Is it ok to treat yourself once a week?

i see no reason why that wouldnt be ok. I am the same way...i just found other sweets that replace those bad treats i used to eat. fruits are great in my opinion. anyways once in a while is not a big deal! )

as long as you're not going over your calorie, fat and sugar allowances, go for it. If you already know this is a weakness for you, building it into your plan will help you stay on longer and lose the weight. Good Luck!!!

I think it's important to schedule treats into your plan - not every day but something to look forward to. If you know that in just a few XX you can have your treat, you will behave - if you think you can never have it, that's all you'll think about. If you start thinking I want..I want, I can't..I can't - what are you probably thinking? But if you tell yourself - just a little bit longer, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and you stay on goal and feel proud of yourself. But just make sure that the treat fits into your calorie intake - shave off a little here and a little there so that the treat works.

Personally I feel like an indulgent dessert once in awhile is fine, as long as you plan for it and limit yourself to a moderate portion size.

That said, you may want to try finding alternatives to traditional sugary desserts that will satisfy your sweet tooth. For example, I've started making soft-serve banana "ice cream" - you throw frozen banana slices into a food processor until the turn into the consistency of ice cream. There are also recipes like black bean brownies (sounds odd, but quite amazingly delicious!), yogurt with cinnamon mixed in and a little fruit added, and tons of other sweet desserts that are MUCH healthier for you. I'm trying to significantly limit the amount of added sugars/preservatives/artificial anything I'm eating, so I'm trying to get creative with my treats so that I don't feel deprived but I also don't put stuff into my body that I really don't want to consume any more.

I allow myself those indulgences nearly daily. I love chocolate, and I'm pretty certain I need it to survive ;-) However, what I did was start to keep the 100 calories snack packs in my home. That way I know I'll be able to fit it into my calorie plan and still get a small piece of something I enjoy.

I am, however, planning to have a 100% free day on my birthday! Totally looking forward to that :-)

I wouldnt do a whole day, but I dont see a problem, with it in with your calories, maybe do it and go workout the same day to burn the calories back off

Allowing myself one day a week to eat what I wanted is why I have no lost 122lbs and counting. I plan a day of a calorie surplus to stay out of starvation mode and I have donuts, ice cream, pizza, or whatever I want that day. I try to eat about 2X my BMR or for myself I have between 5,000-7,000 calories. So there is a lot for fun. Most women are usually between 3,000-4,000 on that day.

I wrote a blog post on why it is important if you care to check it out.
http://spikediet.blogspot.com/2010/08/importance-of-spike-day.html

So yes enjoy it.

Wow! Congrats on your weight loss! How long did it take you?

Thank you, I lost 100lbs in 11 months.
Since then I have been "bodybuilding" and improving weekly. My goal is get as lean as physically possible and maintain it without depriving myself of the foods I love to eat. So far I am on track.

Most definitely. As this is a new lifestyle and not a diet it would be ridiculous not to ever have anything sweet every again.

I allow myself two treats each week rather than an entire cheat day and this seems to keep me on track.

I know exactly how you feel abou the sweet tooth/sugar addiction, I was the exact same way. I started by eliminating all sugary foods and then eased back into eating sugar slowly.

I think the reason we struggle with sugar so much is that it is hodden in everything (even savoury foods) and sugar is addictive so the more you eat it the more you want it.

Be sure to check for hidden sugar in other foods, buy eating less of these foods your sugar craving will reeduce dramatically.

I like to eat skinny cow truffle bars. They are 100 calories nad beat any ice cream anyday!!!!!!!

A once a week treat is great! I do the same thing,once a week we eat at one of our fave resturaunts..we just compensate for it by working out really hard..I think it keeps us on track while giving us something to look forward to..

As long as you keep working out you will be fine, & dont go to over board on cheat day.

When I am trying to eat "right" I always try to allow myself some treat almost every day - but I also include those calories in my daily plan and prepare for them. If not, I binge and it gets ugly.

I figured out, for me, if I tell myself I can have it and it's ok, I tend to want it less. It's the big no-nno's that I crave, so I just don't have anything i consider off limits. I have actually driven to the store with the plans to get somthing really good and realy bad for me, and not been able to find a single thing in an ENTIRE grocery store that i actually wanted, and have left empty handed. I am doing this with my 14 (almost 15 year old son - who's lost 18 lbs!) and Ikeep things on hand for him like mango sorbet, he loves that, and we both love the choc covered raspberry ice cream bars. One brand is Weight Watchers and they are 80 cals and the Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom no sure added ones are 100 cals. So my advice is not to tell yourself you can't have it, abvously it can't be a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory (about 1000 cals!) every day, but find something tht works for you and your plan! Also, I hate any dairy product that is "lite or fat free" I just can't stand them so I'm not going to waste calories on something I don't like. I use a little less, cut back somewhere else, etc. besides, in my opinion, and the as my step SIL (who has a PhD in Chemical Engineering and is the dept chair at a major university) when they take the natural fat out, they have to put something back in to replace it's actually worse for you overal, than eating the real thing. Sugar substitues is about the only "fake" food I eat on a regular basis. JMO, of course, I could be wrong :laugh: