like that and steamed chicken. That's probably not what you're going to want if you've got a bit of a hangover.
00:19:33
Speaker
You know won't cut it. Think protein pancakes, a big, satisfying breakfast, comforting and on track. You can do both, but you need to be planned for it. And if you end up running out of calories on your hangover day, just go to bed.
00:19:45
Speaker
Go to bed early. You need to sleep anyway after your terrible night's sleep the night before. Tip number nine then is don't be an ostrich. Just track it. So ignoring what you ate or ignoring what you drank doesn't make the calories disappear.
00:20:00
Speaker
And we like yeah if you're feeling seen, please know this is all of us. I do this too. I don't do it anymore because I make myself do it. I'm like stopping an ostrich cage. But we it's always like we're opening that next chocolate bar. That didn't happen.
00:20:15
Speaker
You're only kidding yourself. OK, awareness is incredibly powerful. Tracking a day that got away from you is actually going to help you be able to reflect, learn from it and move forward rather than like feeling guilty for it next Like it rolls into the next day and the next day and suddenly it's a write off. Just track it and be like, oh, Jesus, I had 3,300 calories yesterday. Whoops. What happened? And then be like your plan, they get planned for the next day. You don't, if you've had a day that just has gone astray, don't pull back massively trying to make up for it. Draw a line on it, reflect on it, track everything that you had, reflect on it and be like, okay, what can I do differently moving forward and get planned for the following day.
00:21:00
Speaker
And this is where so many people fall down. They get so wrapped up in guilt and shame for not being able to stick to their calories. Jesus, we're human. Sometimes we just want to eat. Sometimes we just want to go out and have a good time. And sometimes we'll eat well over 3000 calories. And you know what? Shit happens. Life happens. And we just need to just move on. It's not, it's not a big deal.
00:21:24
Speaker
It's only a big deal when we attach our guilt and self-worth to it. And then suddenly five days later, we're still at it because we feel like we've ruined the week and then we've ruined our whole diet. We've ruined the whole thing. And now I might as well just give up.
00:21:37
Speaker
It's amazing how quickly we can spiral. Just track it, reflect on it. What worked? What didn't work? What am I going to do differently? on Track for the following day and get on with it. And it doesn't matter how many times you have to do this.
00:21:49
Speaker
It's just going to to make you be able to push forward so much quicker. And yeah, then you're not fooling yourself being like, why am I not losing weight? Sure, I tracked everything at the weekend when you might have like not tracked like 500 calories or whatever of it because you were like, oh, that doesn't count. That doesn't count. Just track it.
00:22:07
Speaker
tip number 10, keep normal habits up to your occasion. So if you're going out for dinner, keep your breakfast the same. keep Make sure you eat a good lunch and go ahead do not go out absolutely starving. Do not save all your daily calories for your meal out. Because what will happen is if you go out absolutely starving, you're going to eat everything. You're going to get to the stage, you'd be like, fuck it. I don't care.
00:22:29
Speaker
i You only live once. like i'm I'm talking from experience. You know, so just normal breakfast, whether it's your protein Weetabix, your overnight oats, whatever it is that you like to have in the morning, your healthy, balanced, high protein breakfast, keep it the same. Lunch, you can adjust and tweak slightly to help with eating out. So I find with lunch, it can be like ah an omelette can be great in this situation because you can put one egg, two eggs into the omelette.
00:22:58
Speaker
And then you can bulk it up with shitloads of egg white. And it gives you loads of extra protein with very little extra calories. You can put shitloads of vegetables into it as well. so you're getting loads of vegetables, micronutrients, fiber, protein.
00:23:13
Speaker
And like the omelet might only be three or 400 calories. And you've had a big lunch and you're full. And then you're so full that it it stops any snacking or, and you know, being absolutely ravenous going out. So omelet on dinner out day is just the way to go.
00:23:29
Speaker
So tip number 11 is more about days out. Okay. So I'm quite often on the go at the weekend, you know, kids at athletics competitions or football matches or there's, you know, there's always lots, there always seems to be lots on at the weekend, you know, to the point, like I love hill walking.
00:23:45
Speaker
I rarely get to do that anymore and I miss it and that is because of my kids sports which I'm very grateful that my kids are interested in sports it's really important but it's taken from my hill walking my point is you know a lot of us are busy at the weekends we are on the go we are in the car we are at the side of the football pitch we're at gymnastics competitions Irish dancing feshes whatever There's nothing wrong with bringing your prepped food with you on days like this. If anything, it's such a good shout rather than trying to. so You're spending five or six hundred calories on ah on a petrol station sandwich that you don't even really like when you could have had something you really liked for less calories. Like, you know, so there's nothing wrong. Bring your own overnight oats, your salads, your sandwiches, leftover dinners. whatever works for you, whatever you you're willing to eat cold, cooler bags are genuinely the new cool Tupperware, bring it with you.
