Interminable question - working in "treats" in maintainence - do you do it? How do you do it?

ElJefeChief

I'm not technically in maintainence as I still have MFP set at a 0.5 pounds / week loss goal. However, it is a lot more liberal than when I was at 1.5 pounds per week (and I was hitting 1.75 / week besides). In a lot of ways, I'm getting used to what being in maintainence is like right now, I think. It's weird. So, here's what's going on...

I've been finding that with the exercise I do (I run daily) and with my calorie allotment where it is currently, I have a lot of "room" to work in food that's... well, not necessarily that "healthy" or "clean" (but just tastes damned good!!!)

I do still eat plenty of salads, fruit, fresh food, and I like my high-protein cereal in the morning, etc. ... so I think I do OK as far as macros are concerned (although I honestly don't spend much time worrying about it). But, lately, over the last week or so, I've been working in things like.... french fries. And Magnum ice cream bars. And chips here and there. Which is kinda nice... these are tasty treats I'm actually not accustomed to having. But I log them dutifully, I weigh whatever I can, and then... I eat, while staying within my allotment for the day as well. I haven't gone over my allotment for the last 2-3 weeks I've been doing this.

The funny thing is, it doesn't feel right. Like, I'm not supposed to be doing this. Or I'll pay for this somehow down the line. But that doesn't make sense, right? If I'm staying within my calorie allotment, and as long as I'm not grossly nutritionally deficient (e.g., I'm getting a basically balanced diet), and heck, if I exercise regularly as well - then who cares if I eat dessert every night and french fries a few times a week???

Does anyone get where I'm coming from? This isn't really a question about whether I'm literally doing something wrong, because I'm pretty sure (check my diary if you want), I'm doing this right. But it just FEELS wrong.... (although eating my treats feels right).

Anyways, just wanted to share this. I guess I'm just finding this whole being-skinny-but-eating-what-I-want-thing very strange.

swift13b

I've been maintaining since April and I eat dessert every night (tonight I'm having strawberries and pineapple with ice cream PLUS some m&m's AND some fudge). I also eat out once or twice a week (I did that while losing too) and usually eat fries every time. These meals are definitely not logged accurately! However for this to work long-term for me, I can't cut out all my favourite foods. I love ice cream and can't imagine a life where I can't eat even a small amount of it every night. I just work it into my daily/weekly calories.

LivingtheLeanDream

If they fit into your alloted calories then enjoy them, without any guilt. A little bit of what you fancy will never do you any harm.
I've been maintaining for a few years, each and every day I will have a choccie treat/ a dessert/ crisps - sometimes all 3! Eat at maintenance calories means no weight gain regardless of what you choose to eat.

Some people have this mental attitude that certain foods are off limits. Its why most 'diet's fail, as we're only human and of course we'll go back to eating favourite foods. Its all about fitting these treats into your calories.

patrikc333

don't deprive yourself of anything, as long it stays under your daily cals allowance

don't even consider them as treats, but as food that will be part of your balanced life

ExRelaySprinter

Eat whatever you feel like eating!
I couldn't wait to maintain so i could start eating Doughnuts and Chocolate again (without worrying about going over my alloted calories).
As long as you're eating a nutritious balanced diet, you have nothing to worry about.

riffraff2112

I know what you are dealing with. To make the progress you have made, you had to make sacrifices and took an 'all-in' approach. Now, even the smallest moments of imperfection you are being hard on yourself. In particular since you still stay in your caloric goals.
I'm not trained in such matters of the mind but I think it comes from an unhealthy relationship with food. It was that way for me. I viewed individual items of food as good or bad, and took awhile to realize that you literally can eat anything you want and accomplish your goals. Food doesn't scare me now! Enjoy your treats, you deserve them!

scrittrice

I would actually argue that it's good for you to eat those foods and get used to eating them in appropriate amounts. It's good to "desensitize" yourself a little.

TimothyFish

Considering that I sometimes get back from a bicycle ride and MyFitnessPal says, "3000 calories remaining," I'm not having any trouble fitting treats into maintenance.

