I know alot of you have them, maybe for different reasons within your diets. But what are yours and how often do you allow yourself to have them?

i dunno how to answer this one really.... i dont really allow myself treats.... ?

if i want something i just work it into my cals for the day... !

I've redefined what "treat" means to me. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth, so I definitely want something sweet every day. But now the treats are things like strawberries with nonfat yogurt, skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, sugar free pudding, things like that. I plan that in as part of my daily calorie allowance and overall nutritional balance. This is strawberry season and I'm having a wonderful time with them ... Only 50 calories per cup!! Try them with a drizzle of sugar free chocolate syrup and a dollop of fat free whipped cream. Yum!

Like Pretty Paula, I make room for it in my caloric intake of the day.

It would be better if food was not a reward!

OK, that's my 2 cents.

I try not to make a distinction between "regular food" and "treat food." It's all just food. I do come up with some tasty snacks that might be considered treats--for example, 1/4 cup of part skim ricotta cheese with 1/4 or 1/3 cup of canned blueberries in light syrup. It's 160 cals, and it doesn't have a lot of artificial sweeteners, etc. 8 gm protein, 21 gm carbs, 5 gm fats.

When blueberries are in season I use them fresh--or one could use any other kind of berry.

Jay

I dont necessarily mean food, sometimes people go out and buy themselves clothes after a good month, I'm just interested really

When I treat myself it's always clothing. I'm a total shopaholic and it's such an amazing feeling to go buy something flattering in a smaller size and be able to feel great in it!!

I bought a huge 72% chocolate bar at Trader Joe's. I broke it up into squares (67 cal each). I eat one of them after dinner.

I don't think anyone said they were using these treats as rewards

I fit what I want into my calories each day. No sugar added fudgesicles are only 40 calories each, so I have those almost every day. Tonight we're going for smoothies at Tropical smoothie Cafe, and I'm having my absolute favorite, the peanut butter cup smoothie. Yes, it's just as high in calories as it sounds But I fit it into my plan for the day.

That said, there are some foods that I definitely need to consider "treats." Certain foods are major triggers for me, so I can only eat them very rarely and in a controlled environment. For example, cheesecake is one of these foods for me. I LOVE it and could easily sit and eat an entire cheesecake by myself in one sitting So, I have cheesecake on only rare occasions and only out at a restaurant where I can only have a single slice. It doesn't have to be a special occasion or anything, but I just can't have it very often or my cravings will go haywire

Every time I go down a size I go out and buy myself one really nice, professional outfit for teaching. I teach computer classes at the public library a couple times a month, and I like to look my best while I'm standing in front of strangers. Spending money on clothes is kind of a big deal for me, and I can't really do it for each new size, but it's important to me to have one good, well-fitting outfit, at least.

Also, sometimes I just *need* chocolate. Usually during TOM, my body demands it. Most of the time I live without it because it's easy for me to overeat it, but yesterday I bought a large Hershey bar and broke it into 100 calorie servings. They're in the freezer right now and I haven't lost it and binged on them yet, so so far so good.

I also have a glass (or two) of wine on Friday night. Sometimes a little more often than that, but I really try to keep it to just once a week. My problem is that I like sweet white wine, so I'm not only not getting the antioxidants in red, but I'm getting extra calories due to the higher sugar content. But I really don't enjoy dry wines, so if that's all I can have, I'm not going to bother.

For me, bagels are treats, since they aren't what I usually eat. But we go out to breakfast on Sundays to have bagels, and I just fit them into my calories for the day.

Sometimes I have ice cream, same thing.
It's not very often, the more treats you have, the slower the weight loss is.

I will have fewer 'decadent' foods, but when I do have them, they are of very good quality. Not just 100 cal snack packs or oreos. I will go to a bakery and get a home made cookie, or DH and I will split a dessert.

My clothing treats are not always rewards. For example I've been stuck in the high 190's for over a month so there's certainly nothing to reward there! But yesterday I went out and bought myself a cute summer dress just to treat myself. Kind of a way of saying "good job so far, keep going, keep trying!"

i agree... i reward with a day to myself, pottering about the house or doing something i enjoy...

mostly i think weight loss is reward in itself.

I use Wheat Thins as my "treat" food. I don't buy them very often because I could eat them all in one day. A bowl in the morning and at night and handfuls all day! That is why I consider them a treat.