Weekend Eating

A new study was published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing. The study found that people tend to eat more on the weekends (100 extra calories per day) versus during the week. The greatest increases were found with people age 25 to 35 years of age or with those who are very overweight. Bigger breakfasts are usually the largest contributor to extra weekend calories. The study also found that people who eat a large meal tend to eat less at the next meal and vice versa. On the weekends, people tend to not balance their meals as well.

Weekends tend to give people more time to cook more. Kids do not have to go to school. Parents do not have to go to work. In our culture, family time tends to center around food. If you do make a special breakfast on the weekends, be sure to eat less later in the day.

Here are some more tips to help you through your weekend:

• If you are out running errands or traveling, try taking healthy snacks with you so you are not tempted to splurge on that pastry at the bakery.
• If possible, try to stick to the same eating pattern you have during the week.
• If you do make a large breakfast on the weekends, go ahead and try each item but limit your portion sizes especially with high calorie items such as bacon, sausage and syrup.
• Instead of the typical heavy American breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes, focus on oatmeal or yogurt with nuts and fruit.

By the way, if you think that 100 calories per day does not sound like much, consider this: There are approximately 100 weekend days per year. If you multiply 100 days x 100 calories, you are adding 10,000 extra calories to your intake over the course of a year. If you do not adjust for these calories, you will gain 3 pounds over the the year!

Do you tend to eat more on the weekends? If so, is it during meals or snacks?