Are Weekends Your Weak End?

July 2, 2019

By Mairead Rodgers, RD PHEc

Ever feel like you absolutely crush your fitness and nutrition during the week, only to be struggling on the weekend? You’re not alone! This is probably one of the biggest issues our members bring to us and we want to help you out!

Why is being super strict with yourself and then “cheating” all weekend an issue?

If your goal is weight loss or fat loss, we need to be consistent in your fitness and nutrition. If you eat for those goals and are in a caloric deficit (you’re taking in less calories than you’re burning), but then you’re eating way more calories than you’re burning on the weekend, you might be ending up actually taking in more calories than you’re burning, or just breaking even, when it’s averaged over the whole week. That’s going to result in not seeing your fat-loss goals, or could even result in gaining fat overall. Bigger repeated fluctuations, like following a strict diet for a few weeks or months, and then returning to old eating habits for a while, can even result in returning to a heavier weight each time you “slip” or “cheat”, and a bigger risk of some chronic diseases.

The solution?

We’ve got to be consistent in what we’re doing for nutrition and fitness, both over the course of the week, and in general for the rest of your life. When I’m working with nutrition clients to make changes, I always ask them if they can see themselves making the change we’re talking about for the next 18 months, including on weekends. I want them to be able to make the change forever, but forever is hard to wrap our heads around. 

If you are struggling with your weekends, it’s worth having a look at what you’re doing during the week. If you’re finding you’re needing to overeat on treat foods, is it possible you’re being too strict or not eating enough overall during the week? It sounds counter-intuitive, but if you’re not taking in enough fuel or just feel deprived, your body can make you overcompensate as a way to protect you. Maybe we need to have a peek at your diet during the week, just to make sure you’re getting what you need. If that’s not the case, keeping things interesting on the weekend might be the change you need to stay motivated. Get yourself moving if you can; one healthy habit encourages all the others! Get to the Saturday Weekender WOD, or get out for a run, walk or bike ride; whatever sounds fun to you! Focus on the easy things and what you can add to your diet instead of trying to avoid specific foods. Make sure you’re getting enough water in and lots of fruits and veggies. Still want some pizza or beer? No problem! Just work on the things you can ADD instead of the things we’re trying to AVOID. 

At the end of the day, remember that the name of the game here is consistency, not perfection, both throughout the week and in life in general. Don’t overthink it, and keep it simple!

Still struggling?  Book your FREE 15-Minute Nutrition Chat here  or email  maireadrodgers@degreecrossfitseaforth.com  to see how we can help!

What You Need to Know About Reading Food Labels!

October 22, 2025
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian Nutrition labels can be confusing! But they're on packaging to help you know more about your food so you can make choices that align with your health and fitness goals. Grab your nearest food label. On the black and white Nutrition Facts table, you'll see a list of nutrients with values beside them. For most of them, there will be an amount in grams or milligrams listed on the left and a percentage over on the right hand side. That percentage can help give us context! As you'll see listed in teeny writing at the bottom of the table, 5% is a little, 15% is a lot. This means that if there's a nutrient we want more of, like fibre, we want that percentage to be higher, ideally towards 15% or more. If there's a nutrient we want less of, we want it to be closer to 5%. For most normal healthy people, we want to have less sodium (salt), sugar, and saturated fat, while including more fibre. There may also be times when you want to focus on a specific vitamin or mineral, like iron or calcium. These are also listed with a percentage and can be used the same way. A key part of label reading is knowing what is most important for you. For many food categories, you can't prioritize everything. There may not be one product that is the lowest in saturated fat AND the lowest in sodium AND the highest in fibre AND has the most protein AND has the most iron ... the list could go on. But if you can narrow it down to a couple things that matter most for your health and fitness goals, you can start making choices based on food labels, without all the overwhelm. Check out your food labels, use the percentages, and make choices that fit with your goals! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!

4 Tips For Better Snacking

October 6, 2025
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian Snacking causes a lot of worry for many people! Is snacking bad? When should we be snacking? What's the best snack? Snacking itself isn't a bad habit, unless it's not aligned with your health and fitness goals. Snacks can actually do a lot of good to keep our energy levels up throughout the day and help meet our nutrition needs. Let's check out four ways you can improve your snacking habits! 1. Think about why! If you're concerned about whether your snacks are a problem, it's worth thinking about why you're snacking. Are you hungry between meals? Do you need some fuel before or after a workout? Are you bored at work in the afternoon or need a pick-me-up? Do you need something to do with your hands while watching tv? Are you starving at the end of the day when you get home before you have a chance to make dinner? Snacks serve lots of purposes, from keeping our energy stable during the day, to meeting emotional needs. If you don't feel good about why you're snacking, it might be time to find some other way to meet that need. 2. Plan for your snacks! Often, we may know we need a snack, but not be able to make a healthy choice about it because we're too busy or just too hungry. A little planning goes a long way! Planning ahead for these times can help us make choices that align with our goals, and have something at the ready before we're too hungry to make that healthy choice. Pack a snack or have one at the ready during the times of day or situations when you know you'll need it. 3. Make them satisfying! If a snack isn't satisfying, we'll be reaching for something else soon. For longer lasting energy, choose snacks that have a combination of protein and carbs. This might include yogurt with berries, a higher protein granola bar, crackers and veggies with hummus, or even a couple handfuls of trail mix. If you find yourself finishing your snack without even noticing what you've eaten, try taking a minute to eat more mindfully and focus on your food. This will help you feel more satisfied with it! 4. Fill your nutrition gaps! Snacks are another opportunity to add nutrition to your day. Are there specific foods you're trying to add more of to your diet? Are there nutrients you feel you may be lacking? Use snacks as a way to add these in. If you're concerned about protein, try adding canned tuna, hardboiled eggs, or Greek yogurt to your snacks. If you feel you're lacking vegetables or fruit, include at least one in your snack. If you're trying to include more plant-based proteins, lean on bean-based dips or try roasted chickpeas. The options are endless! Remember, snacking isn't good or bad, and can serve a lot of different purposes. Try using these tips to help your snacking align better with your health and fitness goals! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!

What If Excuses Aren't Excuses?

September 24, 2025
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian As a Dietitian, I work with a lot of different people. One common thread is that we talk about excuses. So many people come in to a nutrition consultation and tell me about their challenges with nutrition and fitness, and then follow it up by saying something along the lines of "I know these are just excuses, I can do better". The things we often consider excuses can include having a busy job and a busy family life. Working weird hours. Struggling with the cost of groceries. Caring for loved ones. Managing health concerns, chronic diseases, or injuries. The list goes on. For my nutrition clients, I rarely consider any of these things to be excuses. It's not an excuse that you can't eat well because you work long hours and then take your kids to their sports practices - these are very real reasons why you're struggling to make healthy choices. It's not an excuse if you work nights and need to get some sleep so you didn't make it to the gym - it's as aspect of your life that makes getting enough exercise challenging. Think about the things you might consider to be your excuses for not "doing better" with your health and fitness. Are they really just parts of your life or the season you're currently in? None of these things should be making you feel bad or like you're making excuses. But on the flip side, these reasons also don't mean we need to throw in the towel on our goals entirely. They mean we might need to get a bit creative, decide what's really important to us right now, and ask for help when we need it! Instead of feeling bad about your "excuses" that aren't really excuses, it might be time to find some new ideas. Working with a Dietitian can be a great way to figure out what's actually important in your health and fitness goals, and come up with some new ideas to get you there. There are always steps we can take in the right direction to move past those "excuses" and work together for a happier and healthier you! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!