So there's a new study making the rounds showing that there are natural weight fluctuations for people and that we tend to be higher on the weekends and lower during the week. The study notes that people tend to eat more on the weekends and their weight goes up, but if they eat healthy during the week, it has no long term effect on weight loss if you choose to have some over-eating on the weekend.
First off, this study was INCREDIBLY tiny. I think the sample size was less then 30 people. But I do agree that having a treat once and a while is not going to derail your weight loss efforts if you otherwise eat healthy.
What are some nuances to this? Well, you have to know yourself and your body. First off, if you are a total sugar addict, you probably don't want to scarf down a couple of brownies on Saturday if it's going to make you crave sweets for several days. But if you are the type of person that can have something sweet and get right back on track, then go for it.
In some people, having a sweet treat actually can PREVENT out of control cravings that can lead to a binge.
However, while you are actively losing, if you choose to have a cheat day or 2, it WILL slow down your weight loss. There's nothing wrong with that - this is not a race. But you can't get discouraged if you have some high calorie cheat meals and then you don't lose 3 pounds this week. But if you don't mind a slow weight loss - especially if it does keep you from going off the rails in the future, it can be beneficial.
If you are maintaining like me, or getting close to maintenance, you will learn that you don't have to be 100% on plan every day. I always eat more on the weekends, and it doesn't effect my weight stability as long as starting Monday, I get right back on track.
So let's not beat ourselves up when we eat a big ass cookie tonight, ok?
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