What to Keep in Mind When Adding Treats to a Weight Loss Diet
The Big Challenge:
It isn't easy to eat healthy and/or lose weight while eating treats.
Assumption: I need to eliminate everything I love (especially the biggest culprits: dairy, meat, grains, refined sugar, processed foods, and alcohol).
The Breakdown: Well, yes and no. Our bodies are adaptive systems that fight unruly environments, diseases, and relationships 😊 There’s always a perfect combination of factors, including dietary choices and the type of movement, for a given point that helps it operate efficiently and effectively. The further I stray from this beautiful recipe, the less efficient and effective my body operates (comparable to the different grades of gasoline and car performance). What does this mean for eating treats? The answer is simple, though not always fun to recognize: I need to figure out what I can get away with, accept the consequences of going beyond my boundaries, and adapt accordingly. Here’s what I specifically consider when I’m in the mood for treats:
What I Keep in Mind When Eating Treats
Personal Trainer Wisdom: The first key to cheating in any diet (diet as in one’s eating regimen… weight loss or not) is establishing a consistent structure of habits. This is my foundation….my day-to-day approach, my go-to. A treat every once in a while is an outlier that won’t skew my results….as long as my daily approach is consistent and nutrient-dense. I define a treat as a choice that doesn’t provide full nutritional value and, most often, counters my health in one form or another. Examples of treats include bread, ice cream, braised beef, chocolate, alcohol, and pretty much everything I grew to love over the course of a lifetime. Similar to many economic principles, random treats in my diet are just minor dents in the vehicle of life. It won’t stop this car from moving! It is an outlier and won’t affect my health goals.
On the other hand, if I eat my treats 5-7 days per week, this behavior is now a habit-a part of my foundation. The difference is a hail storm pounding my car to a total wreck instead of Preston’s baseball accidentally dinging my bumper. Can I still drive my car after a hailstorm? Most likely, yes (but maybe not well). My body is a machine that can withstand many illnesses, bone breaks, and Snickers bars. I must always be mindful of my body so I can be aware of its boundaries, though. I can run when I have a headache, but should I run a marathon when I have a migraine? I can lift weights with a sore shoulder, but should I perform a chest fly with a torn rotator cuff? I can eat a Snickers bar every night, but should I have a treat after eating tasty crackers, cheese, and meat all day?
Choosing to eat a treat isn’t an isolated experience. This choice must be evaluated alongside all of my dietary habits, physical boundaries (think: a diabetic and his relationship to spiking blood sugar), and other choices. My choices outside that moment can determine whether I’m pushing past my dietary boundary line. Ideally, I will develop an autopilot system that unconsciously evaluates these decisions and helps me adhere to important nutritional guidelines, including choosing non-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods and maintaining a consistent eating schedule. I feel lucky that my generation doesn’t need to think about survival every waking moment. My life usually isn’t threatened daily, and food will be on my table. I can’t imagine living life under that type of scrutiny! It’s a good reminder for me when I do need to increase the focus on myself, though. The scrutiny isn’t always fun, but it’s necessary.
I see the reasons why many people avoid this awareness. I’m often frustrated by the change I need to make (especially when I don’t understand how to adapt to the situation). I guess that’s what is frequently missing from my goals: Acceptance. Accepting that I sometimes need to think about what I’m doing, who I am, and why I am doing something, and receiving the answers I discover and the things and situations that I can’t change now (or ever).
It’s especially frustrating when I’ve made a significant change, and the results are the same. For instance, I finally substituted that delicious Snickers bar for a bar with half the calories at 4 pm every day, and it still isn’t enough to lose weight or body fat. Or I continue this healthful exchange, and I find myself back to the Snickers bar after 4-6 weeks. Emotionally, this is tough to face. It feels like a failure. Is it a failure, though? Times like these are important lessons about what I may still need to change. Maybe eating at the same time creates a craving. When my low-calorie, low-sugar option isn’t available, I still pursue a sweet (or sweeter) alternative. This can often be a dangerous line to tiptoe on if it is a trigger food (like chocolate). No wonder I eventually went back to the Snickers bar!
Losing weight, focusing on myself. It’s a frustrating process that I was never prepared for in school. By becoming a human scientist as an adult now, though, I will finally receive the anatomy, nutrition, and behavioral lessons that have been missing from my life. I will finally learn about “Me.” With an objective and curious mind throughout this process, I will truly figure out what I need as well as what I can get away with.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is an ordained minister serving Denver and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in both Denver and Chicago (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings.
Specifically, Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Highland, Platt Park, Lower Highlands, Sloan Lake as well as the zip codes 80215, 80214, 80204, 80203, 80205, 80207, 80218, 80219, 80222, 80223, 80224, 80246, 80238, 80221, 80022, 80230, 80231, 80202, 80209, 80247, and 80210. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more.
If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
