How often do people have treats
Replies
-
Whenever I want them.
A diet where you are always restricting yourself from the foods you love is bound to fail. Maybe not for everyone, some people can handle it but I know I can't.
I love my chips, cookies, and treats way too much to ever restrict them. Needless to say portions are important to consider as well. Instead of a giant bag of chips, a dozen cookies, 2 big candy bars, etc. Try a snack size bag of chips, one cookie, 1 candy bar and so on. That's what I find works for me.
A diet is something that has to be sustainable for life, meaning if you can't see yourself staying away from your favorite treats for the rest of your life then you probably won't be able to.
Food is amazing and delicious, so don't stress about treats and just enjoy life.0 -
As long as it fits into my daily calories budget, I eat whatever I want. IMO having foods that are forever and always forbidden is counterproductive. I don't want to feel deprived or punished.
Ditto. I'm not overweight because I hate food.
If I had to give up the things I love, I wouldn't be able to do it. Moderation is my new motto. 0 -
I eat treats everyday as long as it fits. and I eat chili cheeseburgers and fries probably once a week. I eat what I can fit in my calories.0
-
As long as it fits into my daily calories budget, I eat whatever I want. IMO having foods that are forever and always forbidden is counterproductive. I don't want to feel deprived or punished.
Agree with this.. if you feel deprived you could binge and ruin the good work. Enjoy a little of what you fancy and try stay within your daily cals.0 -
if it fits your calories/macros why not, i find that its better for me to give into my cravings because i end up eating other things instead to distract me and end up going for it anyway.0
-
I don't go a single day without eating some candy, having some ice cream, or something like that. I need it, psychologically, and am much happier when I have my sugar to look forward to. The difference is, I eat a limited quantity of it, and I plan for it. Some people find sweets or other snacks/treats to be too triggering for them, and so they choose to cut those things out entirely. Ultimately, you have to do what works best for you, but there's no reason to give up the things that make you happy.0
-
These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
But not everybody is an addict.0 -
Treats have enabled me to lose what i have never lost before!
I have 1-3 daily. If it won't quite fit in my calories for the day, i will often go do some more exercise so it will!
Could not have done this without my treats.........0 -
Everyday i have abit of dark chocolate! Helps me to hit my macro haha0
-
I usually stick to my macros and I'll eat anything as long as I get close to them. I am on a 1000 a day deficit so if I go over my daily limit by a few hundred I will still be well below my TDEE (total calories my body uses) so I'm going to be safe. The thing is this is a lifetime project so I'm not going to give myself a hard time about anything I do as long as the vast majority of time I stick to my macros I don't worry about anything :-)0
-
PS if you like hi cal food - start exercising -Put the exercise (truthfully) into MFP and it will adjust your calories so you can eat more :-)0
-
It's okay to have treats. What I watch out for when eating treats is the sugar.0
-
I'm not sure if this was mentioned already, I didn't read through both pages. I personally have modified my food tracker to show sugars instead of vitamin C, because I have a bad habit of eating too many sugars throughout the day. Not to mention I'm extremely paranoid about diabetes, even though I'm not considerably overweight. I go with the same theory as most people if it fits within my limits I give myself a treat, but many times just eating food throughout the day will boost your sugars over the allowance.0
-
I prefer to view them as a grownup views treats. I hit my goals, I enjoy my treats, I get and stay healthy.These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.0 -
every damned day!!!!0
-
Hi everyone, I've been using MFP for 2 weeks and lost 3 pounds. I added a post last week because I felt that it was going slow and I had headaches and dizzy spells but since putting my goal back to 1lb a week putting my calories up to 1390 and eating back some of my exercise calories I feel much better and actually enjoying it. My diet before this was quite unhealthy eating take away and junkies of the week and doing very little exercise. In the last two weeks I haven't had take away but I have had some weight watchers low cal treats and rich tea biscuits in the evening as a treat and have stayed within my calorie goal. I think I need to take these treats occasionally as I was so used to take sugary snacks so often and feel that if I cut it out I will give in and gorge.
