Should I give up Ben & Jerry's??

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.