How many of us would like to have our cake and eat it, without eating the whole thing?
Having some balance with treats can be a real challenge for those of us that suffer with ‘all or nothing’ mentality. It can be so hard not to allow one treat to become a ‘fuck it’ situation where you feel like you’ve messed up and just eat all the crap until starting again the next day, or the next Monday!
This is something I’ve struggled with in the past, but have successfully managed with a few tricks. I decided to record a vlog about it all, sharing my top tips!
To sum it up:
- Decide what a treat is for you – and decide what is really worth it, your faves
- Upgrade where you can
- Set some boundaries for yourself – how many treats a week / eating out a month
- Work in some healthy alternatives where they work for you
- Have realistic expectations about how many treats work for your body, tolerance for certain foods and your goals
Some blog posts that might be helpful:
Easy upgrades for health, happiness and wellbeing
Also on the healthy versions of treats thing, bear in mind…
Eating too much healthy food? Read this…
That Angel Brownies recipe is here!
These treat smart tips come straight from the Fabulous YOU course content, and today is the FINAL day I’ll be offering the early bird discount for joining the course kicking off in May. So for more useful and practical ways to get a healthy balance, check out the course today!
How do you balance treats and healthy eats? Do you do this intuitively or do you try and have guidelines and boundaries for yourself? How do you define a ‘treat’?
Totally understand what you mean about treat foods being an ‘all or nothing’ situation – I definitely was in that mindset once upon a moon! Definitely agree with upgrading your treats because otherwise you’re just wasting a treat. I’m lucky (and not so lucky, depending on how you view it) to have a Hotel Chocolat in town, so if I’m craving chocolate or really REALLY want to treat myself, I’ll head there and pick up a little packet of chocolates in one of their ever delicious flavours – and believe me, you can only ever really afford one little packet! SO much nicer than just buying a bar of Lindt/Cadbury’s etc. OR if I’ve recently learned how to make proper raw chocolates which gives me the chance to experiment with all sorts of flavours.
There’s no point in mindlessly eating a chocolate bar from a vending machine at work when it does nothing for you. Plus, you totally appreciate your treats a heck of a lot more when they are every once in a while, and they’re ‘upgraded’ versions too.
Loved this post, and the video – you’re totally making me want to get back into making videos again!
She’s So Lucy
Oh Hotel Chocolat is the best! I love to get their really dark chocolate. I am with you on the raw chocolates too, so tasty and healthy. You should definitely get back into making videos again, I’m addicted!
I do try to portion out treats and look at my approach to eating it – am i binging, already full or trying to solve an emotional issue? I also think about the week ahead and when I want to have treats (more at the weekend) so I make sure i balance it across the week . I also put lots of cakes i bake for the blog straight in the freezer for when peple come over so I don’t eat it all!! sO glad you vlogging more:) xx
Love that about planning ahead, something I missed off the vlog and very important. I love thinking more strategically about it!
Thanks for the mention! Trust me to get the peanut butter in there somehow (and I think sadly they are no longer around , although they do I am sure do little bags of peanut butter truffles which are probably the same thing).
I agree though, I would rather have a slice of home-made cake than a shop bought one, and I think choosing what to almost spend your food allowance on (in a sort of calorie way) is important- prioritise what you actually will enjoy the most.
I like the saying that you can eat what you like, just not all at once. If you don’t have cake today, just look forward to it another day- I think that helps with balance sometimes too.
I’ll have to hunt out the peanut butter truffles when I’m in Brighton! I love that saying and way of thinking about it :-)
I try to “plan” treats – like this week I know I have a voucher for a free slice of cake at John Lewis so that makes it easier to resist cakes in the office that always seem to be around for someone’s birthday! I try to stick to healthy treats like Nakd bars and homemade energy balls in the week but do have the occasional “regular” treat (said slice of cake) at weekends as it keeps me sane during the week! x
That sounds like a great way to balance things out, generally I do like to keep the treats to the weekend!
This weekend I really fancied a piece of proper cake – so I made a Victoria sponge and it was lovely!! I did serve is with cashew butter and homemade jam to make it a little healthier but it was still an indulgence :)
Yum that sounds delish!