So what do people think? Is it ok to have these treats as long as it's in the calorie goal or I'll I stop my weight loss.
The treats taste so much better now that I've cut way down and I look forward to it and feel that I've earned it which I never thought would happen with chocolate haha
Thanks any opinions would be appreciated.
I think it depends on the person, and their personality. Right now I am at a place in my life that I have had the same bag of milky way minis in my van for about a month now. Every few days I remember they are there and have 1 or 2. The halloween candy is locked up in a cabinet with my poptarts, etc. I tend to be an emotional eater, and am going through an emotional time ( dad is in hospice and might not last long). Last week I had a rough evening, and I had 10 mini reeses cups (like 450 calories).0 -
These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
As a recovering alcoholic - no. Just no.
I'm not sure what's so objectionable about this idea. Not everyone has the same problem, but I find stopping a carb or sugar binge nearly impossible once I start. Eating those kinds of foods actually triggers the reward and pleasure receptors in your brain.
For some people who struggle with addictive food behavior, avoiding foods like this is key to avoiding binge eating and succeeding at losing weight. For people who have recovered from eating disorders that involve binging, staying away from trigger foods is really important. I will probably never be able to eat certain things that set off problem eating for me, not even in small quantities.
(I don't really want to go into a big sob story about my life out on the open boards, but if you really want to know why I feel so strongly about this you can always PM me and I'd be happy to explain in more detail.)0 -
As long as it fits into my daily calories budget, I eat whatever I want. IMO having foods that are forever and always forbidden is counterproductive. I don't want to feel deprived or punished.
I agree for the most part, but there are certain ingredients that I avoid as much as possible, like excess sodium, MSG (because I think I may have a reaction to it), partially hydrogenated oils, etc. I think I make better choices now by restricting and/or cutting out a few MINOR things here and there, and for the most part I don't feel deprived or crave certain things now.0 -
At first, I didn't have treats too often. After a while, I ate treats from time to time. Now, I eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted - as long as burn more calories than I eat.0
-
I have treats whenever they fit into my daily calories, especially on gym days. I think its important for me to not have any "no foods" because that's what could trigger a binge for me. If I want a treat, I work for it, even if its just a square of dark chocolate. Yesterday, I knew we were going out for Mexican food and I really wanted a margarita, so I literally spent 3 hours cleaning the house up and down, scrubbing, vacuuming, taking out the recycling with multiple trips up and down the three flights of stairs to make room for it in my calorie budget.
Even when treats don't fit into the calorie budget, I find another way to treat myself, whether that's a manicure or face mask. As Tom and Donna of Parks and Recreation say, Treat. Yo. Self:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsABTmT1_M0 0 -
ALL foods trigger the reward and pleasure centers of your brain, not just treats. Eating keeps you alive, when you do something that keeps you alive, your brain rewards you with a shot of dopamine to condition you to continue that behavior. People with binge eating disorder binge on all kinds of foods, not just sugar.These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
As a recovering alcoholic - no. Just no.
I'm not sure what's so objectionable about this idea. Not everyone has the same problem, but I find stopping a carb or sugar binge nearly impossible once I start. Eating those kinds of foods actually triggers the reward and pleasure receptors in your brain.
For some people who struggle with addictive food behavior, avoiding foods like this is key to avoiding binge eating and succeeding at losing weight. For people who have recovered from eating disorders that involve binging, staying away from trigger foods is really important. I will probably never be able to eat certain things that set off problem eating for me, not even in small quantities.
(I don't really want to go into a big sob story about my life out on the open boards, but if you really want to know why I feel so strongly about this you can always PM me and I'd be happy to explain in more detail.)0 -
These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
As a recovering alcoholic - no. Just no.
