still eat sweet treats when I'm trying to lose weight?

fangmouse

I'm 18 this year and im trying to lose weight. However I want to eat some foods that aren't very clean too like frozen yogurt, brownies, ice cream etc. However I'm really scared that if I eat that I can't lose weight or even gain weight. How can i eat foods I loveand lose weight at the same time? I exercise a lot. Running two times a week half an hour each time, hockey training twice a week for 2 hours each and basrball training for 4 hours twice a week. It's non stop physical training too. But exercise can't really outdo a bad diet so I'm not sure what to do.

k900

I still eat sweets when I'm trying to lose weight but I try not to go overboard with it. Weight watchers and skinny cow brands make some really tasty treats. They have candy and ice cream stuff. I think if you try to permanently cut out something you love it is going to end up making you crave it even more and eventually give in probably more than you should.

_Zardoz_

As long as it's within your calorie goal you can eat what you like. Healthy foods will fuel your body better and stop you feeling hungry but so called treats in moderation are fine.

marielaem

I do the 5:2 and eat chocolate on non-fast days. I've lost more weight than I set out to, and am now maintaining and don't feel guilty about my choccy habit any more - no longer look upon it as a vice!

healthytanya1

I starting eating a fiber one bar every night for dessert. They are anywhere from 90-130 calories and I feel like I'm eating a candy bar plus it gives you lots of fiber to keep things moving through your body.

EmmaKarney

You can technically eat what you like as long as you maintain your calorie deficit.

However, if you "waste" calories on sweet treats you will most likely be hungry the whole time and end up caving in and over eating.

I would recommend spending your calorie allowance on food that keeps you full up and gives you the nutrients you need.

skinnyme444

Keep it in your diet! I think if you cut out treats entirely then when you finally do have a treat then you will over indulge and go crazy!

I love to eat weight watchers brownies, cookies, mini rolls etc! I also love muller light mouse with meringe and strawberris and some white chocolate mikados! mikados are only 11 calories a stick, they're so so nice!

Aslong as it fits in your calorie allowance then eat whatever treats you like, within moderation obviously! I had a pack of jelly tots and rolos yesterday and I was still under my calorie goal and had lots of other food so don't worry :-)

Happy snackin!g!

TheBeerRunner

You can't deny yourself a little something that makes you happy or that you crave. Keep within your calorie and exercise goals and you'll lose weight. By being completely miserable you only set yourself up for eventual failure. Make gradual changes, it takes time to put on weight, it has to take some time to take it off if you want it to stay off for good.

foot1647

My sweet of choice is Green & Blacks Brand Organic 70% (or higher) dark chocolate. I usually go with 80% but they were out, any very dark chocolate bar satisfies my sweet cravings.

blibby33

bump

ophelia917

The way I see it? If you tell yourself a certain food (or group of foods) is off limits, you're setting yourself up for a binge later. You think dieticians don't eat a cookie or piece of cake now and then? Meh.

There's nothing wrong with having a treat a few times a week. As long as you eat healthy/clean 90% of the time and it fits within your calorie limits? Enjoy!

Life is too short.

debbash68

I have fat free fromage frais and add diet hot chocolate sachets to it. High in protein low in calories and carbs, I have only just started to try to lose weight is I can't say how effective this is yet! Tastes like very creamy yogurt

KPMP1992

I have a huge sweet tooth. No way am I giving up my sweets, or this won't work. This probably won't work for everyone, but I am really sensitive to fiber. I have a Vita Top with Cool Whip in the middle (frozen) almost every night after dinner. It hits the spot and I know that if I have more than one, I will have tummy cramps all night (so it's portion control for me)!

diannethegeek

I lost 50 pounds eating Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, frozen Greek yogurt, or chocolate-covered frozen bananas almost every day. Dieting is about balance. If you're eating 80% healthy foods and getting plenty of protein in then I don't see the problem with a little sweet treat here and there.

BajaDreamin333

I'm a big advocate of maximizing the nutrition value of what I eat. If I'm going to skip a healthy meal to be able to. "Afford" a sweet treat, that's doing my body and ultimate goal a disservice. I'll just eat more in the end trying to feed my system what it wants. Enjoy a brownie as long as you aren't sacrificing nutrition to do so. You can have a cookie as long as you ate your spinach! Yup, mom was right....

