ERF 869: How to Stay on Track Without Sacrificing Your Weekends

What is going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Eric Roberts Fitness Podcast. I hope you're having a great day thus far. Today I have an episode for you that I know majority of people struggle with because it's something that we coach our clients on all the time, and that is how to stop sabotaging your weekends without giving up fun. I know a lot of people get to the weekends and you've worked all week and, and you want to enjoy yourself a bit. You want to let loose a bit. You don't want to be so routine. You don't want to be so dialed in, for lack of better terms. But you also want to still hit your goals. And you also still— and you have to restart every Monday, you feel like, because of the progress that you essentially undid during the weekend. And this is where most people go wrong. They'll, you know, do good all week and the weekend rolls around and you're going out to eat. You're not eating your typical meal prep. Maybe you're drinking, maybe you're out of routine, you're waking up later, maybe you're skipping workouts. So it undoes all— undoes, undoes, undoes all the progress that you would have made during the week. Because remember, for you to lose fat, build muscle, be consistent, it's 7 days of the week. It's not just 3 days or 4 days of the week. Because if you're only consistent 4 and you're not consistent 3, you're only more consistent 1 day out of the week, which is not good enough for you to make the progress you want to see. But again, I also know people struggle with like, well, I don't, I don't want to have to be so strict. I don't want to have to be so dialed in. This is my time to relax a bit. Don't worry. I'm going to give you some strategies in this podcast that can hopefully help you out to be able to do both. And I want to I want to make it very clear, you can do both. You can lose fat and still enjoy the weekends. You can enjoy the weekends but also still stay on plan. And there's gonna be some level of sacrifice that is required. Now we're gonna talk about in the podcast strategies that you can use to have you not sacrifice so much and still be able to stay on track and still enjoy yourself. But You have to be okay with there is going to be a bit of sacrifice involved in this, and you have to understand that and accept that upfront because it's just like anything else in life. If you want— I'll use going on a vacation as an example. If you want to go on vacation, you're probably going to have to save money. If you save money now, that means you're not spending money now. And if you're not spending money now, that probably means you sacrifice going out to dinner one or 2 times during the week. That probably means you sacrifice not buying the clothes, the extra clothes or the extra shoes that you want. That probably means you're, again, you're, you're buying at whatever, you're buying at Aldi instead of buying at Whole Foods, which by the way, I think Aldi is great. It's where I shop personally and I think it does save you a shit ton of money. But all that being said, you do all of that in the short term to then be able to save and go on that vacation in the long term. It's the same thing with your fat loss. And here's something people don't— I don't think they conceptualize when it comes to losing fat. And I promise I'll get into some of the exact strategies here in a second. But remember, a calorie deficit, a fat loss phase should be just that. It should be a phase. You should not be in a calorie deficit for the rest of your life. And some of you are listening and you're like, huh, I've been in a calorie deficit for years. No, you haven't. You've been in a calorie deficit mindset for years. If you were actually in a calorie deficit for years, you'd be like 80 fucking pounds. You have not been in a calorie deficit. You've been in a calorie deficit mindset. And so when you actually do the calorie deficit the right way, depending on how much weight you have to lose, maybe you have 20 pounds, 30 pounds, 50+ pounds, it depends. But let's just say you're in that deficit for up to a year, maybe up to a year and a half. Usually that's where most people will fall. And again, during that year, 6 months, 18 months, you're not perfect, but like You're 90% consistent with your calorie deficit. Once you get done that phase, you don't stay in that phase. You go to your maintenance calories and then you maintain your level of body fat. A calorie deficit is different than a calorie maintenance, sheerly just from the amount of calories that you can consume. And it's much like building muscle. I'll use this analogy as well. For you to build muscle, you have to really push yourself. You have to really lift heavy. You have to really push yourself close to failure. But once you have the muscle, it's so much easier to maintain that muscle than it is to continue to build new muscle. And fat loss should be The same thing if you do it correctly. Now, if you do it in a stupid fucking way and you're cutting out all of your carbs and, and you're only drinking smoothies to lose weight, like, that's stupid. You're not going to be able to maintain that. But if you do a calorie deficit in the correct way, like some of the things we're going to talk about in the podcast today, then you should be able to maintain it fairly easier than what it is to