Is it bad to reward yourself with food

tjsims8

When I hit my weekly goal. I want to reward myself by having some foods I’ve been craving...Like Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza. Does anyone else do this?Is this a bad practice? Should I not look at having “bad” food as a reward

PrincessMel72

If it fits into your calorie goals, nothing is off limits. What I tend to do is "bank" some extra calories to allow myself little splurges while still losing weight. The problem is that some people reward themselves a bit too much and end up wiping out any deficit they have, which can stall their weight loss, causing frustration. I allow myself ONE sweet treat a day and fit it into my calories. If I'm craving pizza or a donut, I try to go ahead and give into those cravings by having ONE piece of pizza or splitting the donut with someone and make sure I count it all. Stay within your calorie goals and eat whatever you want

Panini911

to me that is really two different questions.

i make room for cravings. not every day. but if i get a craving for pizza, i'll plan for it and eat pizza. these days i can fill that craving with my at home pizzas with toppings i like and at calories that fit my daily goals. But you can also just eat a reasonable portion of take out pizza that fits your daily goal. or eat one day at maintenance, this will only slow the rate of loss that week by a small tiny bit. When i was craving fish and chips i planned for and ate those (just ate the real thing in a restaurant).

A donut you can fit in fairly easily I think. even on a 1300 calorie diet.

So for me it's a mix of small things i can satiate within my calorie goal and every 3-4 weeks i will satiate it by going up to maintenance maybe.

Day to day i fit in foods i like and things like chocolate.\

But none of the above is really a "reward". i need to learn to fit in foods i enjoy when i am in maintenance and live my life.

Food as a reward - depends on the person. some can, for others it's a slippery slope with perception of good VS bad foods.

apullum

You can eat what you want as long as you’re still in a calorie deficit.

I don’t think it’s inherently bad to have a treat that you look forward to. I think it can be bad if it leads to unhealthy behaviors like overexercising to “earn” the treat.

endermako

My preference is to reward myself with new clothes. I think food rewards can lead to falling into bad habits. Just my preference though.

NovusDies

It would be bad for me to feel like any food needs to be earned in a special way (other than working). It is very important that I always feel like anything I want to eat can be eaten with some planning because when I feel like something if off-limits I want it MUCH more.

I do bank calories and I almost always eat my maintenance calories on Sunday which gives me much more opportunity for fun food.

ETA: If you think it will work for you, you can always try it and change it later if it turns out to be a bad idea.

AnnPT77

I think it's a bad practice to think of any individual (non-poisonous) food as "bad". I'm looking to balance appropriate calories, nutrition, tastiness and satiety though my eating. On any given day, any food fits in well or doesn't. It's OK, IMO, to eat less nutrient-dense foods occasionally, as long as my overall eating is balanced and nutritious.

It doesn't really make sense to me to reward myself for doing X with something that undoes X, so I wouldn't overeat to reward myself for losing weight. That said, I do make a conscious choice to eat over my calorie goal sometimes, recognizing that (in maintenance now), I'll need to balance it out over the longer run.

If I were you, I'd eat a little (not a lot) under calorie goal most days, and bank a few calories for something indulgent at the end of the week, thinking of it as a strategy, not a reward; or fit it into daily calories now and then. But that's just me.

The weight loss process/time-period is just a good chance to practice the strategies we're going to use to maintain a healthy weight permanently. That includes eating some treats, and having some higher or lower calorie days.

smcwllms

I reward myself every Friday night with food. I weigh in on Friday mornings. If I have been absolutely faithful to my eating plan all week, I allow myself to eat as much of anything I want, for that one meal only. Doing it that way gives me an entire week to get rid of any weight I put on Friday, and to allow any water weight from sodium to stabilize. I'm back on plan Saturday morning without fail. I've learned that I no longer like over-stuffing myself, but I do enjoy a good "bad" meal once a week

I have a tremendous amount of discipline, though, and not everyone might be able to do it that way. I've lost 60 lbs. in 87 days.

purwonder

I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing. Especially as long as you’re staying within your calorie budget. For me, I eat as healthy as possible and accept that cravings will come until they don’t anymore. So I include foods that I like in my plan such as: pizza and chicken wings, desserts and fried chicken and biscuits. I don’t binge and I make a conscious effort to not eat these foods often. I simply make sure that I don’t go over my calories for that day. We are human so, diets, lifestyle changes, nor anything else you try to achieve in life will be perfect. It’s an imperfect journey to a healthier life, you only need to focus on not quitting when things get hard. God is with us, stay in prayer with Jesus and keep doing good.

paperpudding

I reward myself with food.

Not my weight loss in particular but things in general.

Worked hard all day, I deserve a couple of chocolates at end of the day.

( they fit within my calorie allowance and dont cause a binge or unhealthy relationship or anything so can't see any problem)

CharlieCharlie007

Between 6pm ans 12pm saturdays if a free for all. Anything goes. Just get it out of your system before it becomes a problem.

magnusthenerd

I think the doing it as a reward like this sets you up to overvalue the reward aspect of the foods, which leads to temptations, cravings, and potentially binging.
I think just having a food you want when it is reasonable is a good practice.

Sharon_C

I say log the food you want in the morning and work your calories for the day around it. It's not an award because you're making it fit.

I think rewarding ourselves with food is why most people are here trying to lose weight.

cwolfman13

I don't look at it as a reward, nor do I categorize foods as good or bad. I look at my diet and nutrition on the whole and don't get wrapped up in the minutia of this particular food or that particular food or this particular meal or that particular meal. On the whole, my diet is very sound...we have pizza night most Friday nights...in regards to the bigger picture and what I'm doing most of the time, pizza night is pretty irrelevant.