I'm not sure what's so objectionable about this idea. Not everyone has the same problem, but I find stopping a carb or sugar binge nearly impossible once I start. Eating those kinds of foods actually triggers the reward and pleasure receptors in your brain.
For some people who struggle with addictive food behavior, avoiding foods like this is key to avoiding binge eating and succeeding at losing weight. For people who have recovered from eating disorders that involve binging, staying away from trigger foods is really important. I will probably never be able to eat certain things that set off problem eating for me, not even in small quantities.
(I don't really want to go into a big sob story about my life out on the open boards, but if you really want to know why I feel so strongly about this you can always PM me and I'd be happy to explain in more detail.)
Treats to me are mainly full of sugar and they send me crazy. I've gained and lost stones a couple of times and each time I had a treat at least once or twice a week and often way more at weekends. Yes I lost weight but I didn't " solve" what causes me to gain weight. On the whole my meals are very healthy and portions on the small side, I struggle to eat big meals and am rarely hungry. But I always have cravings, for unrefined carbs, often when I ate a treat I realised after I didn't particularly enjoy eating it and I always felt unwell after. The bigger the portion the more unwell I felt.
Since the start of the year I've been playing around with low carb. I've removed most carbs from my diet and I have almost no cravings. It's taken me most of the year to accept that low carb is probably the diet that suits me most, I've no bloating and don't feel tired after meals anymore.
I do plan on increasing my carbs in the future to include healthy carbs and allow myself a day every few weeks where I will enjoy some of the unrefined carbs I do actually like and miss, but I will stay within my daily calories. Long term I hope to view different foods as treats, foods I actually enjoy eating and which do not have a negative reaction in my body.
I think it's important to get to know your own body, and to figure what's right for it. I can honestly say that having daily treats was the reason I put on weight again and again, simply because my chosen treats generated cravings in my body. I'm not saying everyone is the same but I think if like me you lose weight only to pile it back on, then you need to start rethinking things.
I hate the mantra " a little of what you fancy" , you wouldn't tell someone struggling with cigarettes/alcohol/drugs/ or with allergies to certain foods to have a little of their vice. Sugar addiction is an issue and needs to be understood more.0 -
I don't categorize food as "good" or "bad" so I have "treats" whenever. I have calorie goals and macro goals and I hit those...how I hit those is irrelevant so long as I'm getting proper nutrition. If all of my nutritional needs have been met, I don't get extra credit for more broccoli and I don't get dinged for having a handful of jelly beans.
^^this
^^^This0 -
I have a treat at least twice a week nothing outrageous but you do not have to give up your treats myself I do not eat the frozen treats like weight watchers or anything else I try to make mine usually.0
-
I think it's important to get to know your own body, and to figure what's right for it. I can honestly say that having daily treats was the reason I put on weight again and again, simply because my chosen treats generated cravings in my body. I'm not saying everyone is the same but I think if like me you lose weight only to pile it back on, then you need to start rethinking things.
I hate the mantra " a little of what you fancy" , you wouldn't tell someone struggling with cigarettes/alcohol/drugs/ or with allergies to certain foods to have a little of their vice. Sugar addiction is an issue and needs to be understood more.
No-one is telling cigarette/alcohol/ drug or any other kind of addicts to indulge in their fancies.
Not everyone is an addict and for those of us who are not and who can eat 'treats' then of course 'a LITTLE of what we fancy' will not do us any harm.
Everyone on these forums just loves to take things out of context and twist other posters words to wave their own banners0 -
i have treats everyday .... just stay withen ur calories goal:)0
-
Artificially concentrated foods give you a bigger dopamine hit than natural foods. The point is to reach for a piece of fruit when you are craving a "treat" as opposed to grabbing something refined. People don't binge on mangoes, bananas and cantaloupe, they binge on chocolate cake, donuts, candy bars, etc.
ALL foods trigger the reward and pleasure centers of your brain, not just treats. Eating keeps you alive, when you do something that keeps you alive, your brain rewards you with a shot of dopamine to condition you to continue that behavior. People with binge eating disorder binge on all kinds of foods, not just sugar.These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
As a recovering alcoholic - no. Just no.