actually lose the weight because you quite frankly, you have more calories to play with. Let's just say your calorie deficit is 1,700 calories and let's say you work at the end of your deficit, you work your calories back up and now you can eat 2,200, 2,300, 2,400 calories as your new maintenance calories and not lose weight. That is 700 extra calories per day that you could potentially be eating to maintain your weight. So it will get easier. You don't have to be in this sacrifice phase forever, but upfront you do. And by the way, if I'm being very honest with you, you weren't sacrificing for a very long time, and that's why you got to where you were in the first place. If you're 30 pounds overweight, the God's honest truth is You have not been sacrificing. You've been undersacrificing. You've been overindulging, and that's why you are where you are. So you were just unbalanced in one direction. Now, for the fat loss phase during the weekends, you're going to have to be a little bit unbalanced in the other direction. You can still have fun, but it's not going to— you are going to have to make some sacrifices. So That's the first thing I want to mention. And the second thing I want to mention, I hear this a lot from our clients. You feel like the weekend is your reward for being good. No, the reward for you being good is not having to hide in pictures anymore, is actually being able to zip up your pants comfortably, is to be able to re-spark some sort of, uh, you know, some sort of kindle with your partner or your spouse. The reward is you feeling more self-confident. Being able to walk into the store and buy clothes that you want, wear the bathing suits that you want. That's your reward. Your reward is not drinks on the weekends with your friends because that shit is the same shit that got you to 30 pounds overweight. Why would you want to reward yourself with that? You're supposed to be consistent. You're supposed to be mindful of your nutrition. You don't reward yourself for doing that. That's like just showing up to work. And being like, oh, I did the most. No, you showed up and did nothing. And I'm not saying you showed up and did nothing with your nutrition. I'm being a bit harsh here, but I want to get this point across to you, which is why I'm being a little bit harsh. Like, stop thinking you reward yourself on the weekends for the work that you did during the week. You're supposed to be doing that work, and the reward is you feeling better, not drinking like shit, eating like shit, making yourself— not sleeping. That's not a reward. All right, so now all that being said, am I yelling? Let's get into some key strategies you can do to help you stay on plan without sacrificing your entire life. And by the way, before we do, if you are interested, I have a free personalized, uh, body transformation roadmap that you can download. There'll be a link in the description of this video if you'd like to download that free body transformation roadmap. I, I've been putting it out. People have been really enjoying it. So if you want to check it out for yourself, you'll answer some questions and it'll tell you what stage you're in. I think there's 4 stages of transformation. It'll tell you what stage you're in. It'll show you the biggest problems. It'll show you how you solve them and get to the next stage. So link in the show notes if you want to check it out. Now, strategy number 1, Have a plan before Friday. This is something we do constantly with our online coaching clients. So let me just kind of paint the picture here. Let's say on Monday we have a check-in with our client on Monday. So that's like our weekly check-in. Usually by Wednesday, Thursday, maybe Friday morning, we are also reaching out to our clients and being like, hey, Susie, The weekend is coming up. What do you have going on? Are you traveling? Is there any birthdays, any holidays, any weddings? What is— are you going out to eat? Are you planning on drinking? You going to a concert, barbecue? Like, what is going on? Because what we have found is most people, just because the week is busy, you're working, you're dealing with kids, it's just a lot going on. You know you have stuff going on on the weekends, but you don't really know exactly what. And even if you know exactly what, you don't spend or take the time to start to plan out what that will look like for your schedule, but for your fitness as well. So we're asking people like, hey, when are you leaving your house? Do you have to bring food with you? Are you going to eat food when you're out? Are you going to decide to drink alcohol? If you do, how many drinks are you going to have? How is that going to fit into your calories for that day? Are we doing calorie cycling this week where maybe we're eating a tad bit less calories during the day? I'm sorry, during the week to maybe eat a tad bit more during the weekend, but still staying within our weekly deficit. And so if I were you, I would really like by Friday at 10:00 AM, you should have your Friday, your Saturday, and your Sunday planned out. Now people are going to listen to this. I don't have the time to do that, Eric. Oh, really? Really? You don't have time? How much time do you spend scrolling on TikTok at night? How much time do you spend watching Netflix? You have time. You're not using your time in the most efficient manner. So take time out