Researchers of a new study found that weight loss largely depends on the amount of weight you lose during the weekdays and not the amount of weight you put on during weekends.
Previous studies have established that people tend to lose weight during the weekdays and gain a few extra pounds during the weekends. Cornell University researchers found that the difference between weight gainers and weight losers is not how much weight they put on during the weekends but how much they manage to lose during the weekdays.
The study was conducted on eighty individuals that were divided into three groups - weight gainers, weight losers and weight maintainers. All individuals were asked to weigh themselves every day before breakfast. For the study, researchers took into account measurements that were taken regularly for seven consecutive weeks. The minimum follow-up time was 15 days and maximum 330 days.
Researchers noted a clear pattern of weight loss and weight gain fluctuations throughout the week. Mostly all individuals gained a few pounds over the weekend. However, researchers did not see a significant difference in this fluctuation between weight gainers and weight losers. They found that among weight losers, 59 percent reached their maximum weight for the week between Sunday and Monday and minimum weight by Friday or Saturday. Their weight dropped dramatically between Tuesday and Friday. In weight gainers, the graph remained steady and there was no weight loss during the weekdays.
"Based on these results, weight variations between weekdays and weekends should be considered normal instead of weight gain. On the weekends people have more time to go out and eat," researchers of the study wrote in a statement. "Some indulging during weekends makes no harm but for successful weight loss it is important to notice these rhythms and take steps to reverse the upward trends after the weekend, even if it has to wait until Monday. Successful weight control is more likely to happen and for the long run if one is not too strict with one's diet but allows for short-term splurges."
