Healthy Snacking vs. Non Healthy Snacking (within your calor

exfatgurl
exfatgurl Posts: 12
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
Okay guys I have a question. I planned out my entire day today and had about 288 calories left. I decided to grab a bag of M&Ms that are 250 calories.

I know I should have gone for a healthier option but I was craving chocholate.

My question is the goal of the game is it to stay within calories? or To stay within calories with healthy options?

I am just curious for future reference. Thanks!

Replies

  • ruststar
    ruststar Posts: 489 Member
    I like the 90/10 rule - eat healthy 90% of the time, and don't worry about the other 10 percent.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    Are you still in your fat and sugar range? I eats bits of chocolate all the time i havnt had a full size bar or pack in a long time.
  • JesaGrace
    JesaGrace Posts: 799 Member
    I would like to know as well....
  • loopyloopla
    loopyloopla Posts: 2 Member
    i think you answered yourself it would be best to have healthy options but i reckon once or twice a week you can use those calories for something naughty because you are still within your allowance you should still be successful
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Okay guys I have a question. I planned out my entire day today and had about 288 calories left. I decided to grab a bag of M&Ms that are 250 calories.

    I know I should have gone for a healthier option but I was craving chocholate.

    My question is the goal of the game is it to stay within calories? or To stay within calories with healthy options?

    I am just curious for future reference. Thanks!

    depends on your goals, you can lose weight eating crap, but you wont be healthy. So are you doing this to lose weight or be healthy? That being said the occasional treat is fine and you can still be healthy doing it.

    If you eat crap all the time and are still under your caloires you will lose weight but not be healthy.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    If the occasional splurge keeps me from going off the deep end I see no harm in it. Just make sure it's not a way of life. :)
  • clairibou1
    clairibou1 Posts: 124
    i actually saw an interesting article a couple of months ago about a man whose diet consisted of only ho-hos and twinkies for a whole 10 weeks. he consumed about 1800 calories a day, and he managed to lose about 27 pounds. although doing something this extreme in the long-term would probably come back to haunt you, honestly, i don't think it makes a difference what you eat, as long as you are under fat and calorie goal limits. here is the link for the article. hope this helps!

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
    If the occasional splurge keeps me from going off the deep end I see no harm in it. Just make sure it's not a way of life. :)

    ditto. we all need treats no matter how bad they are. I liked someone else's answer too- the 90/10 rule about eating is a good way to go. I figure as long as I'm not having a bad treat every day and it's still within my calorie etc etc limits there's no harm. The whole point of this REALLY is to retrain your metabolism, right? It is for me at least. I want it to be able to handle stuff like that.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    The Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares really help satisfy a chocolate craving while getting you some good antioxidants. A chocolate product by Hersheys or Mars brand is not the good kind of chocolate for you anyway. Some folks don't even consider it 'real' chocolate.

    M&Ms are tough and I have to pretend they are not there on a daily basis at my work. We have M&M dispensers with little cups to take them back to your own office at my workplace (!)

    Just remember that milk chocolate has all kinds of stuff added to it and take it away from it's purest most beneficial form.
  • tammykoon
    tammykoon Posts: 298 Member
    Could you live the rest of your life without eating M&M's? Of course you could... but would you WANT to?
  • mum2littledove
    mum2littledove Posts: 53 Member
    I think it also depends on your personality and your relationship with food. The hardest thing I find about diets is that you still need to eat (obviously!!) but eat a restricted amount. Therein lies my problem - as soon as food is restricted, I find myself thinking about it more and wanting to eat more. I guess it's a historical "bad relationship" that started when I was in my early teens, when I used food as a comfort. Therefore, for me, the only way to do this successfully is to go "Cold Turkey" on junk food - I couldn't just eat one bag of M&Ms because that would be like an alcoholic falling of the wagon.

    However if you are able to eat a single "treat" and not fall off the wagon, so to speak, then you're one of the lucky ones, because you obviously have a better relationship with food and know when to stop. A single sweet treat now and again isn't going to do your health any harm, and if it helps you get through your weight loss journey then that's absolutely find.
  • Revolutionwithin
    Revolutionwithin Posts: 47 Member
    I'm not a big ice cream and chocolate person. A lot of people give me weird looks when I say I don't really like chocolate. That being said...around my TOM I usually get that craving and I enjoy the Skinny Cow Caramel Ice cream cones. They are 150 calories, taste the same as regular ice cream cones. They are expensive so it encourages me to save them! :) Now if this post was about chips...I wouldn't be able to help you lol. I can even let myself have a single chip in my mouth or I'd be a goner I know it.
  • lolathompson
    lolathompson Posts: 70 Member
    Could you live the rest of your life without eating M&M's? Of course you could... but would you WANT to?

    I wouldn't. I know your fine eating the m&ms. You have to form a habit you can live with. I would love to eat clean all the time but it just isn't possible for me. For the most part I eat well like 85/15 % . Kids, events, all play a role. Don't beat yourself up over every single thing you eat. You are doing great and your here so you have this in the bag.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    I'm not a big ice cream and chocolate person. A lot of people give me weird looks when I say I don't really like chocolate. That being said...around my TOM I usually get that craving and I enjoy the Skinny Cow Caramel Ice cream cones. They are 150 calories, taste the same as regular ice cream cones. They are expensive so it encourages me to save them! :) Now if this post was about chips...I wouldn't be able to help you lol. I can even let myself have a single chip in my mouth or I'd be a goner I know it.

    I know Skinny Cow products are mentioned a lot on MFP.

    The ingredient list on the caramel ice cream cones is pretty long and contains lots of stuff made in a lab:

    skim milk, cone [wheat flour, palm oil, soy lecithin, caramel color, salt], sugar, corn syrup, cone coating [sugar, coconut oil, salatrim, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, artificial flavor], caramel topping [corn syrup, sugar, water, sweetened condensed skim milk (condensed skim milk, sugar), modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavor, salt, carrageenan, soy lecithin, xanthan gum, caramel color], polydextrose, whey protein, cream, calcium carbonate, Inulin (Dietary Fiber), natural flavor, Propylene Glycol Monostearate, microcrystalline cellulose, Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose, guar gum, monoglycerides, sorbitol, carob bean gum, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, carrageenan, salt

    {you're better off with a little bit of the real stuff--typically contains around 5 all-natural ingredients. Your body is craving the real thing, and a batch of chemicals is not satisfying a real craving}
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    I do both, because I strongly believe "everything in moderation" is the key for me.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I eat 2 servings of fruit a day and am automatically ouside of my sugar range. However, when I'm within everything else I go for sweet. I just made the decision to eat 4 oz of fro yo instead of 2 hard boild eggs.
  • exfatgurl
    exfatgurl Posts: 12
    I agree with everyone! I like being able to know that I am not on a "diet" and everything is off limit after all I want to build best practices for real life situations.

    I just was curious about eating unhealthy and still losing. I like to know I can have enjoy myself and not be totally miserable! I think this is where I messed up last time
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
    I work at a chocolate factory, so I think if I did not let myself have a treat every once and a while, I would end up eating everything around me!!!
  • daisymae9801
    daisymae9801 Posts: 208 Member
    Could you live the rest of your life without eating M&M's? Of course you could... but would you WANT to?

    Yes.
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