of your day. It could be while you're on the goddamn toilet. Like, I don't care. But you have to take some time to plan things out now. This is where having a coach can be helpful because we can help plan this out for you. If you're like, I don't want to have to think about this, just tell me what to do. That's why you would get a coach. Link in the show notes of the podcast if you're interested in our coaching, but you have to make that plan. And if I were you, I would just lay out like, what does the morning look like? Midday and at night, morning, midday, night, morning, midday, night. Lay out like, where are you going to be? What are you going to eat? Where are you going to be? What are you going to eat? Where are you going to be? What are you going to eat? Do that 3 times for 3 days. I promise you it'll make you more consistent and it'll make you feel like you don't have to sacrifice everything because you're like, okay, cool, I can fit this in here. I can do this here. Maybe I have 2 drinks here instead of 5 drinks, but I can still fit it into my calories for the day. And it'll also make you feel accomplished that you're actually doing something to move your goals forward and staying on track. So that's number one. And number 2, remember, try to practice the 80/20 rule where 80% of your calories comes from nutrient-dense, good whole foods. 20% comes from treats and things that you enjoy, right? So while we're going into the weekend, number one, if you've been eating clean, eating quote unquote healthy for, you know, the week, That's good. Now don't eat so clean and so healthy by the time Friday rolls around, you're like, holy shit, I just want fucking chips and guac and tacos and sushi. And like, don't over-restrict yourself. We had somebody sign up for coaching last week, and that was essentially what one of the things she said she was struggling with was getting to Friday and kind of just going off the rails because she's like, oh my God, I just want to eat like some real food. So you don't want to over-restrict yourself, but if you're eating more or less healthy throughout the week, maybe you are going to have a meal or two during the weekend where it's not the most clean and it's not the most healthy. And you're like, oh man, like this is a little bit of a higher calorie meal. And guess what? That's fine because one or two of those meals worked into your calories for that day and/or For that week is okay. For example, last night I went out to eat and I had chips, salsa, taco, and fajitas. And quite frankly, I thought I was going to wake up today and my scale was going to be way up, but it wasn't. It was actually down, which is always funny. But that's also because during the week I'm eating clean, I'm eating healthy, I'm hitting my calories, so on and so forth. Even yesterday, Earlier in the day, I kind of knew I was going to go out to eat because I wanted to. And so I was like, all right, I'm going to slightly tweak my day to make it so that, yeah, I'm going to probably have a higher calorie meal here at dinner, but I'm still going to fit within my daily and weekly calories. So don't just throw everything away because you don't have a perfect meal or because you have a meal that's higher in calories. And this goes right into strategy number 3. Track it even if it's not perfect. And I'll be very honest with you, this is something I sometimes fall into the trap of as well. I almost did it last night, but I corrected myself and fixed it this morning. Even if you can't like track it perfectly, don't black out on logging just because it's the weekend. So if you're going out to eat on a Friday night, Log what you can, even estimates or what we call guesstimates. Guesstimates keep you aware and they keep you accountable not only for that day but also for the rest of the weekend. Because there's a couple of points here. Let's just use Friday. You're going out to eat Friday night. During the morning on Friday or Thursday evening, if you know you're going out to eat and maybe you know where you're going out to, You can you can log and track. You're gonna have a burger. You're gonna have some fries, and you're gonna have two alcoholic drinks. Now, is it gonna be like perfectly tracked? No, but just track that you had a fucking cheeseburger, man. Like the fries. Is it 200 calories or 300 calories? I don't fucking know. Pick one, and if it helps you, pick the one. That's like an overestimate. You'd rather overestimate your calories than underestimate your calories. So just track it. And the same thing with your drinks. Like, if you know you're having— I don't know what people drink these days, I don't fucking drink— but you're having 2 Old Fashioneds or 2 rum and Cokes or beer, whatever the fuck you guys drink, I have no clue. Track it. Because for Friday, that's gonna make you accountable and it's gonna make you feel like you're not ruining all of your progress because you'll look at your day And be like, okay, maybe it's a little bit over, but it's not thousands of calories over. There's a difference between going 200, 300, 400 calories over and then going 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 calories over your calories for that day. So not only for that day, but then also the rest of the weekend, because the rest of the weekend you don't have to think, ah, well, I ruined it. I ruined all my progress