Whether you are on a weight loss program or just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, there are those days where you just want something that isn’t so healthy or diet legal e.g. chocolate, cake, chips…But should you really be having these?
The answer is….YES! Now before you get the pizza and tub of ice cream out, there is a ‘but’ to consider first.
The truth is, whether you are losing weight or maintaining it, you do have to allow for some treats. If you don’t, then eventually you’ll end up craving and over eating them. So make an allowance for a treat or 2 weekly. Here comes the but…But have some guidelines around them to keep your ‘treat-ing’ under control. Here’s some tips:
- Keep the portion size small e.g. a mini chocolate bar (20-30g) or mini muffin or fun size pack of chips
- Only buy small portions sizes or single serves – avoid having numerous serves in the house – if it’s there, temptation can get the better of you (this happens to me when I have a big jar of Nutella in the house)
- Limit the number of times you have this during the week. Choose perhaps 2 days of the week that you will have this and have your treat then. I recommend having 1 day earlier in the week and the other later in the week, that way if something comes up and you have both treats earlier in the week you just eliminate the day later in the week
- Find some healthier snack alternatives that you enjoy and can have instead of your treat, these are especially good to have on the days you don’t have your treat or when you are craving it. Some alternatives could be yoghurt, dried fruit & nuts, nut bar etc
- When eating your treat, eat it slowly and really enjoy it
- Only choose treats that you really enjoy and that are worth the additional kilojoules / calories. There’s no point eating an inferior treat as it just won’t hit the spot and you’ll want something else.
Overall enjoy your treat day and learn to incorporate in into your lifestyle in a way you can maintain long-term. We all need treats sometimes so don’t eliminate it, just control it.
