Are you in denial about your weekend habits?

Working with a personal trainer and eating healthy but still not losing weight?

I'll cut to the chase: the secret is in the weekend habits you don't want to change.

When we're working out, pushing ourselves and eating healthy all week, the last thing we want when we finish work at the end of the week is to have to continue those habits.

However, if you let yourself loose at the weekends, you can EASILY undo the calorie deficits you created during the week. You'll know if you have been doing this because your weight will have been staying the same despite your workouts and healthy eating habits mid-week.

3 things to realise about weekend habits:

1. You need a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day to lose 1lb a week...think about what happens if you don't hit your deficit on thursday, friday and saturday. That's almost half of the week.

2. Letting yourself go at the weekend, doesn't just mean 2-3 days of not hitting your calorie deficit, but can actually mean you go as far as un-doing the deficits you were able to create earlier in the week. This typically happens for those that not only eat junk food at the weekend, but drink alcohol too. I challenge you to keep a food diary at the weekend, and do the numbers on the amount of calories in the things you ate and drank, and you'll soon realise where it's all going wrong.

3. The weekend almost needs a seperate plan, so that you can enjoy yourself, get a break from the routine, but still hit your deficit. If you don't want to do a grueling workout on your day off, know that you still need to get those steps in somehow, and take a nice long walk on the beach for example. Something you can enjoy to help you hit those goals. If you want a break from the diet, or a glass of wine, make allowances by forgoing something else to balance it out and be aware of the calorie content in things, don't just guess.

4. In general, make a plan you don't need a 2 day break from each week. Weight loss happens over the long-term, and if you want a long-term transformation, you have to act like this plan is your life from now on (not just for a brief 8 weeks). Build an exercise plan that covers 7 days, and something you can do long-term. Build a diet plan that covers 7 days and something you can genuinely stick to long-term

5. Know your substitutes. There are healthy substitutes to almost everything you can think of (skinny cocktails, healthy cookies, low-cal pizza). Know what your weekend weaknesses are, and have some healthy alternatives in your toolkit ready to go for when the weekend starts.

I hope this helps girls! I know it's horrible feeling like you have to be strict with yourself all week, but my advice is do your best to design a plan that you don't need a break from. Build a long-term lifestyle and you can get the results you need.

Nicky x