How often to treat myself? (and calorie help)

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camaris
camaris Posts: 36 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I am religiously counting calories, and sticking to it so far, but I would love to be able to treat myself every so often to one of the disgustingly unhealthy meals I miss so much. Do people think that treating oneself every so often is a good idea? I was thinking every three weeks.

These are the sort of things I would like to have occasionally...not sure how to work out the calories, so any help would be appreciated.

Large steak with mushroom sauce and chips
Large Kebab (the roadside type from australia) so lamb or chicken from the spinning thing with cheese and garlic sauce in unleavened bread or whatever it is
Large Pizza, thick crust with following toppings: Cheese, Beef, Salami, Garlic sauce

And yes I know how bad they are for me, but I am going from having all of them every week!

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Chenoachem
    Chenoachem Posts: 1,758 Member
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    If you want to loose weight and keep it off it is important to not feel deprived. What I do is choose smaller portion sizes of the unhealthy foods I like and mix and match the meals with healthy options. I also try to keep them within my calorie goals for the day.

    So for example:
    If you want Large steak with mushroom sauce and chips, try choosing a small steak, cut down on the mushroom sauce (or not) and have a salad with it instead. Adjust your other meals to be lighter on calories and you are good to go.

    Well that's what I have done anyway but everyone is different. I know many people that allow themselves a "cheat" meal but I think that sets the wrong mindset for a lifestyle change and makes it seem more like dieting and that you have to sneak. It is all a mind game.

    Good Luck.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    On days you treat yourself with a cheat meal, don't bother counting calories at all. It's fine to have a cheat meal once every week, two weeks, etc. Do whatever works for you. I have a cheat meal once every week, and it's still been working for me. (Though that may have something to do with how much weight I have to lose, you know/?) Cravings eventually pass, so now I'm probably only going to have a cheat meal once every two weeks. Whatever works. :)

    Now, if these items you listed come from a restaurant, you may be able to look up the nutritional information on them. (Just go to google and type in the restaurant name followed by "nutrition") That way you might be able to squeeze it into your calorie goal. Your calories are like money. Spend them however you want. It'll keep you sane, lol.

    EDIT: Above poster has a great point! I do that all the time. In fact, just did it last night. My family and I were on the road all day and stopped by fast food places for both lunch and dinner. I got one "unhealthy" item and a side of fruit/apples instead of fries. Everything was still in my calorie goal. If I order a pizza, I specifically ask for light cheese and order extra veggie toppings and chicken, because the more topping the pizza has, the less cheese they can put on it. Oh, and just another tip, when you go out to eat, don't be afraid to ask that your meal be cooked with a minimal amount of oil and no butter. :)

    Good luck on your weight loss. You'll do great!
  • LongMom
    LongMom Posts: 408 Member
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    It's all a matter of personal choice :) Myself, I'm thinking of this process as a "lifestyle change", something I plan on living with for the rest of my life. So I ask myself, am I going to eliminate <insert food> forever? My answer is always, NO. So I don't deny myself ANYTHING.

    That said, I don't need to eat as much of the "bad stuff" to feel satisfied. I'm also able to pick right back up the next meal and "be good". I don't feel an ounce of guilt.

    I should also say though that I'm a SLOW loser and I don't mind. I've been at 19lbs lost for oh 4-6 weeks now and I really don't care :) I KNOW I will reach my goals in due time, but I'm in no hurry.

    Of course, everyone is different, so you really have to do what's best for YOU. The key (imo) is to keep all the negative away from the process (guilt, frustration etc.) so that it continues to be a positive change in your life :)

    Enjoy!
  • simona1972
    simona1972 Posts: 355 Member
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    I have no idea what the calories would be in those items, but I think it's fine to treat yourself. I think anytime you restrict to the point where you cant enjoy certain foods, you're bound to fail. So enjoy the food you love...in moderation :)
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
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    I agree with Chenoachem, dont deprive yourself, if you dont want to end up quitting or feeling frustrated, eat meals you like, but in moderation...and ensure it fits within your alotted calories for that day

    A felllow MFP member, posted the link to an article yesterday....He lost over 200 pounds, and he ate foods he loved, he just ensure it fit within his calories for the day.....Read this article

    http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/07/09/sean-shed-258-pounds-without-a-single-salad/?icid=main|aim|dl3|link1|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thatsfit.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fsean-shed-258-pounds-without-a-single-salad%2F

    I also posted this today, this is how I handle days I feel for soemthing I like:

    We all have sweet tooth days.
    Yesterday I felt like having Famous Amos cookies, I had bought the box in Costco, so I asked my very skinny cousin, if she wanted some cookies, she said yes....so I got the bag, counted how many cookies were in the package, there were 8...I took out 2 and gave her the rest. I then logged in my diary as having 1/4 bag of cookies....

