What is your advice when it comes to treats?

I have been curious as to how the "rewarding", and giving yourself treats should work?! Any tips on how often you treat yourself, what you like to have as your treat, the time of day you reward yourself, and how you stop yourself from going overboard?! Go!

Replies

  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    I have been curious as to how the "rewarding", and giving yourself treats should work?! Any tips on how often you treat yourself, what you like to have as your treat, the time of day you reward yourself, and how you stop yourself from going overboard?! Go!

    I am definitely pro treats! :love: What I usually do is plan out my meals the night before using my "normal" calories, hitting my macros as required, then I reward myself with whatever I want that fits into my "post-exercise" calories (logging it in, weighing, measuring, etc.) Since I do it this way, I rarely eat back more than about 1/2 my calories but I can have ice cream, cookies, etc., without guilt and I'm still watching the scale numbers decrease.
  • aqualeo1
    aqualeo1 Posts: 331 Member
    I save up some calories for treats as a nighttime snack. Pretty much always involves chocolate. I used to think treats at night were a bad idea but now I realize it doesn't matter. That's when I want them so that's when I eat them!
  • sarahmichel101
    sarahmichel101 Posts: 158 Member
    Treats work for me besides for about 4-5 days a month. I am really good with self control, and letting myself have a treat makes the food special, in stead of either being a normal part of every day life, or a forbidden fruit I crave all day. On days I don't have calories for traditional treats such as a cookie or ice cream I will get myself a fruit treat such as grapes (something I don't have often due to the cost), or use some of my protein calories to have crackers and hummus!
  • DienhartDotCom
    DienhartDotCom Posts: 292 Member
    I plan for them. If I want a glass of wine (150 cal), a half cup of ice cream (260 cal). If I run that day, I normally burn 500 or more cals, so it's easier. Granted, I don't have treats every night, but my goal is to be healthy and in better shape. I've come to the stark realization that I've made worse food choices over the years than I could have imagined. So turning my diet around is the number 1 priority.
  • SelkathNuggets
    SelkathNuggets Posts: 37 Member
    My thoughts on the matter:
    Don't use unhealthy food as a motivation/reward for healthy habits. You work against yourself.
    If you want something, work it into your calories for the day. Make other substitutions if you need to to make that happen.
    Pick your battles. Liquid calories are not filling and are usually a good place to cut.
  • ashutosh0015
    ashutosh0015 Posts: 4 Member
    I treat myself with home cooked chicken barbecue with some pineapple juice, really easy to cook !!home cooked chicken or fish is aawsum way to treat yourself , have it around 6-7pm . anything grilled feels good!
  • joshuaratliff
    joshuaratliff Posts: 49 Member
    I second what SelkathNugget has said. Don't look at it as a reward. Just look at it as a part of your diet. (diet in the sense of what you eat for the day, not a weight loss program). I plan all my calories and exercise out for the day. I know if I'm going out, then I eat light and run more. I also know myself, and I know I will want something every night about 9-10 pm. I plan for this. I allow on average 150 calories for "whatever" calories. A beer, something salty, something sweet...it is part of my day and myself. I don't get home and say, "I ran a lot today, so lets reward/treat myself tonight...I deserve it!".

    If you allow yourself to live, you'll enjoy life a whole lot more. Just be accountable.