Cheating on the weekend?

I’ve been thinking about cheating a lot lately. Not the clandestine affair type of cheating—I’m not the type, nor do I have the inclination, I’m way too tired! It’s the cheating I do when it comes to what I eat and drink on the weekends. I don’t believe in dieting, because I really don’t think you can sustain it over the long haul. The studies tell us that they are too hard to stick to for most people. I do believe the key to losing and maintaining your weight is through lifestyle changes—I’m on board with that completely. And the truth is that I actually like healthy food and would choose it over fast, fried food on most days of the week.

My problem is that even though I live a pretty healthy life during the week (I choose fish and salads for dinner, vegetable soup for lunches), when it comes to the weekend, I feel like I have earned some sort of celebration: a glass or two of red wine (hey, there are antioxidants in there), appetizers on Saturday night before a big dinner, a shared bowl of popcorn for family movie night (okay, I admit it there’s some red licorice and maybe the odd piece of chocolate involved, too). I do the majority of my exercise on the weekends because with three kids, shuttling them to activities and a commute to work each day, the weekends are the only time that I don’t feel rushed to get to something else. But clearly, even with the exercise I’m doing (a power walk on hilly terrain two to three times a week), I’m always amazed at the damage I’ve done by Monday morning. When I put on my favourite pair of pants to get ready for work, I can feel exactly where all my "celebrating" went to.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that if I want to reduce the spillover on my waistband, I need to pay closer attention to what I’m eating and drinking on the weekends. I’d love to know what Best Health readers do on the weekends to feel like they get that "It’s The Weekend" break but without overdoing it. Do you have a great recipe for a healthy appetizer that doesn’t pack on the pounds? What about great ideas for those big dinners out, how do you keep from blowing all the good you’ve done during the week? I’d love your suggestions, tricks and tips.

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