Treats in moderation.. do they exsist??

I joined this site 5 day's ago now as a first step of getting back to full fitness. And the thing that as opened my eyes the most is just how much something like having a 1 portion slice of something like cheesecake can turn something that would have been a really good food day upside down. I just imputed a quarter of a cheesecake. that as thrown my fat grams limit over by 1, when before that I was 23 grams under my daily allowance.. quite a big jump for such a small pleasure!

Actually, I am a firm believer that TOTALLY cutting out any food you love is just setting yourself up to fail down the road and binge.

If you tell yourself you are a huge failure if you "cheat" and have a candy bar or something, it can really derail your motivation. Try telling yourself that anything you want to eat is allowed... in moderation, and occasionally. Add to it that if you eat anything not healthy, you have to make yourself work it off in the gym.

I promise, you'll start wondering whether that 800 calorie piece of cheesecake is worth the 7 miles you'll have to run to work it off. You'll end up controlling how much you eat, and just having a few small bites of the cheesecake instead of half of the whole cake.

I joined this site 5 day's ago now as a first step of getting back to full fitness. And the thing that as opened my eyes the most is just how much something like having a 1 portion slice of something like cheesecake can turn something that would have been a really good food day upside down. I just imputed a quarter of a cheesecake. that as thrown my fat grams limit over by 1, when before that I was 23 grams under my daily allowance.. quite a big jump for such a small pleasure!

Actually, I am a firm believer that TOTALLY cutting out any food you love is just setting yourself up to fail down the road and binge.

If you tell yourself you are a huge failure if you "cheat" and have a candy bar or something, it can really derail your motivation. Try telling yourself that anything you want to eat is allowed... in moderation, and occasionally. Add to it that if you eat anything not healthy, you have to make yourself work it off in the gym.

I promise, you'll start wondering whether that 800 calorie piece of cheesecake is worth the 7 miles you'll have to run to work it off. You'll end up controlling how much you eat, and just having a few small bites of the cheesecake instead of half of the whole cake.

I totally agree here!

I love Breyer's ice cream, so when I went to the store this week I looked for some with lower calories and fat and successfully found some. I have been measuring out 1/2cup which is the exact serving size and I find that I am satisfied. Before I was really calorie counting I would have eaten 4 times that.

Avalonis is absolutely right - don't deprive yourself, just cut the servings. It works.

Also agree, depriving yourself only leads to binging. Plan for some desserts. I usually have my desserts on heavy exercise days. I'm also very picky about what I'm willing to sacrifice calories for. For example, don't buy a carton of Good Value (Wal-mart brand) ice cream. Buy the good stuff (for me it's Breyer's). Often if you stick to a serving size it doesn't throw you. Make it really worth your while. Also, I've made cheesecake with neufchatel cheese and pudding, and often homemade stuff means less calories. Maybe you could say if you really want it you have to make it?

Whatever you do, never give up!

It depends on the person and the situation. I'm currently taking the "no" approach, and I don't mind it. I've eaten sweets and things like pizza and fries in moderation before. The only thing was I could NEVER have them in the house.

If you deny yourself something, you find you crave it more. If you know you CAN have it if you want it...suddenly, you dont want it that much anymore.

If you know you're going to have some later on, just work it into your daily calorie/fat budget...then see if its worth it. If you think it is, then just cut down what you have early on in the day, to make room for it later.

If you cut things out, you're probably going to get straight back onto them when you try to regain normality.

i can eat low fat ice cream. fruit snacks, cookies and small stuff like that. As far as fast food and unhealthy stuff like "hostess" brand and donuts go, I can't eat those anymore. I have gone "healthy" for awhile it all seems so unappetizing now. When its a holiday, at a sports event or get home late from work and am dying for food I eat fast food but that is about it.

I do like to eat one semi-unhealthy thing a day. I feel that if you take out sweets, you will eventually gorge. If you have a bad day, you might spend $20 on sweets, eat it all then hate yourself the next day. Its fine to have sweets but just be careful about it.

Yoplait yogurt has their "light" collection that has Boston creme pie,strawberry shortcake, red velvet cake, orange creme, key lime pie, etc. I use that for my junk food habits. Its yogurt but it solves my craving and only has 100 calories. I am sure u all have seen the commercial for Yoplait. lol

Want to go out for a burger? The Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger tastes just like the big one but only 350 cal. And don't order fries with that.

Ice Cream? Try low fat frozen yogurt. My favourite is Chapman's Cappucino with Dark Chocolate Flakes (100 cal per half cup).

My favourite cookies? Lu Pim's Raspberry, which has raspberry jam filling covered with chocolate. (140 cal for 3, and 2 come in under 100 cal.)

It's summer. Fresh fruit is divine! Try it on meringues made with sweetener instead of sugar.

There're lots out there that are not high fat. After a while, those decadent desserts taste gross anyway -- far too rich.