Define "ocassional treat" please.

Francl27

Whatever fits in my calories without leaving me hungry. So it can be a small piece of chocolate or a 800 calorie cinnamon roll.

But yeah, I'm totally taking a 20 minutes walk to burn one cookie if I have to, no problem, totally worth it, it's better than sitting on my couch anyway.

trigden1991

It depends. If I am dieting; the treat is likely lower calorie and less frequent. If I'm maintaining/recomping/gaining then they may be higher calorie and more frequent.

Ultimately it comes down to your calorie intake and goals.

lemurcat12

An occasional treat to me would be something difficult to fit in and so something I have more rarely, so usually something like a larger dessert (I usually like smaller desserts, so that's not a huge issue for me, but like if I wanted a piece of pie that would be an occasional treat, as I'd go out to get it or bake a pie for a holiday or dinner party). More commonly, a nice restaurant meal (1x/week or so). Sometimes some kind of special treat homemade meal that is tough to fit in, but usually when making stuff at home it's easy to make it fit without problem.

I use a certain number of calories per day for just taste or extras -- this could mean having slightly higher than usual meals in general, having some good cheese for dessert, having pulled pork (which tends to be higher cal) for dinner, having ice cream after dinner, having some good chocolate, on the weekends maybe having bacon and pancakes (and vegetables) as a bigger than usual breakfast, a variety of things. Since I don't do any of these every day they are all, kind of, occasional treats, but the idea of having some calories to devote to things that are mainly just for taste is more regular. (If I still drank a glass of wine would be in this category too.)

Emily3907

I believe in daily dessert. Some days it is more caloric than others, it all depends on what I can fit in my day.

jemhh

ninerbuff wrote: »

I eat cookies, candy (usually Skittles), chocolate, ice cream, etc. somewhere in the day EVERYDAY. But I LIMIT what I eat. That way I don't use up too many calories on treats.

On the flip side, I have this type of thing once every couple of weeks or so. I prefer being able to have more in one sitting than a little bit every day. A daily stream of treats keeps them on my mind too much.

allisonl6

I find if I don't have something after dinner every night (usually fruit and frozen yogurt) I spend a lot of time obsessing over eating garbage. That bit of a treat is enough to keep me from eating junk all of the time. Otherwise I feel deprived and tend to eat things I would rather not.

pinuplove

I may have a Ghirardelli 70-calorie chocolate square a few days a week. I don't consider that an occasional treat. I consider that making life worth living I have a 600-calorie Snickers blast from Sonic once, maybe twice a year. THAT is an occasional treat to me.

fitoverfortymom

I eat them when they fit my calories. Lately I've been putting a serving of Halo Top in an ice cream cone (only 20 calories!!) and it's dreamy. Some days, my dinner is too big in calories to afford dessert, so I skip it or fit in some extra exercise to afford it (most often I'll skip it because I am lazy).

Every few months on special occasions (like birthday, holidays, etc.) I will have a balls-to-the-wall eat fest where I don't track a big meal (mostly because it's complicated on social occasions). I'll have one serving of everything, and then just get back to normal the next day.

For example, this weekend is hubby's birthday and we're having family over for a potluck style meal. I'm preparing the main meat dish and dessert, but I have no idea how many calories are in the scalloped potatoes and salad my in-laws are bringing over. I'll have a serving (based on my eyeballing of previous foods) of everything that goes with the meal and a reasonable portion of the dessert (I'm making a cake which is probably 500 calories a slice!). Did I mention the appetizers? I'll eat some of those, too! I'll eat it, log everything based on close approximations in the database, and just get back at it the next day.

In the big picture of things, a meal like that will mean so little in the overall progress I'm making, that I'd rather enjoy the social moment and live a little than try and restrict myself in the face of so many yummy things.

TheCupcakeCounter

Sugar was a problem food for me so I limit my added sugars. Luckily after going cold turkey for a couple of weeks to reset myself I don't have the cravings anymore and am very happy with a square of good dark chocolate, date roll, or a single serving of Arctic Zero or Halo top every day or so. I bought some chocolate-flavored teas and with a tiny squirt of monk fruit concentrate they keep me very happy.

If it fits in your calories and you have no reason to monitor your sugar intake have what you want.

MelanieCN77

220 cals every day on 3oz bourbon.

stanmann571

A cheat, or treat is less than weekly or monthly.

cwolfman13

I would think it highly subjective per the individual as well a their weight management objectives. In maintenance I have discretionary calories pretty much daily and more of them. When I'm actively trying to lose weight, those tend to be the things I cut back on.

In maintenance, I tend to have desert most nights and often have some kind of discretionary snack during the day and I'm a bit more lose about dining out, drinking beer, etc.

When I'm actively dieting, I tend to limit deserts to something smaller and only a couple days per week and don't do much discretionary snacking during the day. I eat out less often and typically don't drink beer save for maybe one or two on the weekend...if I drink I tend towards a vodka and diet tonic or something...maintenance I lean more towards craft beer.

cmtigger

Generally for me an "occasional treat" is something too expensive to eat every day. So a Dungeness crab or something like that.

LivingtheLeanDream

I have treats every single day, 300 cals of whatever takes my fancy....currently it is a few squares of Toblerone and usually a packet of Prawn Cocktail or Cheese 'n onion crisps (chips) a day