Is Weekend Eating Derailing Your Gut Health Progress?

Today, I want to chat about something that often comes up in the journey towards better gut health: weekend eating habits.

It's common to feel like you're on track with your nutrition during the week, only to find that weekends can throw you off course. Those Saturday brunches, Sunday barbecues, or even just relaxing with snacks can lead to choices that might not align with your goals.

Here’s why weekend eating habits can affect your gut health progress:

1. Irregular Meal Times: This is one of the biggest trip points. We often don't eat our meals at the same time, which means it's easier to lose track of portion sizes or indulge in snacks that might trigger discomfort.

2. Different Foods & Alcohol: Weekends often bring more opportunities for socialising and dining out. Foods we enjoy over the weekend—like rich desserts, alcohol, or heavier meals—can impact our digestion differently than our weekday routines. This variation can sometimes trigger bloating or discomfort.

3. Digestive Impact Flow-on Effect: This point flows on from point two. Ironically, when we feel the worst is when we think - what’s the point? And this feeling of defeat, combined with the physical discomfort and fatigue that comes during a flare, can result in binging on weekends.

Most blogs on this topic will tell you to look at menus in advance and plan ahead, or just have a small portion of the meal when eating out. This does not work. It’s stressful and asking for more willpower than most people have when they’re out to dinner and there’s a table of beautiful food in front of them….

Instead, I’ve come up with a process to ensure that you keep moving forward on your health journey, rather than feeling like you’re taking 3 steps backward each weekend.

My 5-step formula to navigate weekend eating without derailing your gut health goals

• Give structure to your weekend meal times

• Listen to your body

• Increase digestive support for meals that might trigger discomfort

• Review your weekday meals and see if you are restricting yourself

• Swap treat foods to treat activity

Let’s dive into more detail…

Give structure to your mealtimes

Having brunch doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to eat until dinner! In fact this opens up patches of hunger where you feel like you shouldn't eat, so you just have a small pack of chips, or a choccy bar. 

Instead, if you're having brunch, make yourself a satisfying snack when hunger starts to set in, and then have dinner as normal. Following this balanced plate article can be a helpful guide, however big the meal is that you are making.

A weekend snack that I love when I don't need a full meal is a taste plate. Some ideas are Mary’s crackers, Sicilian olives, pecorino cheese, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and hummus - yum!

Listen to Your Body

Pay attention to how different foods make you feel. By this I mean - do you truly enjoy that food, or does it just make you feel sick?

Over our lives we develop so many memory associations with food, and there are also foods that we view as ‘fun’ or ‘treats’

It can be helpful to tune in and assess, is it actually ‘fun’ to eat that food, or is it a habit you’ve kept for some reason or another.

I had this epiphany about Uber Eats. I used to think it was ‘fun’ to get food delivered on the weekend. But to be honest I found it expensive, was regularly disappointed with the taste, and it often left me feeling a little queasy. So now I’ve realised I’d rather whip something up at home that actually tastes good.

Increase digestive support for meals that might trigger discomfort

Sometimes our body needs a little help digesting, and eating out is one of those times. Two secret weapons for when you’re eating a meal that is more than your belly can handle are having a digestive enzyme before the meal, and consuming a digestive tea after - peppermint or fennel are both delicious.

Review your weekday meals and see if you are restricting yourself

Weekday restricting is a leading cause of weekend blowouts. Have you got some enjoyment in your week too? 

If your week consists of the same three meals each day (hands up for any of my chicken, broccoli and rice friends…), you’re going to be very bored when the weekend arrives.

If you find that you are restricting yourself, how could you change this? What’s one thing you could add into your weekday meals that would bring you joy? Is it variety? Is it a cacao flavoured overnight oats because you love chocolate?

Swap treat foods to treat activity

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big kid at heart. For a long time I saw food as a ‘treat’. Something that helped me in this area was swapping the treat to an activity. 

For example instead of Friday drinks & nibbles, that can become a Friday walk with a friend or a Friday sauna.

Or instead of a movie with all your favourite ‘treat’ snacks, view the movie as the treat, and create a yummy meal to eat while you watch it.

Ultimately, it’s all about balance and making choices that support your health journey while still enjoying life. Small adjustments over time can lead to big improvements in how you feel. Promise.

Brooke x