Francl27

I was eating those treats while losing. Nothing wrong with it.

msf74

DrEnalg wrote: »

Does anyone get where I'm coming from?

Sure and it is perfectly understandable. The weight loss industry has relentlessly pumped out messages that suggest you must be perfect, it's all or nothing, dieting must be harsh and a battle over many years.

When you come to realise that it doesn't have to be any of those things there is a bit of "huh, really?" going on.

belimawr

scrittrice wrote: »

I would actually argue that it's good for you to eat those foods and get used to eating them in appropriate amounts. It's good to "desensitize" yourself a little.

This is exactly how I looked at it, and still am, six months into maintenance. Sometimes I want that treat, and think of how I used to be twice my current size, and how I don't want to go back there. I see it the same way - "I'm going to pay for this in the future." I refused (most of the time still do) to eat the treat, and it sucks.

Lately, little by little I'm starting to work that kind of stuff back in (today I ate a whole Little Debbie Marshmallow pie), and went over. I felt like crap until I reminded myself constantly that most days I'm under my goal if not even. Even if I go over here and there... a hundred calories or two when most days goals are stuck to are not going to kill me (after 200 calories are still roughly 1/15th of a pound... it's going to take a of a lot of those days to be noticeable).

I couldn't think of what I'd call it before... "desensitization" really about describes it. It does require quite a bit of mental effort, OP, and from what I see on here, we are not alone, so don't fret.

I_Will_End_You

Sounds like you're doing it right.

Mischievous_Rascal

That's how I ate my entire time on MFP. I lost almost 100 pounds and have maintained that loss for two years now. Moderation is where it's at!

LoveIshie

@Drenalg, as long as you are staying within your caloric goal. However, I will caution that you watch out for any abnormal weight gain during the process. For example if you eat treat at every meal, or once a day, cut back to maybe three or four days. Lastly, avoid eating dinner way too late at night, say after 6 or 7pm if you can avoid it. This is a quick way to sabotage your weight loss, because your metabolism starts to slow down during that time of the day. Use your best judgement. Remember eat in moderation. You live to eat not eat to live. All the best, stay focus and enjoy every moment.

auddii

Congrats on your progress so far, and sounds like you are doing everything right. Many people "diet" for so long, maintenance can be a mind game. Foods should not be off-limits, but many people have to greatly limit certain foods for so long because they can't work them into their daily goals. Switching to maintenance or a smaller deficit, allows more room. Work on accepting that the foods you add in are not going to hurt your progress in any way.

Keep it up!

brynnsmom

Yup, sounds like you've got it down solid.

EmmaFitzwilliam

Your feelings sound like a hangover from the "if you gained weight you are naughty" mindset. Sure, it's better to eat the bulk of your calories from nutrient dense foods.

But life is not about ascetic deprivation. That may work for the Eat This, Not That blogger, but I would rather have the real thing in small portions than a mediocre substitute.

I go out for Fancy Tea every month. If I have the calories for it, I have a piece of cake at night. Sometimes I have a piece of cake if it will send me <100 over the goal for the day. Some days I eat as much at dinner as is recommended for the full day, and go over the daily goal by 1000 calories or more.

Life is for living, not DIEting. Corny, but it works.

Down 50 pounds for the year, and 80 pounds over 15 months.

YMMV.

PegMoffat

I've been in maintenance since March. The biggest thing that MFP helped me get on top of was portion control. Throughout my weight loss phase, I ate everything I wanted to but adjusted my portions so they would fit into my calorie goals. I've done the same with maintenance but with 620 more calories a day that I can consume it leaves more room for treats and I enjoy every one.

The_Enginerd

I ate all of those "bad" (I do not believe foods are good or bad) foods while losing weight. Daily. I just had them in small amounts that fit within my calorie goal. I still eat them daily, and I've maintained my weight loss for 3-1/2 years.

