“I’ve been good all week. I think I will have a burger in celebration.” “Wine? Yes, please and keep it coming.” “I don’t feel like cooking. Let’s just order pizza.” “I should go to the gym, but Miss Congeniality is on TV again.”
Sound familiar? We all have a tendency to over indulge on the weekends. I am guilty of it myself. I can honestly say that up until a few months ago, we relied on takeout for meals Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We would order sushi for dinner and sandwiches to watch football. It was my family’s bad habit. I justified it by telling myself that we are city dwellers and takeout is just a part of city living. Well… I took a look at my credit card statement a few months ago and was embarrassed at what I saw. Not only was takeout costing my family an arm and a leg, but it consumed most of my purchases. At that moment, I decided we needed to change and I was the person that needed to start the revolution. I made an internal commitment to my family that I would cook healthy meals, educate myself on what I was putting into our mouths, and spend my money on food that would nourish our bodies not deteriorate them. And I would do all this EVEN on the weekends.
Why your weekends might be ruining your attempt at weight loss…
I just read an article in Health magazine that stated on average a person consumes 1,000 extra calories A DAY on the weekends. Think for a moment about your average weekend. You probably over indulge in wine, beer, or takeout. You don’t think much of it because you have been doing it for so long, but what if you adjusted your bad habit? What if you cooked dinner for yourself on Sunday night instead of ordering pizza? What if you made yourself a sandwich instead of going to Potbelly? What if you drank one glass of wine instead of a bottle? Small improvements can mean big results and I would bet that if you changed how you ate, you would find yourself at the gym on Sunday instead of on your couch. That’s the awesome thing about treating your body kindly… it feels good and you want to keep doing it!
So… did I keep up with my commitment? I would be lying if I said I cook every meal all weekend long. On an average weekend, we order out one night. We have put a stop to ordering food during the day and I started buying enough lunch food to last seven days instead of five. Also, I routinely make dinner Sunday nights. These were small steps, but they have made a big difference not only to our health, but also my credit card bill.
On another note… we had a baby girl! Hazel Martin Crane is officially 2 weeks old and it is already hard to imagine our family was ever without her. She is wonderful.
Bekah- I love your blog! I can't believe you're back to it and Hazel is only 2 weeks old!!! Oh and I LOVE the name Hazel- So adorable! Do you have the cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jerry Seinfeld's wife? I use that all the time.....she incorporates vegetable purees into all of the recipes. My son Owen is only 13 months old is it's already hard to get him to eat vegetables..... not to mention how hard it is to get my husband to eat vegetables =) But Ive had alot of luck with her recipes and the purees are really easy to make, thanks to my tupperware microwave steamer!
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention that cook book. I have been contemplating purchasing it! Good to know you have had success with it. My daughter, Drew, is pretty good with eating vegetables (she actually likes pea, green beans, carrots and tomatoes), but who knows what Hazel will be like :). Keep a look out for the next blog... ironically, it is all about vegetables! Thanks for the kind words!
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