Is a daily treat a bad thing?
Replies
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I don't know about 1 - but I often have 2 squares of chocolate.
That's what I like about chocolate blocks - the way you can easily take a measured amount, like 2 squares, at a time.0 -
What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.2 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I have one square of milk chocolate every day. I'm sure those calories would be better used eating broccoli or something more nutrient dense; but I love chocolate and having a little bit every day keeps me on track. If I start saying I can't have sugar ever then it only makes me more like to overindulge when I eventually do have sugar.
I have never met anyone in real life that is happy/satisfied with just one square of chocolate. MFP is the only place I've ever heard of people doing this, and it makes me :huh: every time i read it.
I'm not having a go at you, infact I'm super impressed and jealous that 1 piece of chocolate keeps you happy and that you are able to stop at one
With dark chocolate, one Dove Promise or Ghiradelli square is all I need. If I eat milk chocolate it usually makes me want more.0 -
I can do one or two squares if it's really good dark chocolate...I have it with vanilla tea to draw it out a little.1
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CattOfTheGarage wrote: »What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.
This was my original statement regarding 1200 calories:
If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.
It's pretty basic, in anything, the smaller the target the less room for error when trying to hit the target. Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.
This was my original statement regarding 1200 calories:
If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.
It's pretty basic, in anything, the smaller the target the less room for error when trying to hit the target. Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.
I believe you are correct about needing all those few 1200 calories to be nutritious for optimum health. Maybe 1200 calories isn't even enough to get the best possible nutrition.
What I question is how necessary it is to be optimal in all things all the time. I think our bodies are pretty resilient and can tolerate less than perfect nutrition, absent medical problems. In the big picture it may be as important to get some weight off by whatever means helps us stick to our calorie budget as it is to get every vitamin, mineral and fiber that perfection requires.
I'm not advocating negligent eating all the time, I'm just going to be a little more relaxed with my food choices and not seek perfection every day.6 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I have one square of milk chocolate every day. I'm sure those calories would be better used eating broccoli or something more nutrient dense; but I love chocolate and having a little bit every day keeps me on track. If I start saying I can't have sugar ever then it only makes me more like to overindulge when I eventually do have sugar.
I have never met anyone in real life that is happy/satisfied with just one square of chocolate. MFP is the only place I've ever heard of people doing this, and it makes me :huh: every time i read it.
I'm not having a go at you, infact I'm super impressed and jealous that 1 piece of chocolate keeps you happy and that you are able to stop at one
With dark chocolate, one Dove Promise or Ghiradelli square is all I need. If I eat milk chocolate it usually makes me want more.
First with losing the weight, and now on maintenance for over 2-1/2 years,I have been "treating" myself with 1 piece of dark chocolate for over 3 years now. My very favorite is Dove dark chocolate caramel with sea salt promises. Believe it or not, milk chocolate is now way too sweet for me (thank goodness), and the 1 piece (38 calories for the Dove) is really enough for me. I savor, and eat my 1 piece slowly each day.
I was very bad with what I was eating (anything, anytime, & way too much of everything) for the first 60 years of my life. I don't think a small piece of chocolate daily will have a huge detrimental affect on me at this point, and it keeps me from wanting to overindulge, knowing I can have my "treat" daily. It is all good for my purposes.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I have one square of milk chocolate every day. I'm sure those calories would be better used eating broccoli or something more nutrient dense; but I love chocolate and having a little bit every day keeps me on track. If I start saying I can't have sugar ever then it only makes me more like to overindulge when I eventually do have sugar.
I have never met anyone in real life that is happy/satisfied with just one square of chocolate. MFP is the only place I've ever heard of people doing this, and it makes me :huh: every time i read it.
I'm not having a go at you, infact I'm super impressed and jealous that 1 piece of chocolate keeps you happy and that you are able to stop at one
I've known a lot of people actually.. but keep in mind that I'm from France and typically when you order coffee there, you get a small piece of chocolate with it (probably 30 calories worth?).
But here in the US... I know a couple people, yeah. And they're the ones who have a healthy weight. Me? It really depends on the day, lol. And the size of the square. Usually 100ish calories will satisfy me though, but it's not an every day thing either (and I exercise a lot).0 -
lthames0810 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.
This was my original statement regarding 1200 calories:
If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.
It's pretty basic, in anything, the smaller the target the less room for error when trying to hit the target. Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.
I believe you are correct about needing all those few 1200 calories to be nutritious for optimum health. Maybe 1200 calories isn't even enough to get the best possible nutrition.
What I question is how necessary it is to be optimal in all things all the time. I think our bodies are pretty resilient and can tolerate less than perfect nutrition, absent medical problems. In the big picture it may be as important to get some weight off by whatever means helps us stick to our calorie budget as it is to get every vitamin, mineral and fiber that perfection requires.