Colleen118

One word: Moderation

You can't go overboard. Limit yourself. I eat sweets. Heck, for the past week and a half I have eaten ice cream with chocolate sauce almost each night after dinner. It's HOW MUCH. You can't sit down and inhale a full tub of ice cream, plus the snickers you had before lunch, the twickies after lunch, and the chips late you got as a pick me up before dinner.

If craving is the issue then I recommend forgoing it completely for 2 - 3 weeks. This being all sweets, Soda, and even sugar free treats. When you decide to allow it later, the sweet will likely be too sweet and you will automatically limit the portion. This was my experience. Then you will be more likely to control the portions. Also, if you take this approach you will likely see what eating sweets does as far as energy over the next 24 hours and digestion/indigestion side effects from the indulgeance.

Just an idea. I only know this from my experience of giving up all sweets and artificial sweeteners to kick off my change to low carb lifestyle in order to gain control over pre-diabetes. When I got to a point where I felt I could "allow" the treat (be it sweets or starchy foods) I paid close attention to portion and how I felt during the next day. I learned a lot about my body and how it reacts to certain foods. Every body is different. Learn about your body. I also realized some of the things I used to eat everyday (cheese fries) I really don't like now. They are really pretty gross tasting to me and I don't want them at all now.

And remember, it takes 18 days to change a habit and 30 to break a habit. Always remember to give your body time to adjust to your changes. Don't expect to see immediate results with any given change.

brower47

Yes, you can incorporate your sweets into your eating regimen and should.

1. Eat at a calorie deficit

2. Meet your macros

3. Meet your micros

You will lose weight if you meet those three criteria.*

*Medical conditions withstanding.

thisismeraw

You can eat those "bad" foods and still lose. The key is portion control. Allow yourself a treat now and again provided you are under or at your calorie goal each day. You will lose weight eating "bad" foods as long as you are at or under your daily net calorie goal. I don't believe in diets that cut out foods and I don't believe in cutting out foods or snacks to lose weight. It's all about moderation and portion control.

MrsDangerousCurves

I've been losing weight and eating sweets the whole time. You just have to find good alternatives to what you like or portion control really well so you don't go overboard.

drojen

Here's how I look at it. I'm making a lifestyle change, I'm not on a diet. Am I going to go the rest of my life having no sweets? I don't think so. So, I do indulge on occasion. The key is to fit it into your day, to pay attention to serving size - weigh and measure to be sure. And enjoy it when you have it. I find some of the things I used to love, I don't love so much any more. Reese's peanut butter cups for one. They taste too sweet to me now. So I'm not going to pick those things to indulge in. If I'm going to consume those extra calories, I better like it!

At the moment, there are bakery made butter tarts behind my desk area at work (I curse office birthdays, LOL). I haven't allowed myself to have one yet - I may by the end of the day, but if I do, I know I will have to fit some exercise into my unusually busy night. So, it's still up for debate in my head. Plus, I know if I eat one too soon, it could lead to another one an hour from now. So again, if I indulge, i will take one home.

ILuvMoo

I eat sweets (especially chocolate and ice cream!) all the time, I just fit it into my calorie budget. I've only been on MFP a little over a week, but I was using a very similar app called "Lose It!" on my android phone last summer and lost 15 lbs with zero gym effort, and I was eating about the same way I am now... except now I'm also training for a half marathon.

My little tidbit in addition to what everyone else has said: eat the real thing, especially for chocolate, cookies, etc. It satisfies the urge so much better than the "diet"/sugar free/whatever versions, and serves as a TREAT in a much better sense. Example: I have a bag of Cadbury milk chocolate candy-coated eggs from day-after-Easter sales sitting in my kitchen. I work very close to my house, so I go home for lunch, and today I grabbed three eggs out of the bag on my way back to work after lunch. A serving is 12 eggs and I believe it's something like 190 calories for a full serving? But I had three and it really hit the spot, and it was only 48 or so calories on my log.

