I like chocolate shakes!

danniell2016
danniell2016 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
There I said it. So, I need to figure out how to not skip a meal if I want to have a homemade shake from the soda shop.

I am counting calories, working out 3 days a week and started weights the other 2. So, last week I had ice cream instead of supper. I gained weight.

How do I balance? I don't want to give up my food. *sigh*
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Replies

  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
    Give yourself a cheat day, but do so in moderation. Do you really need to drink all your milk shake? NO! So only drink half, split it with someone or throw the rest away.

    Remember ice cream is in 1/2 cup formulas (you really should measure in grams). You could of easily eaten more than you think. But one day of bad isn't going to cause you to gain. So here are some questions:

    1. Are you measuring your food? Liquids in cups and solids on a food scale?
    2. Are you reading labels right? Remember some packages have TWO servings
    3. How long have you been on your diet? Have you been losing? Any inches coming off?
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    In trying to lose weight, many of us who are successful find that in order to stay satiated we've chosen to forego drinking our calories in favour of eating them. A 500 calorie milkshake is simply not in the cards on a regular basis.

    But there's no reason to give them up entirely. Split it with someone, have them less frequently and plan the rest of your allotment that day around leaving room for a treat like this now and then.

    From strictly a weight loss basis, you *could* lose weight drinking milkshakes every day. Unfortunately, that wouldn't leave a heck of a lot of room in the rest of your day for other foods. :)
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited April 2016
    Also - are you saying you had only one milkshake last week and gained weight? If so, the milkshake probably isn't the culprit, here. Inaccurate logging, and water retention from the increase in exercise or time-of-month could well be the issue. :)
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    danniell2016 wrote: »
    There I said it. So, I need to figure out how to not skip a meal if I want to have a homemade shake from the soda shop.

    I am counting calories, working out 3 days a week and started weights the other 2. So, last week I had ice cream instead of supper. I gained weight.

    How do I balance? I don't want to give up my food. *sigh*

    How often are you having a shake? You can always look at your calorie goal in terms of a weekly goal rather than a daily one. If you were to "bank" 50 calories for 6 days of the week, on the 7th day you'd have 300 calories to play around with for your shake. It would still probably mean smaller meals on that day, but it would allow you to work in the shake once a week.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    You didn't gain weight in one day, at least nothing to worry about. Have your shakes on heavy calorie burn days if it helps, and make them fit your calorie and macro goals. That said, you may have to cut back the portion or frequency if they interfere with hitting those calorie and macro goals.
  • callie006
    callie006 Posts: 151 Member
    If you had one milkshake instead of a meal, that probably isn't the source of any weight gain unless you mean the temporary kind that can happen with water balance. Also, when I start weight training after a break, I usually hold on to a ton of water weight for a few days.

    I don't think a milkshake every once in a while is a bad thing. Every once in a while I have a homemade milk shake (which I use to chase some Lactaid) and don't regret a sip. I just try to eat sensibly most of the time. If I try to totally ban favorite foods, the diet never lasts long.
  • 5n0wbal1
    5n0wbal1 Posts: 429 Member
    A great compromise is to make your shake pack a little more nutritional punch. I'm in love with chocolate shakes too, but I find that a good substitute is a chunky monkey smoothie. It has milk, vanilla yogurt, frozen bananas, peanut butter, and chocolate syrup. It makes a good breakfast substitute.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    Have you tried making shakes at home that are more calorie friendly? I really enjoy mixing chocolate protein powder with low fat ice cream. Actually very good if mixed right, and I wouldn't feel guilty about calling it a "meal" because I got a decent amount of protein.
    I am also a fan of the calorie banking method, I have had success using it so far. Sometimes it's nice to have the real thing.
    The thing with calorie dense treats such as shakes though, and losing and then maintaining the loss, we may not be able to enjoy them as much as before. I try to remind myself that this is a lifestyle change. I know for myself I will not be able to maintain my loss if I don't change my bad habits. (I lost over 60 lbs a few years ago, but I didn't make any effort to start eating better or make any changes other than eating less while trying to lose, and I quickly gained all the weight back as a result, and found some more.)
    So from my experience- find lower calorie alternatives, have the real thing *occasionally*, but most importantly work towards a healthier future. Which may mean not having the same treats as often.
  • Cyriatan
    Cyriatan Posts: 23 Member
    If you gained fat, and not water (you can't know this on a one-week basis, weigh yourself for a month having a certain habit and see...) you didn't gain that fat from that shake. If you're generally eating below maintenance, do some cardio and weights and even more, substitute a meal with the shake...there is NO way the math allows you to have excess calories to allow fat gain. Maybe maintain if you have little to lose. So if you really gained then you're counting wrong.

    If you keep doing what you were doing you'll get the same results. You HAVE TO give up former habits, like if you were eating a shake every week well, maybe that has to start being once a month; if you want to keep that weekly shake then other things will have to change, maybe diet related or maybe activity intensity. Just do your math, math won't lie to you or anyone for that matter. Anyway, if you do cardio like at least 3-4 times a week and eat under maintenance most of the time do your math and you'll see that you have space for a shake in the week, unless yeah, it has like 3500 kcal and that's probably not the case. If it is, then just change your soda shop... ;)

    As you get leaner the deficit will become more little so keep that in mind: to change yourself, you need to change what you have been doing so far.
  • ssakcik
    ssakcik Posts: 121 Member
    I make my own "milkshakes" at home... frozen banana, almond milk, honey and raw cacao powder. They're yummy... If I want them a bit creamier I add skyr (an islandic yogurt).
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
    Now I'm craving a chocolate shake!
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    You didn't gain weight from the shake unless it was 3500 calories.
    This. Gaining weight only happens when you eat 3500 above your maintenance.

    Drink your shake if you like, just include the calories in your daily allotment and be happy.
  • subakwa
    subakwa Posts: 347 Member
    A Cafetière (or French Press I think they are called in the US) makes a good "cheat's thick shake". Just use semi-skimmed milk, some good cocoa powder and the. Use the mesh to aerate the milk by pushing it up and down hard for a couple of minutes. By doing this the milk goes temporarily thick and creamy feeling and increases in volume (really all the small bubbles), so for relatively few cals you get a choccy thick shake.
  • anne_driessen
    anne_driessen Posts: 55 Member
    Make one, and instead of ice cream use a frozen Banana and/or unsweetend almond milk (although i personally like the banana for a thicker texture) and cocoa powder - It might taste a little sweeter but for me it satisfies the craving - and is a significant lower calorie count :)
  • Btheodore138
    Btheodore138 Posts: 182 Member
    I'm also on the unsweetened vanilla almond milk/frozen banana milkshake board. It's seriously yummy. I found these chocolate flavoring squirts at the store, so I can basically have a choco-banana milkshake for 120 calories now. It's the best thing ever.
  • danniell2016
    danniell2016 Posts: 6 Member
    More than likely it is water retention.
  • danniell2016
    danniell2016 Posts: 6 Member
    I had a long post, it took the first line...so, I said thank you and love the advice. Healthy shakes is great! And the support is awesome! Now if you all could just come to my house and help keep me focused!
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    You could not have gained weight in the way you are describing. Obviously you are eating more than you realize.
  • lizwooshy
    lizwooshy Posts: 110 Member
    I enjoy weigh-ing out a serving of store-brand neopolitan ice cream ( or 1.5 servings if I have the cals) and adding a few glugs of skim-milk (<.5 cup) and mixing it up with my spoon real good. Not as glamerous as a store bought shake, but hits the spot for ~200 calories.

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