Is a daily treat a bad thing?

Bianica12691 · July 2016

So, I'm a super sugar addict. It's one of the biggest reasons I gained weight and thus, came here. I also don't have the total willpower necessary to just shut off the craving and say no 100% of the time. To compensate, I've been allowing myself to have 1 "sweet treat" at the end of each day if I was good and have enough room in my calories, carbs, fats and sugars (or if it will only put it over by 1 or 2 grams). However at work today, I was told that was cheating and basically was making the diet worthless. Should I take stick in what they said, or is what I'm doing okay? Just want to know if any of you have done/heard anything similar.

diannethegeek · July 2016

I lost all of my weight allowing daily treats as long as they fit into my calorie and nutrition goals. The important thing is to find what works best for you.

nutmegoreo · July 2016

Why would it make your diet worthless if it fits within your goals? Some people fall hard into the myths of the dieting industry. If it helps you feel sane and it fits your goals, there is nothing wrong with it. I like have some ice cream, beer, or wine each day. It still works.

arditarose · July 2016

Oh yes. Had my rice krispie treat today.

Wynterbourne · July 2016

If it fits into your calories it's not cheating. They'd probably accuse me of cheating if they saw all the different foods I eat (having pizza tomorrow), but they can call it whatever they want. I don't care, because it hasn't stopped my 94 lb loss so far.

PAV8888 · July 2016

Bianica12691 wrote: »

So, I'm a super sugar addict. It's one of the biggest reasons I gained weight and thus, came here. I also don't have the total willpower necessary to just shut off the craving and say no 100% of the time. To compensate, I've been allowing myself to have 1 "sweet treat" at the end of each day if I was good and have enough room in my calories, carbs, fats and sugars (or if it will only put it over by 1 or 2 grams). However at work today, I was told that was cheating and basically was making the diet worthless. Should I take stick in what they said, or is what I'm doing okay? Just want to know if any of you have done/heard anything similar.

WT*kittens* is cheating?

Are you controlling your calories and bringing your calories in and out to a balance that will achieve what you want?

Do you have healthy targets and are you achieving them in a healthy manner?

Is the manner you're pursuing your targets conducive to your success and is what you're doing helping you lay down foundations for long term success?

if your answers are yes, you sure as *kittens* ain't cheating yourself.

Mycophilia · July 2016

I wouldn't take nutrition advice from randoms at work seriously.

CooCooPuff · July 2016

I would be very sad if I couldn't use my exercise calories at the end of the day on something sweet. I had some graham crackers and cookies and cream spread tonight.

It hasn't stopped my weight loss and I do try to fill the rest of my day with more whole foods.

AnnPT77 · July 2016

As long as your nutrition is sound, including the treat is fine. (If you only cared about weight loss, and didn't care about health, eating the treat would be fine as long as you stayed in a calorie deficit, regardless of whether your nutrition is sound. But not caring about health is a silly idea, in my world.)

People - especially those who aren't very knowledgeable - engage in "magical thinking" about weight loss.

Absent some strange medical condition in an individual, there are not "magic foods" that cancel out calories, or, on the flip side, sabotage your whole weight loss if you eat even 5 calories worth of them. And individual foods don't have a moral value: They aren't "good" or "bad".

But you were smart to realize that you, personally, wouldn't be satisfied with your new way of eating, and probably wouldn't stick to it, if you didn't allow for a treat now and then. Unsustainable ways of eating are one thing that derail quite a few people.

For weight loss, maintain a calorie deficit. For health, make sure you get well-rounded nutrition from your way of eating as a whole, and get some exercise. That's it.

SLLRunner · July 2016

Bianica12691 wrote: »

So, I'm a super sugar addict. It's one of the biggest reasons I gained weight and thus, came here. I also don't have the total willpower necessary to just shut off the craving and say no 100% of the time. To compensate, I've been allowing myself to have 1 "sweet treat" at the end of each day if I was good and have enough room in my calories, carbs, fats and sugars (or if it will only put it over by 1 or 2 grams). However at work today, I was told that was cheating and basically was making the diet worthless. Should I take stick in what they said, or is what I'm doing okay? Just want to know if any of you have done/heard anything similar.

Treats are wonderful, and I have them each day.

I suggest chucking that negative talk. You don't need to allow yourself a treat if you are good, you just need to make sure it fits in your calorie goals.

Pay no attention to people who say such horrible things to you. Nip all such conversations in the bud and don't open yourself up to them.

Bianica12691 · July 2016

You guys are just beautiful! Thank you!

MaureenHudgens · July 2016

I don't think "diets" work. If tracking my calories (including those from treats) can be a way of life to lose and keep the weight off, all is good!

dragon_girl26 · July 2016

I eat something sweet each day...usually ice cream or chocolate, occasionally cake..whatever strikes my fancy. 83 lbs gone and still going without any issues. If I had a choice between giving up treats and staying fat, I probably would have stayed fat.
The people I work with have strange ideas of their own...my job is to not take any of them seriously.

jmidd97 · July 2016

As long as it fits your calories,nothing wrong with it, regarding fat loss. Deficit is what matters. About a month ago I had some strange cravings, and ate a burger king ice cream sundae every day. Sometimes twice a day. Maybe even three. But I made sure it fit into my calorie deficit, and sure enough - I kept losing weight.

Christine_72 · July 2016

I have a sweet dessert every single night. I rotate between a few different ones depending how many calories i have left for the day.

bethannien · July 2016

I have to have something sweet every day. Right now I'm eating a couple of dark chocolate wedges every night. It makes me happy, it helps me stick to my healthy eating plan, it's win win.

Frankly, I think you'd be cheating yourself if you forced yourself to live with a diet that made you unhappy. You have to be able to live with this long term so do it in a way that you can stick to!

Whitezombiegirl · July 2016

I dont see how a diet is anything other than normal eating but with a calorie deficit. If it was true that you had to eat special food or cut out things to be slim then we would have an awful lot more overweight people.

Skinny all my life with a balenced diet.

lynn_glenmont · July 2016

Sure. I had peanut butter at lunch, a full-size chocolate bar (1.5 oz) for an afternoon snack, and a huge-volume, 700-ish calorie dinner (nearly a quarter-pound of ham, a BLT on dense homemade bread, kale sauteed in 7 g bacon fat, and finished off the rest of the tomato that wouldn't fit on the BLT). I was way too stuffed to think about eating any dessert, but I still had 300 calories to work with and was a couple of grams short of both my protein and fiber goals, and after a while I decided I might not have room to eat but I could manage to drink my dessert, so I made an egg cream with homemade chocolate syrup (if you're not familiar with egg creams, they're essentially a small amount of very chocolate milk with as much seltzer water as you can fit in the glass without the foam spilling over). A little protein from the milk, a little fiber from the cocoa in the syrup, and BAM! Hit my protein, fat, fiber, and micros with lots of tasty food (I don't eat stuff I don't like, and I feel like everything I had today was a treat, including the kale), and I ended the day 200 calories under my deficit goal of 1900 calories (it balances out -- I had a couple of just-shy-of-maintenance days earlier in the week).

I lost 30 pounds and have kept it off for more than two and a half years having "sweet treats" most days, so, with all due respect, your co-workers don't know "kitten" about how losing weight works.

yesimpson · July 2016

Sounds to me like you're doing it right: pre-planning your food so you're eating a balanced diet but keeping to your calorie goal, and then enjoying something in a small portion at the end of the day so you have something to keep you motivated about not making unwise choices in the daytime. Makes total sense to me.

sardelsa · July 2016

I have dessert almost every night. For me, balance has been the key to sustainability. Definitely pay no attention to your co-workers

terricherry2 · July 2016

Fellow sugar fiend here. Screw that. I have something sweet most days. If it fits your calories and macros, you don't have a medical reason not to have it and it keeps you on track then I say go for it. I love Gu mini chocolate pots. 200 cals of delicious ganache goodness.

LivingtheLeanDream · July 2016

Enjoy the treat, most of us work that way, we just make it fit into our calorie allowance and enjoy, guilt free

oolou · July 2016

Ignore the 'experts' at work. I will often end my day with a treat, whether savory (hello Tuc crackers!) or sweet (banana with greek yoghurt and dark chocolate crumbled over the top or a magnum mini? yes pls).

If it's within your calorie allowance then go for it. Even if it puts you a little over, it's worth it if it helps you stick to your eating plan long term.

rybo · July 2016

While ideally no, it depends on the person. Some are triggered and become obsessed fitting in that treat. Others it's as seamless as can be.
I used to have a sweet treat daily. Not a big deal. Then for whatever reason, I skipped it. I didn't die. The daily treat became less and less. Now if I want something sweet I have it guilt free because it comes at randomly spaced intervals. I think there is no problems with a daily treat as long as it doesn't become a focal point.

Then there is also the part of my brain that feel a treat is a treat because it's not had daily, but that's a different discussion

lizzy_satellite · July 2016

I love sugary food, but I don't label it 'good', 'bad', 'treat', 'cheat', 'reward' or anything like that. If it fits into my food plans, it's in. A day without chocolate is an unusual day.

lemurcat12 · July 2016

I have treats (as I consider them) most days. They aren't necessarily sweet, although sometimes they are (sorbet last night).

CasperNaegle · July 2016

So long as you fit it into your calories no it's not bad at all.

Francl27 · July 2016

People are stupid. It's all about calories.

upoffthemat · July 2016

Some people still think that to lose weight you have to punish yourself. Most of those people aren't very successful at losing weight.

WinoGelato · July 2016

I would ditch the following concepts/labels as they are not healthy or helpful, IMO:

Sugar Addict (especially super sugar addict!)
Cheating
Worthless Diet
Eat a treat if I've been good

This isn't a thread to debate whether or not sugar is addictive but regardless of whether you believe it is or not, many people who at one point struggled with sugar cravings are able to learn to eat them in moderation just fine and find that to be a long term sustainable plan without feeling overly restricted.

Cheating - if it fits in your calorie goal for the day and you've eaten a primarily nutrient dense variety of foods, how is it cheating? How would it make the diet worthless? Does the small cupcake at the end of the day undo all the nutrients from the Greek yogurt, berries, quinoa, chicken and vegetables I ate yesterday?

"If I've been good I can have a treat" - you aren't a dog, you don't need to reward yourself with food. if you want something sweet, plan to have it, pre log it and fit it into your day. If it is a little more calorie dense and doesn't work today, then save up 50 cals each day and enjoy it on the weekend. That's still not cheating. It's part of your plan, it fits within your weekly goal, and it helps keep you on track for long term satisfaction.

For what it's worth, I lost 30 lbs and am now maintaining. I never cut anything out. I eat pizza, drink wine, have cupcakes. I added lots of healthy things to my diet and exercise routine but never cut anything other than calories.

The comments in your original post smack of blogs, woo, and Pinterest philosophies about what one has to cut out in order to be successful. The only thing you have to cut is calories. Period.

Packerjohn · July 2016

Not enough information given. How low is the OP going on daily calories. If a female is around the 1200 calories generally regarded as the minimum to get adequate nutrition, she probably doesn't have room in the diet for a daily treat. At the minimum calorie levels foods need to be nutritionally dense or health will suffer.

Is a daily treat a bad thing?

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