Hi there! I'm new to the board, and trying to get on with a weight loss plan I can live with. I was wondering if you always stick with the calories you are supposed to, or if you occasionally let yourself have a treat once in a while (like WW lets you save points, or have a splurge night or whatever). My biggest problem has been moderation, I seem to create a rigorous unmaintainable program, do great for about 6 weeks - 2 months and then give up entirely, so I don't want to set myself up for failure again. But, it's hard to judge - I'm keen now (as always at the start!), so i don't have a really good sense of what's too much and what's workable.
If I know I have a special event coming up I will save back some calories and if something unexpected comes up I will enjoy a treat and then cut back for a few days to balance it out.
I'm one of those people that believe a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss. (there are people who believe otherwise and that is fine)
I will eat anything if it falls into my calorie count. For example, every night I have a 150 calorie ice cream sandwich. That's how I keep it maintainable - I don't deprive myself of anything, but I deprive myself of the AMOUNT of something I am eating.
I still have 'treat days' - going out for pizza two or three times a month or something like that. I notice though, especially as I get closer to goal, that I need to cut back on those to keep losing at a decent rate.
I was wondering if you always stick with the calories you are supposed to, or if you occasionally let yourself have a treat once in a while.
Splurges are absolutely essential to my mental equilibrium around food, and I will never ever give them up. Sometimes a splurge is a big piece of cheesecake, other times (less often, but by no means rarely) it's an all-out binge at an all-you-can-eat buffet. It's all good, as long as you're able to get back on plan the next meal. That's the key to the whole thing, IMO.
I have treats, too and I count their calories in my daily allotment, that is one of the reasons I count calories because it is flexible , not rigid with forbidden foods.
I try to work small treats into my calorie count when I feel a unrelenting urge to have a treat (yesterday had a peanut butter cookie with my kids, for example), but overall I tend to stay away from treats as I feel they can still trigger a binge eating response. I have found healthy alternatives that I enjoy equally to my old favorites- I love plain 0% greek yogurt with stevia and unsweetened cocoa powder.
I definitely do have splurges and treats. Sunday is my splurge-day actually. Sunday brunch is tradition to me so I usually set my calories at maintenance (around 2000 calories vs. 1500ish regular) and eat things I may not eat usually during the week like bread or pancakes.
I always keep counting though whether I'm splurging or not. I don't however consider it a splurge if during the week I have pizza or ice cream or brownies or cheesecake and it fits into my calories.
Splurges/ treats?