I like the lighter ice creams, but you have to get good ones. Sometimes they just have less milkfat, which makes them taste lighter and arier, which I think is refreshing and awesome... sometimes the "low fat" ones are bulked out with gelatin and aspartame and things, and those are gross.

cwolfman13

I'm 18 this year and im trying to lose weight. However I want to eat some foods that aren't very clean too like frozen yogurt, brownies, ice cream etc. However I'm really scared that if I eat that I can't lose weight or even gain weight. How can i eat foods I loveand lose weight at the same time? I exercise a lot. Running two times a week half an hour each time, hockey training twice a week for 2 hours each and basrball training for 4 hours twice a week. It's non stop physical training too. But exercise can't really outdo a bad diet so I'm not sure what to do.

I'm going to give you a little visual I've been posting the last couple of days.

Just maintain a reasonable calorie deficit from maintenance and...

Eat more of this...



and more of this...



and less of this...



while occasionally indulging in this....



All the while making sure you do plenty of this...



and this...



While keeping this to a minimum...



It's really that simple...

teagirlmedium

To eat the sweets and still lose weight I would say eating the sweet and then exercising off the calories the sweet had could help. Such as if you wanted to drink a soda that had 170 calories, I would suggest you do something to burn the 170 calories you would be taking in by drinking the soda.

RunHardBeStrong

The way I see it? If you tell yourself a certain food (or group of foods) is off limits, you're setting yourself up for a binge later. You think dieticians don't eat a cookie or piece of cake now and then? Meh.

There's nothing wrong with having a treat a few times a week. As long as you eat healthy/clean 90% of the time and it fits within your calorie limits? Enjoy!

Life is too short.

My philoshy as well. Plenty of room for a couple treats a week. Just keep it in check.

sallyracket

If you can - avoid the fake stuff. The low cal, fat free stuff is loaded with extra sugar. This makes me crave more because it is sweeter and full of gross chemicals anyway.

Budget your calories and you can enjoy a small portion of REAL food. Even real chocolate and real ice cream can fit in there.

Also - there is a great recipe around for black bean brownies. They're a bit more filling and have some protein to boot.

brower47

If you can - avoid the fake stuff. The low cal, fat free stuff is loaded with extra sugar. This makes me crave more because it is sweeter and full of gross chemicals anyway.

Budget your calories and you can enjoy a small portion of REAL food. Even real chocolate and real ice cream can fit in there.

Also - there is a great recipe around for black bean brownies. They're a bit more filling and have some protein to boot.

This is an example of food that isn't real:



Here are examples of foods that are real:






Therefore, the only way food isn't real is if it exists solely in that magical realm called our imagination.

TriShamelessly

My philosophy is a simple one - Everything in moderation is fair game

TinaBean007

Don't forget there are a lot of healthy sweet treats out there! Extra ripe strawberries, blueberries and pineapple are my fav. If you're craving a carb treat try oatmeal banana cookies, but beware they are addicting.

scarrletti_girl

well mfp gives you an amount of calories to stay within. So just let it know what weight you wanna be and it will calculate how many cals u should eat and as long as you stay within that amount and keep exercising that will do the trick, i mean i do that and i even eat my exercise cals most days and i have lost 17.5lbs in about 4 months so far.
good luck!

scarrletti_girl

If you can - avoid the fake stuff. The low cal, fat free stuff is loaded with extra sugar. This makes me crave more because it is sweeter and full of gross chemicals anyway.

Budget your calories and you can enjoy a small portion of REAL food. Even real chocolate and real ice cream can fit in there.

Also - there is a great recipe around for black bean brownies. They're a bit more filling and have some protein to boot.

This is an example of food that isn't real:



Here are examples of foods that are real:






Therefore, the only way food isn't real is if it exists solely in that magical realm called our imagination.

this made me smile and laugh! lol that is true. moderation and you can eat whatever you want but also get the healthy foods in as well. lol

caly_man

i eat sweets all the time and don't plan on ever stopping.

just fit them into your calorie goals, but you definitely need to eat these with moderation while you are cutting

edit to say: if you still have a problem meeting your calorie goals incorporating sweets, then try finding another source of a sugar rush, i personally find grapes to be just as sweet and satisfying as any piece of cake.