Do you know that being lazy about what you eat and drink even for two days out of the week can add up to a nine-pound weight gain over the course of a year (Obesity Journal)?  That’s huge!  Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that people were eating well over 2,200 calories just on a Saturday, while Monday through Friday’s intake estimated to be 2,000 calories or less – about .17 pounds a week.

This could be due to the types of foods people are eating (high-calorie on-the-go options), the lack of structure in their days, or the laid-back mind-set that many of us adopt on our days off. Whatever the explanation, one study done suggests that one reason why people who go on diets often don’t lose weight as fast or as easily as they first predicted is due to overeating on the weekends.

Suggestions to help you control weekend cravings and wiggle into those skinny jeans come Monday morning:

• Weigh yourself twice a week—either Friday and Monday a.m. or Thursday and Monday a.m. There’s nothing better to keep you on track than knowing that you have to face the scale come Monday morning.
• Try to stick with the same meal patterns you follow midweek on the weekend.
• “Bank” calories: If you know you are going out for dinner and will overeat, cut back even more the day before and after to compensate.
• Limit your alcohol consumption. (I know this is a hard one in college, but just like you would bank calories for a saturday night dinner, bank alcohol calories as well, or indulge Friday night a little, but not Saturday)  Alcohol is a diet double-whammy; it’s not only rich in calories itself, but it also reduces inhibitions and increases appetite.
• If you exercise, don’t give in to your raging appetite afterward; it’ll erase the calorie burn (and then some) of your workout. Instead, fill up with lean protein and whole grains.
• Pack fruit and healthy snacks or lunches if you’re going to be out of the house all day, so you don’t have to rely on food-court and concession-stand choices.
• If you need to cheat on the weekend, plan what and when you’re going to cheat, enjoy it, then get back on track. One indiscretion won’t set you back—but a weekend of multiple indulgences will