allowing yourself to have treats...

alicestrick5
alicestrick5 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
hello, i'm new to the site and new to all of this. i've only recently started my new health regime. i'd rather call it a regime than a diet as i just want this to become a permanent way that i live my life rather than just a fad, then put all the weight back on!

i realise if i want this to become permanent, i have to be realistic that, there are going to be days when i want to go out for dinner and eat a nice meal, or i want to eat some chocolate or a burger... i'm quite sure that to keep a successful diet, you have to allow yourself treats, otherwise you'll just end up caving in.. unless your will power is made of steel (which mine isnt!)

so, how do you all fit treats (or cheats, even!) into your diets without completely screwing up or binging?

thank you :)
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Replies

  • shadowofender
    shadowofender Posts: 786 Member
    I do the best I can every day. That way, when I want the occasional night out, even if it pushes me over calories, it's ok. It's about learning how often is acceptable for you to splurge.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    I've found that this is a personal question

    - some log the treats first and work in the rest around it
    - some are good at limiting themselves to small portions when calories allow
    - some have a cheat meal
    - some track everything and allow themselves to go over every once in awhile
  • Cerakoala
    Cerakoala Posts: 2,547 Member
    I plan my treats into my daily allowance. I love my ice cream lol. So I account for 1/2 a cup everynight and make sure I leave that there when I am planning my meals for the day :) and if I happen to go over then I go do some exercise to make up for it :)
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    I think it's personal. It depends on your goals, your will power and the way you view food. If I want a treat, and I have the calories, I eat it. If I don't, I don't. I (personally) don't believe in "cheat" days - but I'm a type A personality. I also don't believe in denying yourself things you enjoy.

    So that helps not at all, I'm sure :wink:
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    If I called my diet a regime I'd have to overthrow it.

    As for treats, I'm working to change my definition. Cookies no, fresh cherries, yes. Brownies no, bananas, yes. Chips no, nuts and seeds yes.

    I still have to count the calories, though.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    I have treats every day. I make sure I have room for them and that they fit into my macros. As far as cheating or binging, some days I am hungrier than others and will go over, but for the most part, as long as I've gotten enough protein and fiber throughout the day, I don't find myself wanting to binge or overeat in the evenings.

    The other part of your question, going out, is always harder for me. I try to work the meal into my calorie goal but tend to go over. I also very rarely go out to eat or order food; we do most of our cooking at home. If I know I'm going out, I'll either say "screw it, it's one day" and go over my calories, or I'll leave a few calories in the days leading up to it to help keep my weekly deficit in check.
  • curlygirl513
    curlygirl513 Posts: 199 Member
    There are days when I have quite a few calories at the end of the day and I eat something sweet and off the program. I'm not going to lie, I love It's It's. Also, I have on the weekends splurged a bit, but not that bad.

    My weight loss is 10 pounds in 13 days. I am a vegan and I eat whole foods. I am not eating refined sugar, unless it is a treat occasionally. But I love how this is going for me.
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
    I meal plan, so that allows me to pre log my dinner, and I eat the same thing for breakfast every morning. So, I take the remaining calories, and use them however I want to use them. If I have 500 calories left, I could eat 1.67 donuts, or I could use them more wisely.
  • stasik1950
    stasik1950 Posts: 3
    My treats are usually fruit or raw vegetables with a little homemade dip of some kind. Or I much on seeds and nuts. This is easy now because it's summer in NE Ohio and fresh fruit is easy and local and delicious. But every once in a while, like tonight, I go out and have Chinese, which is one of my favorites, log the calories and live with the fact that I am WAAAAAYYYYY over for the day. I stay away from food like ice cream and sherbet because I have no control over how much I eat when I have it in the house. I will eat it until it's gone. It's really all about knowing yourself, your triggers and what works for you. Good luck.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I have treats very regularly. An ice cream sundae every Sunday, chocolate covered almonds a couple times a week, bunless burgers once a week. I just budget my calories and I don't give myself a needlessly low calorie budget to start with.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I pre-log my day, and tweak things where I need to. This is a huge help for filling out your diary. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity

    ETA I eat ice cream for breakfast a lot. I weigh it and log it in grams, because it's more accurate, and makes it easier to tweak. :smile:
  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    I plan my treats into my daily allowance. I love my ice cream lol. So I account for 1/2 a cup everynight and make sure I leave that there when I am planning my meals for the day :) and if I happen to go over then I go do some exercise to make up for it :)

    I do this, too. Only instead of a scoop of ice cream, I usually have an ice cream sandwich. :)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I pre-log my day, and tweak things where I need to. This is a huge help for filling out your diary. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity

    ETA I eat ice cream for breakfast a lot. I weigh it and log it in grams, because it's more accurate, and makes it easier to tweak. :smile:

    I do this. Except I eat my ice cream after dinner, but I do prefer baked goods for breakfast.

