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.

Is a daily treat a bad thing?

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