00:24:42
Speaker
If you're organized enough, try get organized enough. It will make a huge difference. Like I go down to Galway once a month at the minute and I will always have my overnight oats in the car. So I'll just stop and get my coffee in the petrol station. And I have my overnight oats, which I love. So I really look forward to that. It stops me getting a croissant. And that was like if I was only going to Galway every now and again, that I would just probably have the cross on. But like I'm going once a month. so I'm like, I'll keep a good healthy routine going here. Then i will usually make like chicken and pasta. So I'll make that for dinner the night before. And then I'll make an extra portion. I put in a lunchbox for me because the chicken and pasta with the bolognese sauce is really nice cold. And I'll bring that with me for my lunch. So I just have little cooler bag in the car.
00:25:22
Speaker
I'll have that for my lunch before I hit the road home. And then like I might get like a protein bar. It's the only time I actually eat protein bars is when I'm traveling because it's a great way to give you a little bit of a sweet treat, keep you feeling fuller for longer. If you haven't managed to prep food, it's going to keep your protein up. If you know if you're having slightly lesser protein foods, that can be a really useful one and for when like when you're traveling. But so just weekends, whether you are and if you are going away for the weekend and you're traveling across the country or you're not even if you're going up to the airport and you're getting a flight and you want to keep that travel day within your calories, regardless of whether, you know, you're going to just relax and enjoy the weekend away or whatever. Overnight oats in the airport is great. You can bring it through security as well.
00:26:04
Speaker
I did it recently when I was going to London. know He did take it and test it. But anyway, it was fine. And I i got a coffee. I got a butler's coffee when I got through security and I had my overnight oats. So there it is about...
00:26:16
Speaker
deciding what you want to prep and bring with you and deciding what you're like, like just kind of thinking ahead about your, your day out, whether it is going to football matches, whether it is traveling across the country, whether you are going through an airport or whatever, it just be intentional about it. Be like, okay, I'm sometimes I might be like, no, I'm not actually going to but like I was in Galway this month, I didn't bring my chicken and pasta with me and I actually had soup and yeah, I had some soup for lunch. And then i was like, oh God, that was really low in protein. i had a protein bar later. And you know, it's just about, but being like, I know i'm I'm going to actually just buy my lunch and I'm out, but kind of knowing what you're going to have as well, if that's the case. So, you know, it's it's weighing up what's worth getting from the shop and what i'm um' what's worth bringing with you.
00:27:02
Speaker
Tip number 12, catch up on steps and need. So weekends. Now, I apologize for anyone who works weekends. I'm talking about the kind of Monday to Friday, nine five people who are off at the weekends. Anyone who does have to work at the weekend, take this advice people.
00:27:21
Speaker
your days off. Weekends are perfect for boosting your NEAT, which is your non-exercise activity. So family walk, bike ride, or even a long stroll can add 200 to 400 extra calories to your calorie burn throughout the day. Without a feeling like a formal workout at all, we tend to have a bit more time at the weekends. I just find it it is it is easier to find somewhere, some time to get out for a walk at the weekend. And it maybe it depends on the weekend. Some weekends are better than others. But, you know, you don't view the weekend as, you know, a case of having to lie around and do nothing. Being like, oh, I deserve this rest. You deserve to get out and enjoy a little bit of nature, a bit of sunlight, a bit of fresh air and a bit of gentle movement, active of recovery. Use the weekend to really do that.
00:28:09
Speaker
Tip number 13, then again, this kind of ties in with having a little bit more
Reflective Practices for Progress
00:28:13
Speaker
time at the weekend. Maybe you don't need to go to bed as early. You don't have as much chores to do on a on a Friday evening, a Saturday evening or even like a Sunday morning.
00:28:21
Speaker
Journal. Check in with yourself. Reflect. It doesn't have to be a big hour long activity. Five or ten minutes pen to paper. How did your week go? What worked? What didn't? What will you do differently heading into this week?
00:28:35
Speaker
This single habit is one of the most powerful ones that you'll build because you can't change what you're not aware of. And if you're in the process of trying to reach a goal, a fat loss goal, let's say, or a health goal or a fitness goal, and you're trying to create habit change.
00:28:50
Speaker
You can't change what you're not aware of and you can't be aware of something unless you reflect on it and putting pen to paper and just giving yourself that little bit of time once a week. What are my wins for the week? We do this in the WhatsApp group in Nourish Her Coaching every Friday, weekly wins.
00:29:06
Speaker
What's your win for the week? And then not that you're focusing on the negative, but like reflecting like, well, what didn't go according to plan? What will I do different this week coming to help me with that? Now, if you have time, you can do this daily. what What's my win? Like i get I do it at my dinner table every day. What's the best thing that happened in your day? I say to the kids, my teenagers hate this. My eight year old loves it.
00:29:26
Speaker
So it's just get thinking about everything. What was the win? What was the positive in the day? Because there's, ah you know, to to actually give yourself a pat on the back and be happy about and then be like, right, well, it didn't go according to plan today. What will I do differently tomorrow?
00:29:41
Speaker
And so if you can do that daily, that's amazing. But if it that's just a little bit too much to add in once a week at the weekend is a fantastic time to really reflect. Tip number 14, no guilt, make intentional choices.