    My aunt also called me to come get piece of carrot cake she baked....I walked to get them and walked back home.....I checked the calories on line before I ate any this morning....Yeah I know, kind of early for cake....but again I felt for it.......3oz is 260 calories I believe....so I weighed mine and had 1.6 ounce of the cake

    If I feel for popcorn....I first ask, anyone wants popcorn, if I get 2 or more answers, I pop the popcorn and share myself out 2 cups worth, which is 80 calories and give them the rest

    Bottom line is unless you never plan to eat sweets again, don’t torture yourself, if you feel for it, have it....but small portions

    A lot of people can do without sweets, kudos to them...I have a very bad sweet tooth, so I just eat it in moderation, and definitely not everyday

    ******************************************************************************************************************************************

    So dont deprive yourself, just moderation....and if you are at 1400 calories for the day....ensure it fit within that 1400 calories....and as Chenoachem, tweek portions of the meal to be healthy

    Goodluck
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
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    :flowerforyou: I will go into my next day's menu and put that meal or food in 'first' then build my menu plan around it from there... yes, don't deprive yourself. Many on here have blogged and posted that they craved something and went ahead and ate it only to find it didn't taste as good as remembered and have veered away from the items. I'm that way... some of my most favorite fattening things have lost it's glimmer in my mind's eye since changing my mindset and foods. So, enjoy! :drinker:
  • Ellem86
    Ellem86 Posts: 204
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    I also agree with incorporating food you like into your daily allowance. I weigh myself on Friday mornings (although I couldn't wait today and weighed in this morning) so I usually allow myself to eat whatever I like for dinner on Friday evenings. This then gives me a whole 7 days to make up for it. I still count the calories of my choice though to keep me accountable.
  • bree5291
    bree5291 Posts: 50
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    I agree with Chenoachem as well. Take that decadent pizza you love and pair it with a bag of small carrots or something else. If you stick to letting yourself have what you'd like to have every now and then and in moderation, you'll come to find that eventually you will want all those fatty salty indulgence foods less and less. This doesn't mean your craving for them will go away, but once you see and realize how much better you feel eating well, it makes it a lot easier to stay away from the foods that used to destroy you. Also, tracking the "treat" the night before and planning your day around it is a good idea, if you choose to count your calories on the day where you have your treat. I think if you don't track on those days, it sets you up to lose control because you are not being held accountable.

    Good luck. :]
  • LoveMy4Kids
    LoveMy4Kids Posts: 231
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    I treat myself once every week or two to a meal like that, but I just watch how much of it I consume because I KNOW I will be up in weight the next day no matter what I do to try to burn it off that day, lol.
  • daniface
    daniface Posts: 338 Member
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    I also agree with incorporating food you like into your daily allowance. I weigh myself on Friday mornings (although I couldn't wait today and weighed in this morning) so I usually allow myself to eat whatever I like for dinner on Friday evenings. This then gives me a whole 7 days to make up for it. I still count the calories of my choice though to keep me accountable.

    I'm adopting this idea. LOVE IT
  • maydianna
    maydianna Posts: 26 Member
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    I have found it amazing how many foods that I typically would have thought were awful can be modified to really be not too bad for you. For that steak - grill it w/out adding any butter and use fresh sauteed mushrooms in olive oil with seasoning instead of creamy mushroom sauce. Eat baked chips instead of fried. You might be amazing how much you still enjoy the great flavors w/out the extra "bad stuff" - and the bonus is you don't feel like crap after eating it!

    I LOVE steak - and LOVE finding healthy ways to make it a completely MFP approved meal.
  • SemiSweetRae
    SemiSweetRae Posts: 30
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    I have to be honest, I am a little surprised at just about everyone's reply here. Before I started reading everything, I was so sure that the general consensus would be that ya sure go ballistic, eat whatever you want! I have many friends and family members that "cheat" on their diets and ponder whyy can't lose weight while scarfing down a chocolate covered butterfinger sundae. I get so incredibly frustrated because it seems like folks don't want to educate themselves.

    With all that said, it's really pleasent to see that people know you can have what you want as long at it is in moderation and realistic. Another tool I have found that has aided in my weight loss is a book called Eating Right For Your Blood Type. I don't follow it by the letter because I have a sensitivity to wheat and gluten, but it makes so many great suggestions and tells you the science/reasoning behind all of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't put too much stock into any one diet plan but I have found this one to go along more so with a lifestyle change rather than just a temporary diet.

    I agree with so many people here who say you can't deprive yourself. While I don't think food should be used as a reward, if you staunchly disregard so many of the treats you love, then you're setting yourself up for failure!
  • camaris
    camaris Posts: 36 Member
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    Wow, thank you for all the great feedback! Definitely some...wait for it....food for thought. haha

    The reason why I was looking at the treat approach rather than the incorporating into my daily diet is becuase my day to day diet is pretty strictly controlled at the moment. It makes it very easy to count the calories.

    Once I get to my goal weight I will trying to do it on my own without buying the prepacked meals and that is when I will start incorporating the foods I like into my diet, but in a healthy way.

    But, for the time being what I was thinking of doing was sticking with the program I'm on but every so often having something...bad. I still wanted to count the calories of my splurge rather than jsut pretending it didn't happen though, otherwise it would be too easy to let bad habits creep back in.

    I am not very disciplined and I constantly have to fight against the temptation of "just this little snack wont hurt". That's why MFP is so helpful.
  • nurseenf
    nurseenf Posts: 26 Member
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    I treat myself once a wk, but make sure to work out extra hard that day. It seems to b working for me.
  • lizziewhan
    lizziewhan Posts: 148 Member
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    well someone i know has a cheat day once a week.......and then i was reading a book written by the trainer from the show workout..she says to allow yourself the treat meal once a week but never allow the meal to be more than 1200 calories. i totally think we need a treat....its not like are NEVER going to eat those foods again. i think u should just be mindful of your portions
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
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    It's entirely up to you. Not sure about the kebab though, I've seen what comes off of those and it was enough to put me off for life and that was BEFORE I started my eating plan :laugh:

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