LoveIshie wrote: »

@Drenalg, as long as you are staying within your caloric goal. However, I will caution that you watch out for any abnormal weight gain during the process. For example if you eat treat at every meal, or once a day, cut back to maybe three or four days. Lastly, avoid eating dinner way too late at night, say after 6 or 7pm if you can avoid it. This is a quick way to sabotage your weight loss, because your metabolism starts to slow down during that time of the day.Use your best judgement. Remember eat in moderation. You live to eat not eat to live. All the best, stay focus and enjoy every moment.

The timing of meals has no affect on weight loss/maintenance. Time your meals to fit your preferences and performance goals. I eat late most of the time.

MissJay75

The_Enginerd wrote: »

I ate all of those "bad" (I do not believe foods are good or bad) foods while losing weight. Daily. I just had them in small amounts that fit within my calorie goal. I still eat them daily, and I've maintained my weight loss for 3-1/2 years.

LoveIshie wrote: »

@Drenalg, as long as you are staying within your caloric goal. However, I will caution that you watch out for any abnormal weight gain during the process. For example if you eat treat at every meal, or once a day, cut back to maybe three or four days. Lastly, avoid eating dinner way too late at night, say after 6 or 7pm if you can avoid it. This is a quick way to sabotage your weight loss, because your metabolism starts to slow down during that time of the day.Use your best judgement. Remember eat in moderation. You live to eat not eat to live. All the best, stay focus and enjoy every moment.

The timing of meals has no affect on weight loss/maintenance. Time your meals to fit your preferences and performance goals. I eat late most of the time.

I am up from roughly 7am to 11pm, and eat about 80% of my calories for the day after 1pm. A good 25% of them after 8pm. I lost nearly 50 pounds over 11 months and have maintained it since Christmas. A good way to sabotage myself is to not save any calories for the evening when I get hungry and nibbly.

becknomad

I'm not at maintenance at all but I really enjoyed your post. I would add to that you should eat these food as apart of your balanced diet as long as you FEEL good. If I eat anything high sugar I get very groggy and just don't feel well. I generally feel better if I still with whole/clean foods and only eat sweets at a party/eating out. I am a good addict though too, so if I eat a fudge pop every night - even if it is 40 cal. I start to crave it every night and things go downhill...

Packerjohn

DrEnalg wrote: »

I do still eat plenty of salads, fruit, fresh food, and I like my high-protein cereal in the morning, etc. ... so I think I do OK as far as macros are concerned (although I honestly don't spend much time worrying about it).

I'd pay a some attention to macro/mircos. If you're okay in those areas, fill in the calories as you want.

cwolfman13

DrEnalg wrote: »

I'm not technically in maintainence as I still have MFP set at a 0.5 pounds / week loss goal. However, it is a lot more liberal than when I was at 1.5 pounds per week (and I was hitting 1.75 / week besides). In a lot of ways, I'm getting used to what being in maintainence is like right now, I think. It's weird. So, here's what's going on...

I've been finding that with the exercise I do (I run daily) and with my calorie allotment where it is currently, I have a lot of "room" to work in food that's... well, not necessarily that "healthy" or "clean" (but just tastes damned good!!!)

I do still eat plenty of salads, fruit, fresh food, and I like my high-protein cereal in the morning, etc. ... so I think I do OK as far as macros are concerned (although I honestly don't spend much time worrying about it). But, lately, over the last week or so, I've been working in things like.... french fries. And Magnum ice cream bars. And chips here and there. Which is kinda nice... these are tasty treats I'm actually not accustomed to having. But I log them dutifully, I weigh whatever I can, and then... I eat, while staying within my allotment for the day as well. I haven't gone over my allotment for the last 2-3 weeks I've been doing this.

The funny thing is, it doesn't feel right. Like, I'm not supposed to be doing this. Or I'll pay for this somehow down the line. But that doesn't make sense, right? If I'm staying within my calorie allotment, and as long as I'm not grossly nutritionally deficient (e.g., I'm getting a basically balanced diet), and heck, if I exercise regularly as well - then who cares if I eat dessert every night and french fries a few times a week???