yesterday. I might as well just keep going this weekend and get back on track Monday. No, you didn't ruin it. You tracked everything yesterday. And again, maybe you went a little bit over, but you also know you overestimated. So you have to track even if it's not perfect. It keeps you aware, it keeps you accountable, and it holds you to it. So that's number 3. Number 4, and I have said this a couple of times already, but you gotta limit your liquid calories. Alcohol adds up fast and it lowers inhibition. And essentially what inhibition means is just like your willpower. Think about it. When you're 2 drinks, 3 drinks, 4 drinks, 5 drinks in, your willpower is less. Let's all be fucking honest. It's one of the reasons why you can't drive. It lowers your inhibition. So you got to limit that. Set a drink limit ahead of time and stick with it. You can work it in. And this is the beauty of point number 3, track your calories, input what you're going to eat, input what you're going to have, track it, because then you can also know, okay, I want to have 3 drinks, but my calorie limit is 1,600 for the day. Okay, if I want 3 drinks, I'm going to have to pull back a little bit on my calories at lunch. I'm going to pull back a little bit on my calories at breakfast. I'm probably not gonna be able to have the appetizer and the burger and the dessert. I'll probably have to pick one of those to indulge in. You know what? Maybe I don't want 3 drinks. I want 2 drinks or 1 drink, so then I can have my appetizer. Like, it's just choices. But if you set the limit ahead of time and you stick with it, it's going to allow you to make a conscious choice and a conscious decision and be in control. Which is why most people feel out of control on the weekends, and that's why they go off track. Whenever you feel out of control, there's a much more likelihood of you saying fuck it in conjunction with alcohol already makes you say fuck it to a lot of things anyway. So it just adds on and it just compiles on top of that. So set the drink limit, and and what this also does is it gives you a bright line. It gives you something that says. It's not just, oh, I'm gonna try to limit my drinks today. I'm gonna stick to do 2 drinks no matter what. It's very clear. It's black and white. There's no gray area. Another thing with liquid calories, alternate drinks with water or switch to lower calorie options. You know, if you— whether it's— I don't know. I don't know the exact calories of alcohol. I don't drink. It's tequila is less than, you know, uh, uh, IPA lager, for example. Cool. Maybe you swap for that option instead. Vodka soda, whatever it is, right? Or you just go through a period of time where you don't drink. And it's funny because we've had a lot of clients do this. They go through a period of time, let's say 30 days of not drinking. They see more progress in those 30 days than they have in the past 3 months. And they feel better. They sleep better. They have better energy. And so they're kind of like, hey, This is pretty sweet. And I'm like, yes, you are right. It is. Uh, so you know, that could be an option as well. And quite frankly, if you can't go 30 days without drinking, I would not be as concerned with your fat loss. I would be a bit more concerned with your relationship with alcohol. And I'm not saying that to like be funny. I know I'm very sarcastic sometimes, but I really do mean that when I say that. So if you can't do that, I would maybe get some extra help with that as well. So that's number 4. Number 5, anchoring your day with protein and still trying to hit your protein goal for that day. So a non-negotiable on the weekends, like absolute non-negotiable, you have to start your day with high protein. I would almost go to the extent of start your day with more high protein than you would during the day. So a goal I like to shoot for is within 2 hours of you waking up, I would try to have at least 30, if not 40 to 50 grams of protein. I know that sounds like a lot, but remember, during the weekend, you're also usually waking up a little bit later. Your eating routine, eating schedule is a bit more off. You're much more apt and potentially likely to skip meals because you're busy and you're out and you're, Doing errands, whatever it is. So by the time, let's say 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM rolls around on a typical day, you've probably had hopefully 60, 70, 80 grams of protein by then. But on the weekends, if you start with a low protein breakfast, by the time 3:00 PM rolls around, there's an opportunity you might have only eaten 27 grams of protein for the day. And it's no wonder that later in the day you're fucking starving and you end up binging and overeating and you have all these cravings and you're going out to eat and you're overeating. It's because you're not starting your day with high protein. So at least 30 grams of protein within 2 hours of waking up and just your entire day should be anchored around protein. Things like even bringing protein snacks if you're on the go, if you're running errands, Bring a protein shake, bring a protein bar. Uh, Legion Athletics, the company I work with, they make these protein Rice Krispies. Fucking incredible. They're high in protein and high in fiber. If you're interested in grabbing those, there'll be a link in the show notes of this podcast, and/or you can head to