I'm not sure what's so objectionable about this idea. Not everyone has the same problem, but I find stopping a carb or sugar binge nearly impossible once I start. Eating those kinds of foods actually triggers the reward and pleasure receptors in your brain.
For some people who struggle with addictive food behavior, avoiding foods like this is key to avoiding binge eating and succeeding at losing weight. For people who have recovered from eating disorders that involve binging, staying away from trigger foods is really important. I will probably never be able to eat certain things that set off problem eating for me, not even in small quantities.
(I don't really want to go into a big sob story about my life out on the open boards, but if you really want to know why I feel so strongly about this you can always PM me and I'd be happy to explain in more detail.)0 -
False and presumptive. People binge on all foods.
Artificially concentrated foods give you a bigger dopamine hit than natural foods. The point is to reach for a piece of fruit when you are craving a "treat" as opposed to grabbing something refined. People don't binge on mangoes, bananas and cantaloupe, they binge on chocolate cake, donuts, candy bars, etc.
ALL foods trigger the reward and pleasure centers of your brain, not just treats. Eating keeps you alive, when you do something that keeps you alive, your brain rewards you with a shot of dopamine to condition you to continue that behavior. People with binge eating disorder binge on all kinds of foods, not just sugar.These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
As a recovering alcoholic - no. Just no.
I'm not sure what's so objectionable about this idea. Not everyone has the same problem, but I find stopping a carb or sugar binge nearly impossible once I start. Eating those kinds of foods actually triggers the reward and pleasure receptors in your brain.
For some people who struggle with addictive food behavior, avoiding foods like this is key to avoiding binge eating and succeeding at losing weight. For people who have recovered from eating disorders that involve binging, staying away from trigger foods is really important. I will probably never be able to eat certain things that set off problem eating for me, not even in small quantities.
(I don't really want to go into a big sob story about my life out on the open boards, but if you really want to know why I feel so strongly about this you can always PM me and I'd be happy to explain in more detail.)0 -
I doubt that is right, but i posted a new topic, so we will see. I would bet that the highly concentrated foods get voted as the most binge-worthy. I highly doubt most people will come back with "OH MY GOD, BROCCOLI KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT"
False and presumptive. People binge on all foods.
Artificially concentrated foods give you a bigger dopamine hit than natural foods. The point is to reach for a piece of fruit when you are craving a "treat" as opposed to grabbing something refined. People don't binge on mangoes, bananas and cantaloupe, they binge on chocolate cake, donuts, candy bars, etc.
ALL foods trigger the reward and pleasure centers of your brain, not just treats. Eating keeps you alive, when you do something that keeps you alive, your brain rewards you with a shot of dopamine to condition you to continue that behavior. People with binge eating disorder binge on all kinds of foods, not just sugar.These "treats" are designed to be physically addictive. Most people on this site will disagree with me, but i view those items the same way a recovering alcoholic views whiskey. One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.
As a recovering alcoholic - no. Just no.
I'm not sure what's so objectionable about this idea. Not everyone has the same problem, but I find stopping a carb or sugar binge nearly impossible once I start. Eating those kinds of foods actually triggers the reward and pleasure receptors in your brain.
For some people who struggle with addictive food behavior, avoiding foods like this is key to avoiding binge eating and succeeding at losing weight. For people who have recovered from eating disorders that involve binging, staying away from trigger foods is really important. I will probably never be able to eat certain things that set off problem eating for me, not even in small quantities.
(I don't really want to go into a big sob story about my life out on the open boards, but if you really want to know why I feel so strongly about this you can always PM me and I'd be happy to explain in more detail.)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1142088-poll-what-do-you-binge-on0 -
Yep, tigersword, over 40 responses. The results are in; exactly the foods i thought people would say. Check out the thread.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.8K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions