I allow myself two glasses of wine on the weekend and popcorn or baked cheetos! I look forward to the weekend.....

I just take enough of the treat so I can taste it - a spoonful of ice cream, a bite of banana bread (my current obsession). I focus on the texture and the taste of the treat and often that's enough to curb the craving - but not usually enough calories to worry about.

That's what I do

If I really want some ice cream (I buy the lowfat/low sugar kind) I'll get the carton out and stand at the counter with it and usually eat about 3 or 4 spoonfuls, then put it back, rather than sitting down to a whole bowl. I'm not a big sweet-eater in the first place, so that's usually enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. I usually end up throwing ice cream away because it gets freezer-burned before I have a chance to eat even half of it.

Found a really yummy one, though. It's lowfat/no-sugar-added chocolate peanut butter cup. Chocolate ice cream with peanuts and tiny little sugar-free peanut butter cups in it. So good even my husband will eat it and he usually doesn't touch my "diet" foods.

I totally let myself cheat today...I had curly fries and dipped them in bleu cheese dressing. But I never let myself cheat so it's all good!

I eat dark chocolate just about every day. Not much, and i know how many cals are in it. Right now I'm having cocoa made with cocoa powder, a little honey & silk soy milk, which is soooo creamy. It tastes deadly, but it is very high in protein, fiber, iron and other good things, and is under 200 calories.

You can't think of the treat things as cheating if you are building a lifestyle you can have for the rest of your life. You need to build in the calories & be honest about it, and make sure you get the nutrition you need.

One thing you CAN do is up your exercise. If you spend an extra half hour on the elliptical, for example, you've got something like 400 calories to play with. You can choose to use them as weight loss calories (by not replacing them with food), or you can have a guilt-free 400 calorie treat. You won't gain weight from that, and you have the other benefits of the cardio.

cheerio,
Sue

I agree with this!

I never look at my treats as cheating. I simply make the calorie room and count them in. Me go the rest of my life without ever eating a cheeseburger again?

Never!

I allow myself one sometimes two treats a day (just look at my FitDay! ). I've been doing that since I decided to lose weight, and I've lost 35 lbs so far.

Here's an awesome treat that tastes SOOOO rich and creamy and hits the "ice cream" spot for me...plus it's legal on most eating plans since it's Sugar-Free and Fat-Free!!!

Chocolate "Parfait"
1 pkg. sugar-free, fat-free Chocolate Jello Instant Pudding ~ 1.4 oz.
1 cup no-fat milk
1 cup no-fat or part-skim ricotta cheese
3 Tblspoons of cocoa

Put all in your food process & pulse until thick and creamy or beat it with your mixer. It's ready to eat....or you can chill it! You can eat it like it is, or layer it with FF Cool Whip

You need some more veggies!

So do I. I try and eat as many as I can, but I know I'm not getting enough.

Thank you all for replying. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who has the cravings and does something about it. So, yesterday, I allowed myself to have the treat. It was a hamburger. It was a classic single from Wendy's and that's all I had for dinner. I was surprised that afterwards, I remained full and most importantly, it didn't make me want to throw in the towel. I've done that so many times. I told myself, I'm tired of the starting and quitting aspect. This is my life, and I want to live it healthy. It did help take my cravings away and now I actually want to eat healthier foods. I feel like this time I will be a success!

I have one free meal a week where I can eat whatever I've been craving. Then it's right back on track. There have been weeks where thoughts of my free meal have got me through some very rough cravings. Best of luck to you.

Same here. Sunday dinner. I eat whatever I want and as much as I want and I usually have dessert as well.

I seem to be another one who "Schedules" in a treat. It seems easier to plan for it in advance rather than have to try to make up for it later on.

Once a week I have a splurge meal where I can eat what I want. And each night I have a low cal/fat ice cream bar.