Should I give up Ben & Jerry's??

A Pint of that is MORE than my daily calorie allowance. No way *I* would eat that every week. Once and awhile? Probably not going to totally kill weight loss (I'm talking once in a blue moon here).

You need to replace that habit with a new one. Something healthy something that is better for you and makes you feel good. You have a choice. A PINT of ice cream a week or a slimmer healthier body? It's not worth it if you ask me, but I've made a HUGE lifestyle change and won't go back to that ever again. I used to eat like that and it disgusts me now that I poisoned my body that way. I feel more relaxed and happier now that I've lost even some of the weight I need to and exercising really helps boost my mood!

i totally disagree with raelbee--as an intense lover of ice cream, with an intense dislike of moderation, i know that attempting to give it up would make for a last-minute, irresistible, mistake indulgence, maybe not even with the flavor i was actually craving, but whatever's readily available.

i lost 50 lbs eating some form of ice cream every day, usually 300-400 of my 1200 calories. if you truly have to have the food to avoid feeling deprived, eat it. find a lower-calorie substitute that you find acceptable, and be sure that you budget for it.

here are my specific suggestions:

edy's/dreyers no sugar added vanilla = 90 cal per .5 cup, so 360 for the equivalent of a pint. bad thing about this one is that it comes in a giant container, so you have to be able to trust yourself with portion control. it really tastes amazing though--if you don't want just vanilla, make a float with diet soda or add sugar-free syrup of some sort for flavoring (like the torani ones that are for coffee and mixed drinks--no cals)

stoneyfield farms frozen yogurt, any flavor without stuff in it = 100 cal per .5 cup, so 400 for a pint. comes in pints so you can eat the whole thing if you save 400 cals. it's in vanilla, coffee, chocolate i think...

ARCTIC ZERO = 150 cal or less per pint. yes, PER PINT. this stuff is made with whey low and has a ton of protein, so it's actually pretty good for you. it's lactose-free, and not quite like ice cream--more of a frozen yogurt texture, it doesn't work for making a float--but the flavor is amazing, especially considering the calories. you could eat two pints for less than one serving of your chubby hubby! vanilla with a touch of maple and chocolate are both very good... i like to add pumpkin (50 cal/.5 cup) with pumpkin pie spice and splenda to the vanilla, and PB2 or better'n'peanut butter to the chocolate. downfall is that it's pretty hard to find and ridiculously expensive if you were to order online. check myarcticzero.com for store locations near you.

and popsicles:

skinny cow truffle bars = 100 cal each, and portion controlled. they come in vanilla, fudge, white mint, etc.

weight watchers giant latte bars = 90 cal each, and they really are pretty big

sugar-free mini fudgesicles = 40-50 cal each, depending on the brand. small, but good if you really want to eat a lot of them.

sugar-free freeze pops (like the kind you cut off the end and squeeze) = 10 cal each

I ate a whole tub of bj chocolate fudge once, and I had stomach cramps for the whole of the following day!

Cut back. If you can't stop yourself from eating a tub, don't buy a tub.

p.s. before mfp, i was eating a pint of ben & jerry's almost daily. not kidding. for me, the solution was not to "give it up" (i did, technically--i ate cherry garcia froyo the first month of mfp, and then nothing from the brand since probably march--if i'm cheating, i'm saving it for exciting restaurant food!), but to find a substitute that you find satisfying and acceptable. if you're going to sustain your new lifestyle, you have to include the things you want so it's tolerable.