00:29:55
Speaker
So no guilt, no anxiety when you're living your best life. okay We're here to live our best lives, to be our healthiest, most confident versions of ourselves. But so we're not going to be perfect and that's OK. Ask yourself before each decision. So just like be present, be in the moment. Don't be thinking too far ahead and getting too stressed and be like, oh, well, I'm going out with the girls Saturday week now. sure what's the point. And then I've got that long weekend away and then I'm going away on holidays another three weeks after that. What's the point? I'll just start after.
00:30:25
Speaker
Like the point is right now in this very moment and ask yourself with every decision, how will this make me feel? And I don't mean like emotionally, how will this make you feel physically? Will it energize me and satisfy me or will it leave me feeling sick and sluggish?
00:30:43
Speaker
That one question changes everything. So, you know, if you're feet up in the couch, you're like, oh, you should go for a walk. I really don't want to. I think I'll stay here. And then be like, will it energize and satisfy me to just stay here?
00:30:56
Speaker
Or is it going to make me feel sick and sluggish? Same goes for like the third chocolate bar. It can be a great way to just check in with yourself and be like, no. Get up, get out for the walk. You're going to enjoy that rest so much more afterwards and I'll be energized and satisfied. And it's not saying you can or can't do anything or have anything, but it's you being intentional in the moment.
00:31:16
Speaker
And tip number 15, which is the last one. Danger is always in the dose. So always remember, this is where it's really important to eat slowly and mindfully so that you have to like, you know, if you're eating a dinner, you know, take a forkful, then put down your knife and fork, chew your food, take your time, put down your knife and fork between each mouthful, really take your time eating. because it gives your brain time to register with your gut that you're with with your stomach sorry that you're actually full and that takes a little bit of time you ever have that thing where you eat so fast because you're starving and then suddenly oh my god I had too much usually happens kind of in a restaurant doesn't it or a you know takeaway and you're like oh my god I'm so full I need to lie down by eating slowly and mindfully we can avoid that we can stop when we're full and satisfied but like even when it comes to you know having like a few biscuits or a slice of pizza or a chocolate bar
00:32:07
Speaker
There's nothing more that you're going to get in the 15th bite that you didn't already get in the first few. Satisfaction arrives early. So really just slow down, be present. Like I said, enjoy every bite rather than mindlessly eating well past the point of enjoyment. Because if you actually think about it, like what's the nicest part of like, you know, having like a chocolate bar, like the first bite when you're like, oh my God, that tastes so good.
00:32:32
Speaker
And then if you eat it slowly, mindfully and enjoy it, Like you're not getting the same enjoyment out of having the second one and then the third one and then the fourth one. So the danger really is in the dose that too much of anything isn't good for us.
00:32:45
Speaker
If we were exercising 24-7, that would not be good for us. If we were sleeping twenty four seven that wouldn't be good for us. If we drank too much water, that wouldn't be good for us. So all it's like, it's all relative. that Like there's nothing wrong with having a biscuit or a chocolate bar or slice of pizza or two or three or whatever.
00:33:03
Speaker
But it's having too much of it and having no control over it, that that's the problem where it's affecting our health and that we need to find ways to kind of start making changes to that. So I just want to do a little recap.
00:33:16
Speaker
Your weekend winning checklist. OK, think weekly. Daily calories multiplied by seven. Plan your week every Sunday. Log calories the night before.
00:33:26
Speaker
Check menus in advance. Use your AI app to guesstimate calories. Bring a treat in your bag and always have a treat in your bag. Plan what you'll drink before you go out.
00:33:38
Speaker
Prep day after food, day after drinking food in advance. Track it. Don't be an ostrich. Don't be brushing things under the carpet. Track it all. Be aware.
00:33:48
Speaker
Keep normal habits up to your occasion. If you're going out, keep everything normal. Bring prepped food on days out and about if it makes sense. Maximize your steps and your needs when you have a bit more time. Journal and reflect at the weekend.
00:34:02
Speaker
Drop the guilt. Just start being more intentional. Intentionally have that donut and own it. Intentionally have that glass of wine and own it. Don't feel guilty about having it while you're having it. Or be intentional in the moment and say, i don't want this. I'm doing this automatically. I'd actually feel better if I didn't. and And remember the danger is in the dose.
00:34:23
Speaker
OK, so we are allowed to have things we enjoy and live our best lives at the same time. So last thing I want to say on this is you do have this. You can do this. Winning the weekend isn't about being perfect.
00:34:36
Speaker
It's about having a plan, being consistent and enjoying your life. but without undoing all of the progress that you've worked so hard for. And keep in mind, one weekend is never going to undo all that progress, but it's the continuous, repeated cycles every weekend that starts to interfere with it.
00:34:55
Speaker
Keep showing up. Keep trusting the process. You have got this. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed. i hope it helped. And as always, please do share with your friends if you found this episode helpful. Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast if you would be willing to leave a review that would be or a comment that would be so helpful. And yes, if you would like more help in a more personalized way and be part of the most amazing community with structure, support, accountability, and check out the show notes.
00:35:30
Speaker
my Nourish Her coaching. All of the information is there in the show notes and the link in the show notes. And I would love to have you as part of my wonderful community. Thank you so much. And I will see you on the next episode.