Not including my exercise calories, I have 1700 calories left for the day (I ate lightly all day). Yet even though I saved for the use of these calories, I still feel incredible guilt for spending them on yummy, fried, teriyaki, chicken wings with ranch. Now, I'm rethinking my choices, but there is no way I can eat all of these calories if i eat healthfully...and I'm under for the week too.

I want my chicken wings.
I want to be healthy.
I want to just make up my mind!

Wow---I wish I had a little more guilt. If I have the calories left, I feel zero guilt on how I spend them. Fortunately, I tend to like gourmet foods, so it's not like I'm downing Cheetos most of the time.

Seriously, though, I think you should ditch the guilt. There's nothing wrong with eating those foods, especially if they fit into your calorie allotment. After all, this is a lifestyle change, right? You don't intend to go your entire life without eating those types of foods, right? So, enjoy!

I agree -- ditch the guilt.

If the food doesn't trigger anything -- binges, blood sugar -- and you have the calories to spend, spend it wisely and have both your treat AND stay on plan and consider yourself fortunate.

I have calories to spend today but I am having blood sugar wigginz so what I want to eat falls into plan calorie wise but I know it would set me up for probs later tonight and maybe even tomorrow. So best NOT to eat it. And choose something better for me. Sigh.

A.

I'm proud to say I had chicken wings...and a spinach salad.

Awesome choice! I used to under-eat all the time because I was always saving my calories for some great meal that never happened.

I found out that once I planned my entire day's meals and snacks ahead of time, I never had that problem again. The other positive things that happened were I never felt hungry AND my moods stabilized.

Oh honey, I'm glad you enjoyed your wings and your salad!!

I love 'extra' calories at night, it means I can have a bowl of cereal. No guilt allowed!!!

Guilt = failure in my books. If you have that many calories left over then go ahead and allow yourself to eat what you like assuming it falls within your calorie range. Having said that, I've noticed that as the months pass I find myself making better choices even when I do have a good chunk of calories left for the day. For example, some nights I'm left with 300 or more cals and I choose to eat a slice of whole grain toast with PB and an apple as opposed to chips!

Totally way late on this post but I love Alton Brown alternative way to cook wings(don't know if you were eating at home or out) you take the wings, steam them for 10 minutes(this gets some of the fat out and allows for it not to smoke as much in the oven.) Put them on a baking sheet with a little no-stick spray(so the skin won't stick to the pan) bake them 20min on each side and then toss with your favorite sauce! I made these for my bf once and he was amazed at how crispy they were without being fried. So you can feel really good about eating them bc technically all it is, is roasted chicken! Hope the wings were yummy!

You have to have what you want, just in moderation. I think that makes any liftestyle sustainable.

I don't see anything wrong with having those chicken wings. I finish each evening with some sort of sweet, ice cream, cake, meringue, whatever fits into my points. It's hard to get over the guilty feeling, I know what you mean. I think it's bored into us that any treat is bad for us, but the whole point of starting a weight loss journey should be to re-train ourselves to eat in moderation, and having a little of what you want can save you from bingeing. Well done on your weight loss!!!

I enthusiastically agree with this! I decided to eat Subway last week and accidentally overdid it. After that, it took me 2 days to get back on track, 2 days where I felt so guilty and nervous that I began to worry that I'd screw up again. Guild is the worst feeling, avoid it at all costs!