Does anyone get where I'm coming from? This isn't really a question about whether I'm literally doing something wrong, because I'm pretty sure (check my diary if you want), I'm doing this right. But it just FEELS wrong.... (although eating my treats feels right).

Anyways, just wanted to share this. I guess I'm just finding this whole being-skinny-but-eating-what-I-want-thing very strange.

i've maintained for over two years and i don't log a thing...I eat very healthfully...tons of veg, fruit, whole grains, legumes and lentils, lean sourced protein, good fats, etc and I exercise regularly...i also like taking my kids out for pizza now and then and i love craft beer and i eat desert most nights, etc...

there's no reason stuff like that can't be a PART of a well balanced and healthy diet...but people tend to apply moralistic labels to their food and whatnot....

ilovesweeties

Totally with you on this. I lost the majority of my weight on a ~750/day deficit, plus exercise calories not eaten back. I do even more exercise now that I am slim, so I was looking at increasing my intake by >1000 kcal/day. The sheer amount of food is difficult for me to get my head (and stomach) around, especially if it is micronutrient rich (which often means not so calorie dense). I could easily meet my maintenance calories by inhaling a sharing bag (or two) of chocolates, but that would be on top of the treats that I already fitted in to my deficit and I know that's not the right thing to do. Learning to have more of ALL the foods, rather than just having more treats is much harder than I bargained for!

ilovesweeties

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

This is one of the reasons why many people decrease their deficit and slow down their weight loss as they get closer to their goal. It's much easier to transition from a 250 calorie deficit than a 750 calorie one. You'll get the hang of it though.

Thanks! I had been stalking the maintenance forum for months and I had read that's what I should be doing. I eased on the deficit in the last three months before goal, but I underestimated the impact my increased exercise was having. I didn't trust the process- I couldn't (and still can't) believe my exercise calories were as much as my FitBit tells me.

I plateaued a little when I first increased my calories which made me fearful of increasing them further before reaching my goal. I didn't admit it at the time, but I didn't believe I would actually lose on a deficit of 250/day. Now though, I have lost 4lbs since reaching goal and would you believe it- MFP and FitBit data tells me I am eating at roughly a 250kcal/day deficit. It's like people in the maintenance forum actually know what they are talking about...

WinoGelato

OP the way that you are feeling, guilty if you indulge, even if within your calorie goal - is one of the biggest issues I have with the whole "You must eat clean if you want to lose weight" mindset. It is totally appropriate, and healthy, to get the majority of your calories from nutrient dense foods, and then work in treats where you can. This is what moderation looks like.

Now, I will say for me, the biggest issue with transitioning into maintenance isn't "what should I eat now" but just losing that buffer. I was used to having that 250 cal/day deficit - a weekly deficit of 1750 cals, to dip into now and again and not have to worry that I was going to see a true gain on the scale. It's part of the reason why I've left my calories a little lower than my true maintenance, and so far it's working fine.

editorgrrl

DrEnalg wrote: »

I'm not technically in maintainence as I still have MFP set at a 0.5 pounds / week loss goal.

I do OK as far as macros are concerned (although I honestly don't spend much time worrying about it). But, lately, over the last week or so, I've been working in things like.... french fries. And Magnum ice cream bars. And chips here and there. Which is kinda nice... these are tasty treats I'm actually not accustomed to having.

But I log them dutifully, I weigh whatever I can, and then... I eat, while staying within my allotment for the day as well.

Ur doing it right. I've been eating this way for 1,000+ days, lost the weight, and kept it off. You've made healthy, sustainable lifestyle changes—setting your deficit appropriately for your size, fitting yummy, portion-controlled treats into your calorie goal, and logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly.

You're going to transition to maintenance easily, because the only real change you'll be making is eating 250 calories more each day. You're already eating in a way that you can continue for the rest of your life. Yay, you!

rhtexasgal

Don't sweat it! You are doing fine. I briefly went through that mindset that you are dealing with but I got over it pretty fast once I saw that i could still maintain while having some "not so good for me" foods. Truthfully, it is one of the main reasons why I exercise, so I can LIVE and eat some of those things!