    My diary is open.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    I've also started my own regime, and in this country the president eats cupcakes, damn it
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    I've also started my own regime, and in this country the president eats cupcakes, damn it

    Ooh, please let me bake cupcakes for you :love: I'm a sucker for despots.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    Oh, to the OP--I've got to get some groceries in my house soon, so no treats lately (well, I did eat McDonald's for supper--instead of a regular meal, though. NOT in addition to--make it fit my calories). But when I have treats and sweets or whatever in the house, I prelog 200 calories in the evening (my snacky "time") to fit whatever I want into that. I find that not overly restrictive--that's 1-1/2 servings of chips, or a nice serving of ice cream or a latte. No deprivation or restriction for me. That's my recipe for crashing and burning.
  • RedArizona5
    RedArizona5 Posts: 465 Member
    Im not a dog or a child so I don't treat myself unless its to a new pair of birthday shoes. I am over the deprivation mode and learning the balance of portion control and eating good food and yeah fat can BE a good food. Without fat you would die. Unless you have too much than it will be your demise and thats why most of us are here:)yeah no holding back on some pizza or cupcakes because hey it was my birthday a few days ago and i LOVE CUPCAKES:) especially made at home like black forest ones with cherry filling mmm. except the cherries are starting to go bad cause someone left them out the fridge-ooops:)
  • qwicherbytchin
    qwicherbytchin Posts: 42
    I love treats! My husband and I go out to dinner quite often. Most of the time I'll choose something a little healthier, but there are times I'll go to Red Robin and get a burger that's 900 calories...and pair it with broccoli instead of fries. Or we o to the best pasta restaurant ever...and my favorite meal is 1100 calories without the bread and salad and dessert that is included. (I only eat half the pasta and save the rest for lunch later in the week). I'm down 17.5 lbs in 2.5 months. Sure...I could have lost more, but this is how I figure I'll be eating when I'm at goal, so I don't deny myself much.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    If I called my diet a regime I'd have to overthrow it.

    As for treats, I'm working to change my definition. Cookies no, fresh cherries, yes. Brownies no, bananas, yes. Chips no, nuts and seeds yes.

    I still have to count the calories, though.

    I found it counter-productive to think of fruit as treats. It's got important stuff that I was missing because I was waiting to deserve a treat. I try to eat fruit once a day.

    Of course I eat a serving of dark chocolate 4x a week for the iron. Ah. The things we are forced to do!
  • MouseTmom
    MouseTmom Posts: 201 Member
    I like the 40 calorie fudgsicle fudge pops.
  • CallMeRuPaul
    CallMeRuPaul Posts: 151 Member
    at the beginning my diet I was very strict and I didn't allow myself any treats. my will power was made of steel. my weight loss was so rapid that after 5 weeks, I lost the weight that I wanted to lose and still kept losing. i do so much cardio that i can now eat whatever i want, but i do try to make healthier choices.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    I try to allow myself treats, even if small treats.

    Tonight, those treats might be chocolate chunk cookies or peanut butter cookies. I have batter for both in the fridge, now I just need to make a decision. I only get one, but one is better than none.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    I try to allow myself treats, even if small treats.

    Tonight, those treats might be chocolate chunk cookies or peanut butter cookies. I have batter for both in the fridge, now I just need to make a decision. I only get one, but one is better than none.

    I vote peanut butter.
  • CourtLloyd
    CourtLloyd Posts: 128 Member
    I think you need to remember that there is always going to be the 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween...and then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc....There will always be something going on where you can eat poorly. If you know you have days coming up where you are going to a picnic, party, etc., then you can plan around those and try to watch your portion control and calories.

