I ask my clients all the time about their weekend meal planning. “Do you eat the same on the weekend as during the week?”

Sometimes the answer is, “Nope, everything goes out the window on the weekend!”

How about you? Do you ever binge on the weekends? Do you make poor food choices because you were so healthy throughout the week so you deserve to eat whatever you want on the weekend?

I think you deserve to wake up on Monday feeling grateful, full of energy and not filled with depression or regret because you ate johnny bread/cupcakes/ice cream/chips/cocktails or whatever your weekend binge food may be. You owe it to yourself to give yourself the best shot at a healthy life. The way you treat your body has a reflection on your entire life.

It happens all the time, you have this wonderful week of eating well and then everything changes on the weekend. You feel so guilty for eating this or that, your resolve and will power is gone. How can you care for yourself, be compassionate to your body and create balance? Let’s start with not setting extremely high expectations of ourselves. Don’t aim for perfection or rely on will power. Start with consistency and relax your eating just a bit.

What about allowing yourself one small piece of johnny bread with your breakfast on Monday? Or allow yourself a couple pieces of dark chocolate after dinner or having a glass of wine with dinner once or twice during the week. So when you are out on the weekend at dinner, ordering dessert doesn’t seem all that appealing because you don’t feel the need to be “naughty”.

I’m not saying you want to start eating unhealthy foods. But by making these “naughty” foods allowed throughout the week, when the weekend comes, all of those things you thought were “naughty” are not that appealing. You’ve allowed yourself to relax and still have boundaries.

Try making the distinction between healthy and unhealthy so that you understand that being extremely restrictive throughout the week can lead to unhappiness and unsuccessful planning. Rigidity does not make you happy. Striving for perfection will only frustrate you in the long run. Be kind to yourself and strive for balance.

Next time you hear yourself say “I deserve that piece of cheesecake, I deserve that bag of chips” stop and say, “No, actually I deserve to love and look after myself more than that cheesecake or bag of chips is capable of loving or looking after me!”

Eat 80 per cent healthy and nutritious foods and 20 per cent delicious treats for your soul. If you aren’t there yet, don’t stress. You will get there. You don’t need to be all or nothing, just start and believe in yourself, believe you are worth it and B-Active For Life.

• Betty Doyling is a certified fitness trainer and figure competitor with more than nine years of experience. Check her out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/B.ActiveForLife