For most of us, who are working at controlling our weight, the most difficult days to get through are often the weekends, starting on Friday afternoon. We often do well following our “diet plan” and exercise routine throughout the week, then along comes Friday. I have a few ideas that I believe will help you with your weekends.

First of all, we have to realize what the weekends are. They really are societies’ reward system for working hard at our job or going to school for the previous 5 days. One of the hardest things on a “diet plan” is to get over the idea that we are depriving ourselves of our favorite foods, etc. The same goes for weekends. We get to Friday afternoon and we feel that we can’t have any fun because we’re on a diet and can’t go out for a few drinks, or out to our favorite restaurant to unwind after a busy workweek. As humans, we don’t like having things taken away from us. My suggestion is to develop a plan that changes your weekend reward system so you don’t feel that anything is taken away from you.
In other words, let’s work on doing different things on the weekends, other than eating and drinking (exchange one treat for another). Starting Monday morning think about doing fun things on the upcoming weekend that don’t have as much food and drink association. Do things that you have been putting off, or haven’t even thought about for a while.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about your new “Weekend Reward Plan”.

• Go to a live theatre production or concert (these don’t have the association with popcorn like the movies)
• Go golfing on Friday or Saturday evenings (quite often golf courses are quiet on these evenings)
• Go for an old fashioned skate in the winter
• Meet a friend for coffee on Saturday morning
• Go to the zoo
• Go for a walk in the park, wander through a field of wild flowers and listen to the bird’s sing
• Drive to the mountains for a day or the weekend
• Browse through some art galleries that you’ve been putting off seeing for sometime
• Discover a local tourist site that you’ve never taken the time to visit
• Take a weekend walk on the wild side by trying a new outdoor activity:
  white water rafting, backpacking or horse back riding
• Pamper yourself with a day at the spa
• Etc.,etc., etc. – the list is endless!

I firmly believe individuals who have their weight under control have learned to balance their reward system and have learned how to make themselves happy in more ways than with food and drink. The above ideas will help you “treat” yourself in new ways.
T.G.I.F. will take on a new meaning and you will be looking forward to the weekends so you can reward yourself in new ways. Your newfound success in handling weekends will go a long way in helping you with your life long weight control efforts.