Is this a good or bad idea?

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by Life7

Do you think it's a good or bad idea to reward your weight loss with a sweet treat or high-fat meal? Like after every 5 or 10 pounds I lose, I reward myself with a piece of cake/pastry, or some special burger?

I don't think there is anything wrong with it, unless it triggers you to revert. Especially, with sugar, it takes a few days to kick craving it. If you have a piece of cake, it might take a few days to stop craving sugar again. I eat low carb, so I am not concerned about high fat foods.

[lubby]

I have done this in the past, but now I reward myself with smaller clothes, new haircut or pedicure. Not saying I don't have the occasional treat or special burger but I don't use food as a reward anymore, I'll eat something like that once in awhile when I feel like cheating. I have lost 32 lbs. on WW. I'd like to loose another 32.

[Malloric]

Cheat meal isn't a new concept. When I'm watching what I'm eating, I usually have one day a week where I'm less draconian about it. I'm really happy to go eat 2,000 calories at a restaurant in one meal/desert though so I can't just completely do whatever I want. That would offset most of a 500 calorie/day deficit diet on the cheat meal. Thing we rewards is to keep it reasonable. If you're limiting it to every 5-10 pounds, you could go pretty wild and just slow down your progress a little bit but not have huge impact. On the flipside I see people who get a 600 calorie Starbucks Frappucino as a reward for going to the gym.