I'm not advocating negligent eating all the time, I'm just going to be a little more relaxed with my food choices and not seek perfection every day.
I would agree, nobody needs to be optimum all the time. Over a period of a week, 2 weeks, maybe, not sure the exact timeframe. But if someone strays too far from optimum on a regular basis, it gets harder and harder to get the average back to the optimum range.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.
Well, yes, if you're going to define "treat" as what is "typically eaten by Americans" then I'm going to be forced to agree with you - if our choice is between celery and a Starbucks muffin, I've got no choice but to concede, very reluctantly, that celery is the better option for the 1200cal dieter, at least if we're talking about a daily habit.
But your muffin, if you'll excuse me saying so, is a straw man. My treat is half a slice of Victoria sponge or a few squares of chocolate incorporated into my bento lunch, 200 calories at most, and fills the treat gap nicely without knocking a noticeable hole in my nutrition. It's perfectly possible to do, and half a slice of cake is infinitely better than no cake at all.
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Packerjohn wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.
This was my original statement regarding 1200 calories:
If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.
It's pretty basic, in anything, the smaller the target the less room for error when trying to hit the target. Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.
@Packerjohn , I truly appreciate and share your concern for nutrition among those eating at 1200 calories, especially if the person isn't (under any excess fat) fairly petite. We both hope she's gotten enough protein, healthy fats & micros, I'm sure, and others have commented along those lines.
But let's not assume the worst. OP asked about a sweet treat within her calories. Some of us even sensed an undertone of "will one tiny 'bad' food ruin everything" concern that one sees around here nearly as often as one sees undernutrition on low calorie budgets.
But there've been a bunch of comments suggesting specific sweet treats that folks are able to work in, and none of them have been full servings of milk-chocolate bread pudding with walnuts, whipped heavy cream & caramel/rum sauce (which sounds kinda tasty, now that I mention it
).
Some sweet treats even contribute a bit to one's nutrition, though admittedly not typically in the most calorie-efficient way: Ice cream, honey-roasted peanuts, some kinds of real cookies (oatmeal/peanut butter sort of thing), sweetened dried fruit, more. Personally, I'm more apt to go for whole fruit as a sweet treat when in a calorie deficit, and that can be a great nutritional contributor.1 -
My favorite sweet treat lately have been the Chobani flip Greek Yogurts. They are around 200 calories each and have 12 grams of protein. Most have chocolate chips or crumbled cookies that you mix in. For me they are win win because of the protein and it satisfies my sweet tooth. I ate them almost daily when I was at 1300 per day and I could have worked them in if I was eating at 1200. So I agree with @AnnPT77 that you can work in sweet treats that help you meet your nutrition goals.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.
This was my original statement regarding 1200 calories:
If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.
It's pretty basic, in anything, the smaller the target the less room for error when trying to hit the target. Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.
@Packerjohn , I truly appreciate and share your concern for nutrition among those eating at 1200 calories, especially if the person isn't (under any excess fat) fairly petite. We both hope she's gotten enough protein, healthy fats & micros, I'm sure, and others have commented along those lines.
But let's not assume the worst. OP asked about a sweet treat within her calories. Some of us even sensed an undertone of "will one tiny 'bad' food ruin everything" concern that one sees around here nearly as often as one sees undernutrition on low calorie budgets.
But there've been a bunch of comments suggesting specific sweet treats that folks are able to work in, and none of them have been full servings of milk-chocolate bread pudding with walnuts, whipped heavy cream & caramel/rum sauce (which sounds kinda tasty, now that I mention it ).
Some sweet treats even contribute a bit to one's nutrition, though admittedly not typically in the most calorie-efficient way: Ice cream, honey-roasted peanuts, some kinds of real cookies (oatmeal/peanut butter sort of thing), sweetened dried fruit, more. Personally, I'm more apt to go for whole fruit as a sweet treat when in a calorie deficit, and that can be a great nutritional contributor.
Not assuming things is good. My first post in this tread where the poster was asking "is a daily treat a bad thing?" was "not enough information given". The poster didn't give any height/weight, daily calories eaten currently etc.
How can anyone legitimately answer saying a daily treat is fine without that information?1 -
Packerjohn wrote: »How can anyone legitimately answer saying a daily treat is fine without that information?
Plenty of us are able to share from personal experience that it's perfectly possible to do it on 1200cal, provided we don't define "treat" to mean "600 calorie orgy" but rather "small tasty thing". If it's fine at 1200, it's fine anywhere above 1200, and if OP is below 1200 they're ignoring nutritional guidelines anyway so all bets are off.
