Do you watch what you eat Monday through Friday but eat what ever you want over the weekend? A Washington University School of Medicine study found that you could be sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. Carefree eating over the weekend could cause you to gain an accumulative 10 pounds a year.
Those in the intervention groups showed a slowdown in progress on the weekends as well, due to extra calorie consumption. The participants in the reduced-calorie group lost weight during the week, but stopped losing on weekends because they were eating more, Racette said. Those in the increased-activity group kept up their exercise through the entire week, but though they lost weight during the week, they gained it on the weekend because they didn't burn enough calories to make up for the extra food they consumed.
Over time, that pattern slows down weight loss progress for people who are following a particular diet or exercise plan, Racette said, which could lead to frustration when the pounds don't come off as quickly as expected. "They're working really hard during the week, but then they allow themselves to be more casual on weekends, and they end up being a lot more casual," she said. "If it were to continue every weekend, then it could lead to substantial gain over the year because they're not completely making up for it during the week."
The main culprit for the increased calories seemed to be fat -- an average of 36 percent of the study participants' calories came from fat on the weekends, with less than 35 percent coming from fat during the week. The kinds of foods that people often eat on weekends -- convenience foods and junk foods -- are often high in fat, and fat is higher in calories than protein or carbs.
It occurred to the researchers that water retention due to excess sodium intake could be behind the higher numbers on the scale on the weekends, Racette said, but evaluation of the data showed that there wasn't a significant increase. CALERIE follows older people, she pointed out -- younger people may have a weekend diet with more alcohol and high-sodium foods, and that could increase the effect on weight.
The key to keeping the risk of weekend weight gain in check is consistency, Racette advised. Being aware of what you're eating on the weekends and setting yourself up for healthy choices by planning ahead can help you maintain your weight or keep weight loss going through the entire week. The study participants had to weigh themselves daily, which increased their awareness of small weight changes before they became big ones. They also kept a careful record of what they ate; keeping a food diary can help you see patterns in your diet, she said.
SOURCE: REUTERS