    When I know I'm not going to be able to eat how I'd like to eat, I try to exercise that day and really watch what I'm eating. I also don't think you should deprive yourself of treats, but like the others said, in moderation.
  • BusyBirdMommy
    BusyBirdMommy Posts: 22
    I've just started - but I've been mentally preparing for this for several months. I decided to experiment with new / different snack-type foods to find some low-cal, and possibly healthy, snacks that I could indulge in daily. I'm a serious snacker and I knew coming into this that giving up "snacking' would make me feel deprived ... and if I felt deprived, I would quit in no time. One of my favorites is the little fruit snacks ... hahahaha! My son (just two) enjoys them every now and then. One day he wanted mommy to eat one, so I did. Surprisingly, they were quite good - and on the low-side for calories (especially compared to my old favorites ... candy bars, etc.). :-)

    And, with a two year old (and a 13 & 7 year old) we don't go out to eat too often. When we do, I intend to take a "moderation" approach. Indulge a little, but do what I can to moderate the damage by ordering some healthier items (a side salad - not fries, etc.).
  • mickiebabs
    mickiebabs Posts: 183 Member
    I try to prelog so that I am sure it can fit into my goals for the day. Also, it may be more expensive but I go for individual servings or a package with few items in it. Like today, I bought a 4 pack of cookies. 1 for me and each of the kids. I could have bought a 12 pack for cheaper per cookie but at nearly 300 calories per cookie, I didn't want the temptation of having cookies left in the house.

    As for eating out, I've started looking online to see what the nutritional information is for the restaurant before I go. It's allowed me to eat all kinds of things that I thought I couldn't eat while loosing weight. And don't be afraid to ask for a container to take half your meal home with you. That right there turns an 800 calorie meal into a 400 calorie one and you get to eat that "treat" meal twice!
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I try to allow myself treats, even if small treats.

    Tonight, those treats might be chocolate chunk cookies or peanut butter cookies. I have batter for both in the fridge, now I just need to make a decision. I only get one, but one is better than none.

    I vote peanut butter.

    I second the peanut butter. I'm too late, aren't I?
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    i have a treat every day of some sort. a life where all you do is deny yourself is not life at all in my opinion. also its summer. its hot. frozen treats are a necessity.

    but when i buy things that are treats i portion them into individual bags or containers and mark the calories and fat with a sharpie. and when i am out i choose wisely and i get one scoop of sherbet or sorbet and skip the new york super fudge chunk (luckily i lik ethe fruity stuff better anyway) or i get frozen yogurt with fruit or mochi as a topping and not reeses peanut butter cups....

    also i am working on retraining my brain into not always thinking that rewards for things should be food. i never feel good when i reward myself that way anymore.

    like... i reward a good week by buying myself a fitness magazine or some makeup or something. something that helps me either continue to do well next week, or show off my new self as i work on it.
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    Just do the best you can. Have a treat and enjoy it.

    This question is really a case by case thing. In my case, being in recovery from an ED, I find it's best not to worry about limiting treats at all as long as I don't binge on them. Giving into my cravings has really guided me along my recovery. If I find myself wanting an Oreo, I go to the store and buy Oreos. But if I find myself wanting to binge on them, I breathe and think about the reasons I feel like binge eating Oreos (and often, once I've tackled each one, I don't want to binge anymore). For a short period (early in), I gave into even binge eating - but this was because I knew my body was craving things for a reason. Now, I just eat what I want, when I want, but make sure it's because I'm actually hungry and not because I'm bored or depressed/sad/etc.

    I think that would be a general good rule of thumb to follow for most. Learning moderation can be hard, but I have found that usually if I want to overeat or binge, there's a reason (usually boredom or depression). And if either of those are why I want to snack opposed to be kind of hungry but not hungry enough to eat a meal... then I find something else to do.
  • salvationsdying
    salvationsdying Posts: 205 Member
    If I know ahead of time I'm going to eat a "treat" I work my day around it. If I want a treat and I have the calories left. If I want a treat and I'm out of calories, well I'm out of luck. I also prelog. I decide dinner before I even eat breakfast. Everyday. I log dinner in and then sometimes even my lunch. Like today my entire day was logged before I even ate breakfast. Same with yesterday. And I had enough calories to eat a dark reese cup package and have a 20oz of mtn dew voltage which I haven't had since I started this in febuary. Its all about figuring it in. I don't do cheat days however because I find the guilt the next day is just not worth it. If I want a "cheat meal" I work it in somehow and do some kind of workout to work it off. :)

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