In any case, even if we ARE talking about a daily 600 calorie treat orgy, that won't prevent weight loss, it just isn't particularly good for you and you'll be hungry. A more modest treat, on the other hand, is really helpful on 1200cal, as if you choose it well it can make you feel more satisfied and less deprived. Don't underestimate the importance of that on a strict calorie limit.
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Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »What's all this about you can't fit a treat into 1200 calories?? I eat 1200cal 3-4 days a week and I have a little bit of cake with my lunch on those days, and sometimes a wee bit of chocolate, too. So that's nonsense. You can always fit a treat in if you're careful.
OP, one of the key fitness skills you need to work on is ignoring people who talk rubbish about fat loss. There will always be co-workers or family or friends or people at the checkout who will make declarations about how you're doing it wrong and tell you to follow some kind of woo nonsense instead. Nod, smile and just carry on doing what's working.
This was my original statement regarding 1200 calories:
If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.
It's pretty basic, in anything, the smaller the target the less room for error when trying to hit the target. Take the diary of a 1200 calorie a day diet that includes a daily treat (a treat typically eaten by Americans not the mytuical small square of dark chocolate as mentioned by @Christine_72) to a registered dietitian. IMO you will find it is nutritionally deficient. The closer to the minimum calories, the less room for high calorie, nutritionally less dense foods.
@Packerjohn , I truly appreciate and share your concern for nutrition among those eating at 1200 calories, especially if the person isn't (under any excess fat) fairly petite. We both hope she's gotten enough protein, healthy fats & micros, I'm sure, and others have commented along those lines.
But let's not assume the worst. OP asked about a sweet treat within her calories. Some of us even sensed an undertone of "will one tiny 'bad' food ruin everything" concern that one sees around here nearly as often as one sees undernutrition on low calorie budgets.
But there've been a bunch of comments suggesting specific sweet treats that folks are able to work in, and none of them have been full servings of milk-chocolate bread pudding with walnuts, whipped heavy cream & caramel/rum sauce (which sounds kinda tasty, now that I mention it ).
Some sweet treats even contribute a bit to one's nutrition, though admittedly not typically in the most calorie-efficient way: Ice cream, honey-roasted peanuts, some kinds of real cookies (oatmeal/peanut butter sort of thing), sweetened dried fruit, more. Personally, I'm more apt to go for whole fruit as a sweet treat when in a calorie deficit, and that can be a great nutritional contributor.
Not assuming things is good. My first post in this tread where the poster was asking "is a daily treat a bad thing?" was "not enough information given". The poster didn't give any height/weight, daily calories eaten currently etc.
How can anyone legitimately answer saying a daily treat is fine without that information?
I'm on a 1420 cal diet with at least 90 minutes of exercise a day with the exceptions of Sundays as my healing day. I'm not giving out height and weight here. The treat is no more than 200 calories and is factored in after all other meals in which Balance calories, macros, sugar and iron.2 -
Bianica12691 wrote: »So, I'm a super sugar addict. It's one of the biggest reasons I gained weight and thus, came here. I also don't have the total willpower necessary to just shut off the craving and say no 100% of the time. To compensate, I've been allowing myself to have 1 "sweet treat" at the end of each day if I was good and have enough room in my calories, carbs, fats and sugars (or if it will only put it over by 1 or 2 grams). However at work today, I was told that was cheating and basically was making the diet worthless. Should I take stick in what they said, or is what I'm doing okay? Just want to know if any of you have done/heard anything similar.
@Packerjohn, did you read her original post?
Why isn't it perfectly fine? Her question was she was told it is cheating and that it is basically making her diet worthless, which is blatantly untrue. I lost over 160# and have kept it off for over 2-1/2 years having a treat every, single day since June of 2012, when a thread on MFP convinced me that all foods in moderation is totally doable, and acceptable. No one will ever convince me that having a treat each, and every day, and staying within your calorie allotment, isn't better for overall health for most people than being overweight. Sustainability is key in keeping the weight off, and for me, and probably others, denying any food will lead to gaining the weight back. It happens to over 80% of the people that lose weight. There are numerous "back again" topics here daily.
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Enjoy your treat, and the confused looks on their faces as they watch you not only enjoy your daily treat but lose weight too.4
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You go for it, OP, enjoy your treat and ignore your colleagues and their nonsense.1
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For me it's a necessity. You won't see me close my diary without either a mocha, halo ice cream, or an adult beverage in it. Lol2
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I am a sweet tooth too and found that Fast:five helped me to still enjoy everything in moderation. I no longer feel as I have cheated, its just part of my choice of diet.1
This discussion has been closed.
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