Less strict diets on weekends and holidays might help maintain weight loss

Weight loss maintenance can be a struggle, especially because of temptations on weekends and holidays. A more flexible eating pattern on special occasions allows for more variety in the diet and reduces boredom, which might make easier to follow a long-term low-calorie dietary plan. But some would argue that a more flexible eating pattern may lead to losing control when facing temptations.

There's still little research on the topic, but a study aimed to examine how dieting more or less strictly on weekends and holidays, compared to weekdays and non-holiday periods, impacts weight loss maintenance. The study included 108 successful weight loss maintainers in Portugal. The participants had maintained an intentional weight loss of at least 5 kilograms for at least 1 year.

Diet strictness level was obtained through a questionnaire targeting diet regimen on weekdays versus holidays. The questionnaire was answered twice, at the beginning of the study and at 1-year follow-up assessment. Body mass index (BMI) and the magnitude of weight change (from baseline to 1-year follow-up) were calculated. A 3% maximum weight variation was considered to classify participants as “non-regainers.”

About 9.6% of participants reported dieting more strictly on weekends, 31.7% reported maintaining the same diet, and 58.7% reported dieting less strictly on weekends. Similarly, 15.4% reported dieting more strictly during holidays, 25.0% reported maintaining the same diet on those occasions, and 59.6% reported dieting less strictly during holidays.

The researchers found no significant differences between those dieting more strictly during weekends and holidays compared to those dieting less strictly on those occasions in terms of age, initial weight loss, and duration of weight loss maintenance.

Participants who were less strict on weekends had a 0.65% weight gain in one year. Those who were more strict on weekends gained 4.96% of their body weight during the same period.

Researchers found that the participants following a strict diet on weekends had significant higher chances of regaining more than 3% of their weight in 1 year. A possible explanation is the high emotional burden and effort they imposed on themselves. Constantly avoiding high-calorie foods may have adverse effects in the long run, leading to a vicious cycle of overeating and restriction. Combined with feelings of guilt, this cycle can lead to weight regain.

In conclusion, implementing a less strict diet regimen during weekends and holidays compared to weekdays was associated with long-term successful weight management in this study.

Interested in reading more about this topic? Here's where:

https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-019-0430-x