Not sure how to incorporate treats

What sort of treats? and how many calories per treat?

I work in an office that seems to permanently have cakes, crisps, chocolate and other snacks available. If I really want something, I enter it in MFP first and figure out how much it's going to affect my day. I also look at what option will give me the most satisfaction for the least number of calories! Usually, I can offset it by spending longer in the gym in the evening or having less pasta or whatever with my dinner. Oddly, having given up all such things (and more) for Lent, I have no trouble walking passed the desk where such things are laid out.

sattheer wrote: »

Hello,

I'm trying to incorporate healthier eating and more vegetables into my meals, but I think I need treats too. In the past, I tend to go crazy and stuff my face with treats when I feel too deprived of them. However, I'm worried about overdoing it. That means eating more than I plan to, or eating treats at unplanned times (right now I have no treats in the house whatsoever).

How can I incorporate them so I don't feel deprived, without overdoing it? Also, what if the times I plan to treat myself don't match up with the times I have cravings?

If you like, you can set aside a few calories one day for a treat on another day (when you have cravings), or come in a few (literally a few, not many hundreds) calories under goal every day and bank them for an occasional random treat when you really crave it. As long as you come close to goal over a period of time, and don't persistently undereat most days in order to bank for treats (which creates binge risk), your weight loss results will be the same.

OTOH, a regular "scheduled" treat may help avoid cravings from even happening (especially if combined with some other strategies, if needed, for boredom, stress, fatigue, habit, social situations, or other potential triggers for cravings, that aren't actually truly a food issue).

In some treat-food categories that I had trouble moderating, I did better if I bought single-serve packages (with some, I can have a stockpile of single-serves; others are better if I only buy one at a time so there's not more in the house, or eat only when I'm dining out). Examples of single-serves might be an individually-wrapped Ghirardelli or Lindt chocolate, a mini cup of ice cream, a frozen fruit or yogurt bar, or a one-serving bag of salty snacks. Pre-portioning snacks from bigger containers works for some people, too.

Don't forget to consider whether some healthy foods with reasonable calories might also be a treat: For me, some fresh berries or tropical fruits, nuts in a sensible portion, or special cheese can be treats, and also contribute positively to my nutritional goals. (Obviously, different people are going to find different foods treat-ish. What I'm trying to say is that many of us can get a little knee-jerk about thinking of foods as either "treat" or "healthy". That's a false dichotomy.)

I've been in maintenance now for almost 3 years, and have continued to work on getting to the point where there are more foods I can keep around, and only eat one serving from a big container without over-doing. It's a process.

Best wishes!

I try to fit in a treat almost every day either at lunch or dinner as a "dessert", and sometimes both if I can make it work and both are smallish (i.e., 2 flavored Peeps candies at lunch, 58 cal, and then a small scoop of ice cream at night for 150 cal). Like you, I find that if I deprive myself too much of sweets/treats I start to make poor decisions and overeat when I do have them. A little every day or nearly every day seems to work for me. I also find that it helps me to eat more vegetables and less of the other foods I don't like that much...for example I cut the bread/tortilla from a lot of sandwiches or wraps, and almost never eat chips anymore because I'd rather use those calories on a piece of chocolate (just for example).

Preportioning and finding lower calorie treats that I like has been effective for me.

My newest find is chocolate chip meringue cookies from Trader Joe’s—they’re 30 calories each and taste so sugary that I can’t even think about anything else sweet for a bit. There are some cookies at Asian grocery stores called “Hello Panda” that are surprising low in calories for a packet. I go for these kinds of things or fruit as treats on days that I don’t run and save my favorite Tony’s Chocoloney Salted Caramel chocolate bars or chocolate peanut butter ice cream for the days that I burn 500-1000 extra calories running.

My new favourite is a small tin of manderin segments with juice drained off and a tub of low cal jelly. This is a big bowlful of very sweet that comes in at 50-60 calories ( depending on jelly flavour ) . My old favourite is a mug of low cal hot chocalate ( tub says 40 per cup but I log 50 as I don't weigh the powder and use the scoop) so that's 2 treats a day for me for 100 calories ( approx ) that I plan on having every day but if I decide I want something else instead I have the other treat ( say ice cream, piece of cake etc) and not my normal treats. Missing normal treats doesn't feel too bad as you know it's there for tomorrow and I can deduct the 100 from the unusual treat which makes it easier to fit in to my daily allowance with a bit of a tweek to either food or exersize rather than having to almost miss a whole meal to make it fit . Different things work for different people so have a play around and find out what suits you X

Satisfy a sweet tooth with fruit if you can. It's healthier for you.

I personally allow myself one cheat/treat day per week. On that day I can eat whatever I want. Period.

Sometimes I cut back calories during the week in order to "binge" on the treat day. The next day I go right back to my regular routine.

Don't deny, just don't go overboard. It's easier to go overboard IMHO, if you treat everyday as opposed to once per week.

I schedule mine in ahead and budget for it. E.g. I like full-sugar soda, so I can have 1 small can - I budget ahead knowing that. After that it's sparkling water the rest of the day. If I tried to go totally without all the time, I'd end up drinking a 20 oz bottle at some point which is a lot more.

Seconding the single servings comment. Individually packaged small candies are good, because having to open another package to take a 2nd one is enough of a mental barrier/slows you down enough to not go nuts with it. E.g. I have some of these from costco on my desk in a candy dish for sharing with coworkers: http://www.wildophelia.com/coldbrew
Since they are individually packaged, it's pretty easy for me to eat 1 and stop, and at 47 calories that is not going to blow my day if I choose to have one. They're also very rich with chocolate/caramel/coffee flavor all together which also helps me not feel like I need another.

Also seconding brushing your teeth after whatever time of day you shouldn't eat anything else - the resistance of knowing I have to brush again and my minty-tasting mouth make it easy not to snack, just drink water instead.

As so many have said before me, I think that most of us who are most successful at losing weight or maintaining a healthy lifestyle tend to factor in “treats” regularly. If Oreos are your favorite food, pretending you’re never going to eat another Oreo is ridiculous. Rather than deprive yourself of them for a while, allow yourself enough calories to have a serving of your treat everyday. Depending on what you crave (if you have a common craving or if it changes from day to day), you can set that ahead of time or just set aside a couple hundred calories for whatever suits your fancy that day (which is what I tend to do). I personally have found that knowing I have those extra calories to use on whatever I want actually is very freeing, and have less cravings now. I think it’s because it’s less of this “I have to eat it now or never” mentality, and more like... “I can have that whenever the moment strikes me”.
As some other posters have mentioned, it might behoove you to separate out servings ahead of time, so you’re not tempted to eat that whole family size bag of Doritos. Or, if that’s still too much temptation for you (we’re all different) then don’t keep the foods your find most tempting in the house and just buy a single serving when the craving hits you. It takes some trial and error to find what best for you, but that’s almost never cutting out everything you love completely.
Finally, the time of day you eat your snacks does not matter... eat your treats when you want that, whether it be at breakfast, or right before bed.