Much as you don't want to, it would be the best way to reach your goal. Ben and Jerry's is not known for being diet friendly! I would find another treat to fill that void- skinny cow ice cream sandwhiches are one of my favs. Maybe after you get closer to your goal you could splurge, but a whole pint seems like a bit much...what are the "sunday blues" ? Cheesy as it sounds, a tough workout would get you out of any funk faster than over 1300 calories in one sitting, 80 grams of fat and 124 g of carbohydrates- that's a whole days worth of calories- food for thought

Wow thank you all for your helpful responses! I'm so glad I found MFP! I think I will try buying smaller servings and healthier versions. I really want to change my ways and agree that feeding the Sunday blues isn't helping me. Plus I always feel sick afterwards! So how about my nightly cotton candy addiction. LOL I buy the Fluffy Stuff bags that are 260 calories and I make sure I have the calories left. I know, it's pure sugar. I need serious help! Thanks again!

Just remember that not all calories are created equal.....this excerpt is from a report that i found while researching some stuff for a class i teach ......

This is precisely why some of those “diet point systems” that claim you can eat whatever you want, as long as you don’t exceed your daily allotted points, are seriously flawed. (So, let’s say a wheel-barrow-sized banana split is 7000 points…if that’s all you eat for a week and don’t surpass your point total, you’re golden, right? WRONG-OLA.)
This is what I refer to as The Calorie Myth™. Believe me, all calories aren’t created equal.
The truth is, calories from different types of food act very differently once inside your body. Some of them ignite what I call “Thermal Burn” and others are plain “Thermal Duds.” (For some reason, now I’m thinking of the little “Milk Duds” chocolate candies. As Homer Simpson would say, “Mmm duds…”)
Here’s an example: your metabolic rate will increase by approximately 5% in response to eating fats. This means that for every 1,000 calories of fat you eat, your body will burn 50 of its own calories to digest and process the fat you just ate. (Note: Keep in mind that some healthy fats can help you burn fat in other ways, so don’t discount them.)
When you eat carbohydrates, your metabolic rate will increase by up to 10% (less for refined carbs like sugar that are easily digested, more for high-fiber choices). This means your body uses 100 calories to digest and use 1,000 calories of carbs.
Now, PROTEIN has the highest Thermal-Burn of all foods, increasing your metabolism by up to a whopping 30%. ZOWIE!
Why? Because protein is a very complex nutrient... for every 1,000 calories of protein you eat, your body will use about 300 calories to digest and process this macro-nutrient.
This means you’re only netting about 700 calories for every 1,000 calories you eat of protein.
So, you’re getting 300 “free calories.”

So how about my nightly cotton candy addiction. LOL I buy the Fluffy Stuff bags that are 260 calories and I make sure I have the calories left. I know, it's pure sugar.

That's tough, have you every thought about cutting out sugar to get your body detoxed? It is like a habit or addiction- try to replace the sugar with something else. I love Chai latte's from starbucks, but now to be extra calorie conciouss I get a sugar free vanillla milk steamer with skim- it helps me stay away from the more sugar loaded stuff. Good Luck!!

While I strongly believe that any diet that's based on depriving ourselves of something we love is a diet doomed to fail, losing weight does depend on reducing the number of calories you take in. 1360 calories is a lot to compensate for elsewhere in your week.

I agree with everyone who suggested moderation. Dividing the ice cream into smaller containers is a great suggestion. Using a small spoon (I often use tiny tea spoons for dessert), and eating slowly also help. I find when it comes to sweets, my craving is sated not by how much I eat, but by how long I can drag out the taste experience.

If you're looking for motivation in cutting out the Ben & Jerry's, consider this -- a surplus of 3500 calories equals about one pound gained. A deficit of 3500 equals about one pound lost. Think of each pint of Chunky Monkey as 1/5 of a pound. If you're holding steady right now, and were to give up the Chunky Monkey for 6 months, you could lose almost 10 pounds without having to make any other changes!

It may also help to take your favourite (or least favourite!) exercise, and calculate how many minutes you would need to do it in order to burn off those 1360 calories each week.

I would say replace your Sunday night Ben and Jerry's with a Skinny Cow ice cream treat or look for the single serving ice creams...I think Ben and Jerry's does those too...it might be a bit more expensive to buy them that way but it will portion control it for you while not depriving you of your treat.