Can I eat Snickers even if it fits my calories?

Yes! Love snickers. Snickers > Mars.

Can I have Butterfinger bars? I mean, really?! Somebody please send Butterfinger bars to me here in South Korea. I haven't seen one in 3 years!

I think it's good to occasionally treat yourself while losing weight. It's important to learn how to eat something not-so-healthy maintain (or lose) weight while doing so. If we don't learn how to budget calories in day-to-day life after we reach our goals, we'll just gain our weight back.

Go for it!

Why don't you make yourself do extra exercise to earn one when you want one but have it as a rule that you meet your basic calories with healthier foods?

Cause this leads to an eating disorder. Think about it. You keep making "bad" choices and you use cardio to cover up the real issue. The real issue being a lack of self control and not using moderation.

Never use cardio to cover up the fact that you're eating too much.

yes. of course. it's good for morale and even scientifically proven

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

technically it's simply restricting the amount of fuel (calories) that will successfully do the losing business but obviously looking really good long-term might require a bit more effort eg Gwyneth Paltrow!

I include cakes, biscuits, ice-cream, full fat butter / yoghurt, wine, cheese in moderation as part of a balanced diet - too much sugar and I get really hungry and just crave more so counterweight it with protein and veg for bulk, I like good fats as they make me feel full so lots of olive oil and avocados too ... personally, despite being in love with KitKats I now prefer dark chocolate as it just tastes a lot less artificial and sweet - I notice these things more when I eat better

enjoy that bar!

Calorie deficit for weight loss.

Nutrient makeup for health.

That said, eat your Snickers. It won't hurt your weight loss if you are still in a deficit. If there's another reason you don't want to have it...like you're diabetic...then don't eat the Snickers.

Like I said in another one of your threads OP, don't overcomplicate things. :flowerforyou:

I had one for breakfast yesterday ... Call the nutritional cops.

Can you physically eat it? Yes. Should you? That's a different question.

If you're looking to lose weight and keep it off, trying to fit in Snickers, or cake, or a stick of butter, is probably not wise. It's about making better choices for the rest of your life. It's about having a sensible relationship with food and not having a binge mentality.

That's why I don't believe in "cheat" days and the like. If you want to eat something, eat it and move on. Don't binge, don't beat yourself up and don't question your choices. If you do any of the above, then you need to work on your relationship with food, sugar or whatever has a hold over you.

I completely disagree with the part in bold. I think that working foods I enjoy into my daily goal is the best way to make sure I keep off the weight I've lost. So far I've been in maintenance for 9 months. Allowing myself a wide variety of foods helps me stick to my goal. If I thought I had to eliminate ice cream, cookies, and the like forever I would not have stuck with this for the past two years. I would have just stayed fat.

I do agree with the second part, at least for me. But many people have success with cheat days and the like. For me personally working in small amounts of "treat" foods daily is more effective than trying to eat 100% "healthy" all the time and then having a treat day. With the treat day system I feel pressured to fit in all the foods I enjoy in one day and I end up overeating. It's better for me to allocate 20% of my daily calories to have some ice cream or another treat. Then I've got 80% of my calories for whole nutrient dense foods.

ETA: also a big part of maintenance is realizing that life happens. There are going to be parties, and dinners out, and people who bring cake to the office for your birthday. Those who have the skills to work these situations into their plan are going to be more successful (and happier) in my opinion than those who insist that they can never have sweets again. IMO the all-or-nothing mentality is the way to set yourself up to binge.

Can I have Butterfinger bars? I mean, really?! Somebody please send Butterfinger bars to me here in South Korea. I haven't seen one in 3 years!

three years without Butterfinger?!? :sad:

If it fits your calories and macros, then hell yes!

Sometimes the sugar macro is a problem. Its really low on here for some reason.

Sugar isn't a macro. Macros are Carbs, Fats, and Proteins. Sugar is a carb, therefore a derivative.

And yes, MFP, by default, sets your protein goal too low and your sugar goal too low. You can manually change this to fit your specific goals though.

However, unless you have a medical condition, such as diabetes, then you have no real reason to track sugar specifically. Just pay attention to overall carbs.

right, gotcha!

So Im going to take out the sugar than. I always thought that sugar from chocolate (even thou it fits my day) would be a problem because of the sugar and what not.

thanks

Nope, not a problem at all!

The things that I track are Carbs, fats, proteins, fiber, and sodium.

THIS! I have an ice cream at the end of my day every night, so long as it fits in my calories. If my macros look good, I'm good to go! I've found that since I do that, I have 0% want/need/feel to binge. And guess what? I'm still losing weight steadily and at a healthy pace!

In short, eat your Snickers and do it with a guilt-free conscience