Originally Posted by Havisham:
, I think it's always a good idea to give yourself a break.

You see with me, I believe staying on plan IS what's giving myself the break. When I think of "giving myself a break" in the way that I believe you intended it, well I gave myself a break all the way to super morbid obesity. Staying on plan has turned out to be the biggest stress reliever of all. Ha. Who wouldv'e thunk it?

I firmly believe that we must find a way to co-exist with stress while adhering to a healthy lifestyle. I think we're much better off finding OTHER ways to cope. Not ones that provide a few minute temporary fix and that winds up causing waaaaay more stress then it solves. If hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution.

Having an occasional indulgence is another story. I'm all for that, now that I'm in maintenance. But I would much rather it be an indulgence that I've planned for and could enjoy in and of itself. Not to try and "solve" my problems. Because that will never, ever happen. See last line in above paragraph. ;)

Again, Robin's word echo my thoughts.

Another parrot here ^^^

The best gift I can give myself is to stay on plan. Finding other ways to deal with stress is a very important life skill that will help you, not only with losing weight, but also with maintenance.

I treat myself in lots of ways - I just no longer use food to do so. In fact, I have gotten so creative with my "treats" that I can't imagine ever going back.

And, once you break that link between food and reward in your brain, it gets sooo much easier to stay on plan. :D