legionathletics.com and use my code ERIC at checkout. It'll get you buy one, get one half off. So try that. Try those out. They also have protein cookies. They have protein bars. So bring snacks with you if you're going to be on the go. But it's got to— the day has got to be anchored around protein. And when you go out to eat, anchor your meal around protein as well. So you can have some mac and cheese, or you can have some bread, but make sure you also have the steak or the salmon or the sea bass or the Lentils, tofu, whatever, you know, if you're vegetarian, like it's got to be anchored around that protein. So that's number 5. And number 6, do not, do not, do not skip your workouts. Even if it's just a walk, a quick lift, a quick bike ride, anything that gets you moving. You need to move your body for a couple of reasons. Yes, for the calorie burn, that's important, but also For the endorphins and for the mindset. I'm telling you, man, like, there's nothing like— especially to me, especially on the weekends. And I've, um, I've been doing this for the last how many months? Probably 2 or 3 months. I wake up, I get about an hour to 2 hours of work done, and then I go to the gym. And for me, especially for whatever reason on the weekends, and the weekends really aren't for me that much different than the weekdays, but just for some reason it just sets my day up so much better. It allows me to feel like I'm accomplishing, I'm getting things done, my mindset's better, my mood is better. So do not skip your workouts, and I really would try to put them earlier in the day if you can, even if that means waking up an hour earlier than you normally do on the weekends. Because again, I know some people like to sleep in on the weekends. So wake up a bit earlier and just move your body. It's going to set up your day, the rest of your day for success. Just like I talked about with that high protein breakfast, setting up your day for success with your movement, that will make it so much easier for you to stay on track. And again, it'll help you, um, just overall feel like you're in control. When we talked about earlier, feeling in control is massive. And maybe the last thing, and we'll see, but Hydration. I think this is huge as well. I think people are in their maybe Monday through Friday routines and like you're drinking your water, you're having this, you're having that, but routines get kind of crazy on the weekends. So you got to make sure earlier in the day you're front-loading your day with protein and water. Front-load your day with 16 to 20 ounces of water. Start off on the right foot there and make it a point whether you're carrying around a specific water bottle, Maybe you're setting alarmers and timers on your phone to go off to remind you to drink your water. Do whatever you have to do, but don't go underhydrated, especially right now during the summer. You'll just be hungrier, you'll have more cravings, and it'll be harder to stick to your plans, you guys. So all of those ways are— and I have one more strategy. I kind of said this earlier, but I want to just make it a point in and of itself. I would pick between the 3, and what I mean by that is appetizer, entree, dessert— I guess 4— or alcohol. Pick between the 4. You're either gonna enjoy the appetizer, you're gonna enjoy the entree, you're gonna enjoy the dessert, or you're gonna enjoy some alcohol. Pick one of the 4. And when I say enjoy, I kind of mean like quote unquote indulge. I mean, okay, you might have some alcohol, you might have the dessert that's a bit higher calories, you might pick the entree that's a bit higher calories. Pick one of those 4. Do not pick 2 or 3 or 4 of those 4, because picking multiple of those 4, that's when you start to get to a point where it's just so easy to eat 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 calories at a meal. Without even thinking about it. If you're having an appetizer that's higher in calories and you're having an entree that's higher in calories and you're having some dessert and you had 2 drinks, dude, you're at 1,400 calories without even thinking about it. And now your day of calories is 3,000 because you've already had 1,500 calories earlier in the day, or 1,000 or whatever it is. So pick between the 4. All right. Now, one of the last things I want to say is just, again, the fat loss is a short-term phase. It requires focus and trade-off. You don't get to eat like you're maintaining when you're trying to lose weight. Once you lose the weight, you can eat like you want to maintain it. You'll have more flexibility, I promise, but you have to get there first. Okay. Reframe the weekends as a part of the process, not an escape from it. And again, if you're not going so restrictive during the week, this will help you not go off track so much during the weekends. But the weekends are a part of the process. You have to understand that, okay? You don't have to give up fun, but you need to plan, be mindful, and make smarter choices. This way, the weekends won't sabotage you if you take control. All right, guys, I hope you enjoyed this podcast. If you did, please share it. Please leave a 5-star rating and review. And if you're interested in coaching with my team one-on-one, click the link in the show notes of this podcast. We would absolutely love to help you out. Thank you guys for listening, and we will chat next time.