How to beat the weekend blowout this silly season 

Even if you’re strict all week, it can be hard to beat a weekend blowout – particularly in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Between the long lunches, catches up over a glass of Sauv Blanc and food and alcohol at every given turn, it can be easy to totally de-rail diet plans throughout December – and wake up come January 1 with a big food and drink hangover.

Thankfully, this can be prevented. 

With the help of practising dietitian and nutritionist, Lyndi Cohen, here FEMAIL takes a look at the five easy tricks you can adopt to prevent a weekend binge.

According to Lyndi (pictured), while you’re stuck in the routine over the week, at the weekend you don’t have to eat just because it’s a mealtime – wait until your body is hungry

IGNORE MEAL TIMES COMPLETELY

According to Lyndi, the first thing to remember is that ‘even if you eat healthily over the week, if you’re binge eating at the weekend, every Monday it will feel as though you need to start from scratch’:

‘During the working week, it can be easy to eat by the clock because it’s breakfast or lunchtime,’ the Sydney-based dietitian told FEMAIL.

‘But over the weekend, you can have the luxury of not being bound by a schedule.’

The expert recommends that, rather than eating at set times because you think you should, ‘listen to your hunger and wait to get hungry before having the first meal of the day’.

‘You may be surprised to find you’re not as hungry as you think you are, and by eating less at the beginning, you’ll therefore eat less throughout,’ she said.

Lyndi (pictured) is also a fan of avoiding cheat meals altogether – as this is more likely to lead you to a weekend blowout; instead just be moderate throughout the week and weekend

DON’T HAVE CHEAT MEALS

While many of us fall into the trap of being ‘good’ all week, and allowing ourselves ‘cheat meals’ when we think we’ve earned them, Lyndi said that ‘for most people, the idea of cheat days or cheat meals doesn’t help with weight loss’:

‘Weekend blowouts are caused by feeling deprived all week,’ she explained.

How to rectify this feeling is to avoid ‘planning on being super strict all week. Instead, give yourself permission to enjoy your favourite foods throughout the week in moderation.

‘You’ll notice you binge less over the weekend,’ she concluded.

When it comes to your ‘drinking’ friends, the dietitian recommends catching up with them in the morning over breakfast, rather than in the evening when you will likely drink (stock image)

CATCH UP WITH YOUR DRINKING FRIENDS IN THE MORNING

Everyone has them – the friends who are regularly a bad influence with alcohol.

And, as Lyndi says, ‘as soon as you’ve had a few beverages, kebabs and hot chips can seem like a great idea’. 

‘If you have friends who pressure you into drinking more or order far too much food for dinner, aim to catch up with those people over breakfast, brunch or a walk,’ she said.

‘This way you’ll still see you friends, but be much less likely to be peer pressured into eating and drinking too much.’

Lyndi recommends switching up your hangover cure – from a big, greasy breakfast to something like yoghurt and muesli to rebalance blood sugar levels (stock image)

CHANGE YOUR HANGOVER CURE

Hangovers and greasy fry ups go together like salt and pepper for many people around the world.

But if you want to avoid piling on the pounds this silly season, Lyndi recommends you switch up your hangover cure:

‘A big, greasy breakfast may make you feel better momentarily, but it’s not going to help to reverse your hangover,’ Lyndi said.

‘Swap it for fresh fruit salad with yoghurt and muesli. While it might not sound appetising, it will help to rebalance your blood sugar levels and rehydrate your body.’

The dietitian also said reloading your immune system with vitamin C is a good idea, but it’s better to ‘swap orange juice for fresh, whole pieces of orange’.

Lyndi (pictured) also recommends making just one mealtime plan per day over the weekend, and doing something else when you see another person – this limits unnecessary calories

MAKE FEWER MEALTIME PLANS 

Finally, it can help in December if you mix up your mealtime plans with other plans. 

‘Most social catchups revolve around food, whether it’s breakfast, brunch, coffee, lunch, cocktails or dinner,’ Lyndi said.

‘If you can avoid it, never commit yourself to more than one food plan per day over the weekend.’

She advised that if you know you’re going to be ‘out for Sunday lunch, then schedule a morning walk with a friend and a movie in the evening, instead of more socialising around food.

‘Chances are you’ll eat a big lunch anyway, and won’t be that hungry at dinner,’ she concluded.

Lyndi Cohen is the author of the Keep It Real programme, which aims to overhaul your attitude towards food. For more information, please click here.