I'm so glad I'm not the only one!! I think I would fail miserably if I didn't eat what I wanted.

Tout...Thanks for the link to your post. I love the idea and have thought about eating this way before. How many calories do you eat in a day?

Originally Posted by Curvaliscious:
I'm so glad I'm not the only one!! I think I would fail miserably if I didn't eat what I wanted.

Tout...Thanks for the link to your post. I love the idea and have thought about eating this way before. How many calories do you eat in a day?

I usually have between 1300 - 1400 calories per day. On occassion I have around 1500.

Originally Posted by Curvaliscious:
I'm wondering how you all feel about sweets. I LOVE chocolate. Seriously.

Years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest. The cover of the magazine said eat sweets and lose weight and it had a picture of Oreos on the front. It talked about that fact that if you like something eat it and figure it into your daily calories. They recommend a 250 cal. daily snack. So, being a seriously chocolate lover, I had to try (this was years ago).

I ate approx 1400-1600 calories and EVERY day I had a 250-300 cal. treat. I didn't eat fat free treats, etc. I ate pre-packaged sweets or Starbucks drinks. At the beginning of each day I plan what I'd eat for the day (including my snack). Naturally, I ate way more salads, fruit and veggies...to allow room for the 250 cal. treat. I lost 80 pnds. I pretty much ate most of the foods I ate before, just way less of it. My fillers were veggies and fruit.


After babies and the stress from moving from one state to the other, I did gain about half back.

While that method worked for me before, I'm really trying to hold off on approaching sweets (besides frozen yogurt) until I can get a handle on everything.

I'm curious as to whether anyone else eats this way? I guess I'm hoping to find some support once I get to that place.

How much your daily treat allowance is, should depend on your daily calorie intake. You have to be careful, because when you are on a reduced calorie diet, it is harder to get in all of the nutrients that your body needs.

For instance, if you are on 1200 calories a day, 300 calories for treats is too much-that is 1/4 of your daily intake!

I usually try to go for the 90% rule. Eat healthy 90% of your calories, and allow 10% of your daily intake for treats.

1800 calories: 180 of it in treat allowance
1500 calories: 150 of it in treat allowance
1200 calories: 120 of it in treat allowance

and so on...

You have to be sure that your treats do not become 25% or 30% or 40% of your daily intake...or they are no longer "treats", but a good portion of your diet.

Originally Posted by aphil:
How much your daily treat allowance is, should depend on your daily calorie intake. You have to be careful, because when you are on a reduced calorie diet, it is harder to get in all of the nutrients that your body needs.

For instance, if you are on 1200 calories a day, 300 calories for treats is too much-that is 1/4 of your daily intake!

I usually try to go for the 90% rule. Eat healthy 90% of your calories, and allow 10% of your daily intake for treats.

1800 calories: 180 of it in treat allowance
1500 calories: 150 of it in treat allowance
1200 calories: 120 of it in treat allowance

and so on...

You have to be sure that your treats do not become 25% or 30% or 40% of your daily intake...or they are no longer "treats", but a good portion of your diet.

I used to follow an 80/20 rule, aphil. Now I no longer follow that rule but make my treats count. In other words, there is a "healthy" (my definition of healthy) aspect to my treats. For example, I make my own frappucinos which include 1 cup of 1% milk, have meal replacement bars that are loaded with whole grains and vitamins, and have chocolate covered nuts.

I have a terrible sweet tooth. Throughout my diet phase and now in maintenance phase, I've always planned in some kind of daily sweet treat. Maybe it was just diet jello mixed with FF/SF yogurt, but it was always something. I just count it into my calorie allowance. If I didn't indulge my sweet tooth in some controlled way, I would feel totally deprived and really grouchy. If I'm too strict, ultimately I'll just binge. So working sweets into my plan helps keep me on plan. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I eat 1-2 Dove Dark Chocolate Promise squares every evening. They only have 42 calories each, and are totally delicious. It makes me feel like I'm not even on a diet!