How many splurges/celebrations are reasonable per month while still being able to maintain/lose?

I can't think of this in terms of a month or I'd take full advantage and eat the whole months worth of splurges the first week and tell myself I didn't and keep eating as though I hadn't.

I take things a day at a time, even a meal at a time. And at the end of every day I look forward a couple of days to see what's coming up. Do I have a party on the books. Is there a girls night out on the schedule? Am I going to be testing chocolate brownies? If there are big eating days coming up, I need to cool it and conserve.

I also ponder the last few days -- did I eat three baby pumpkin cheesecakes in a row? Did I have the flu? Did I stay on plan?

I also try to not give food and monitoring my diet so much of my attention. For me, the more I focus on it, the more obsessed I become.

I try to focus on things I look forward to - like creative writing (NOT work related), reading (not work related) and hobbies.

My Mom and I are junking up jean jackets. I figure it will take us all winter. I enjoyed being humiliated in sewing class so much, I'm signing up for another session. My neighbor is trying to get me to scrapbook with her. So far, I can't see it. It's too much money and I have nothing to scrap book. But I'm trying to keep an open mind about it.

The busier I am with fun stuff, the less time I have to sit around and eat.

I plan for once ice cream cone or other "treat" one day per week. Otherwise, I try to stay right in my range.

oops I read the question wrong...i thought it said how many reasonable per day LOL!!!! I have been treating myself daily- i got cocky because I was loosing w/o trying...and that doesn't last for more than a week. So I really think it depends on what a splurge is-which is pretty much what everyone else said. I think it is probably anything that is out of 'plan' or out of 'goal.' so I do it way to much. and I'm willing to stop that habit!!!

I was thinking about the word "splurge"--- it is pretty vague.

It has been important for me to define what my "splurge" is. For example, I used to have 3500 calorie/day splurge. I never go there these days.

A splurge for me still involves counting calories and staying accountable. It is just that my calories are higher then usual.

I hear "splurge" and think of a guy at work...

He's seeing a nutritionist. Whether her guidelines are very vague, assuming he'll make good decisions, or he's purposely interpreting them vaguely, it's not working.

Example...she told him to have a vegetable or fruit serving, two protein servings, and one or two "starch" servings for breakfast.

So he routinely comes in with food from the truck that parks downstairs--four slices of bacon (that's one protein!), one scrambled egg with cheese (one more protein!), hash browns (starch!), and a smoothie (fruit!). Lunch (from the same truck) is always a big serving of white rice or white noodles (well over a cup--it's a starch!), some sort of shiny vegetables from a griddle (vegetable serving!), and some sort of shiny, not-lean meat from the same griddle (protein!). And a smoothie (it's fruit!).

Then, he tells me he gets two "splurge" days a week. So he takes them on Saturdays and Sundays. This Sunday, he ate a whole stuffed-crust supreme pizza on his own. Because it was a splurge day! 420 calories a slice, 8 slices on the pizza (I looked it up). 3,360 calories. Seriously, more than I normally eat in two days.

There's no way I buy that ANYONE can lose weight eating 3,360 calories in one meal. And he ate like that ALL DAY LONG. (I'm not thinking he completely understands "splurging" in the sense his nutritionist would like him to.)

I do think that "on plan" is REALLY -on plan- when I plan for more eating than normal. This Friday, for example, is a splurge. It's a world-class restaurant, but I'll be asking for less cheese on my French onion soup, I'll be sharing an 8-oz filet mignon with my mom, I'll be skipping the baked potato (and eating the skinny skinny fried onions), the dressing for salad comes on the side, and I'll have two glasses of wine. Plus dessert.

But I KNOW it's coming. I've upped my exercise for this week. I'm eating smaller than normal this week. And it'll be more calories than normal, but I've planned for it. That's a splurge to ME. To the guy I work with, it's probably a normal meal.

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Some how the word “splurge” just doesn’t work… for me. Or designating ONE day a spurge day… where the food is “worth the calories”… sort of makes me sad for the rest of the days.

I think the operative word for me is worth the EXTRA calories.

I totally agree that any food I'm eating I want to be worth it! I get very cranky if I mess up a meal and it isn't good. I love food and want it to taste good all the time. If it isn't satisfying, it just doesn't work for me.

The last time we went out to lunch at my favorite little local place, they were out of my usual side that I love. They talked me into trying something else and it was OK but not great. I felt like I had totally wasted those calories. I was also in a bad mood the rest of the day ; )

Food is a very big part of life and one that I really enjoy. It needs to be good every day!

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Originally posted by Brie:
Once a month, we either go out to a fancy restaurant or there is an event where I know the food will be worth the extra calories.

We just don't go out that often...

On the other hand, it is realistic to say that MOST weekends I make a dessert that is worth the "extra" calories... but again, they are NOT "extra"... Because "extra" calories lead to weight gain. I’m not sure that EVERY 4pm on a Sunday afternoon qualifies as an “event”.

This is also a debate on the WW board... like somebody will ask, "How much are you 'off plan'"... and some of us feel that we are never truly "off plan". Yes, there are days where we may go over calories or points (either intentionally or accidentally)… but in a way… that is part of the “plan”… because realistically nobody is perfect. I think that accepting that I’m human… is part of the “plan”. And some days, I eat more. Splurge day or no.

I also think that it helps to try and ALWAYS eat in a way that the food is “worth the calories”. Eating food that sucks and “isn’t worth the calories”… well, just sucks. OK… granted, we all have days where we might be slapping some peanut butter on a defrosted hamburger bun and calling it dinner (my dinner last night… when I had 3 minutes to eat dinner). But the last two days, I’ve LOVED my lunch… and all it was, was some defrosted brown rice and defrosted vegs and an Asian sauce… and I’ve been REALLY happy and it was sooooo worth the calories even if I didn’t go “over calories” and it was practically fat free. In theory, EVERY meal should be worth the calories.

And on the other hand… I’ve gone out for “spurge” meals and had the meal or some part of the meal, “not worth the calories”. Like I had a blueberry cosmo that tasted like a defrosted blue Otter-Pop and was gross… at a “splurge” meal.

Or if my friend Kathy (who is “naturally” thin) said, “come over for coffee tomorrow” … and she makes some fabulous brownies… and if she gave me one… I’d eat it. Might have two. Designated “spurge day” or no. Because I KNOW they are worth the calories. And maybe I didn’t plan for it… but I can figure out how to work it into the calorie budget. I would NOT follow Beck’s advise and wrap it up and take it home. I’m sorry, but Kathy’s brownies out of the oven are WORTH the “splurge” even if it is a Wednesday, the 10th of October… and not at a fancy restaurant or an event or planned or an official "splurge day".

I’ve have FABULOUS unplanned “spurges” and disappointing planned “spurges”.

Some how the word “splurge” just doesn’t work… for me. Or designating ONE day a spurge day… where the food is “worth the calories”… sort of makes me sad for the rest of the days.

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Originally posted by D in St Pete:
How many splurges/celebrations are reasonable per month while still being able to maintain/lose?

To me, a splurge is a nice meal with no calorie counting, no overeating and no regrets. I do that weekly. At this point, I seem to be able to handle it. I don't feel deprived and I don't binge. I don't plan for it or exercise to offset it. I don't gain weight. I do have days where I'm up 1-2 lbs, but that usually stabilizes. Sometime in the future, I may lose another pound. Maybe even a couple. There's no rush. In the meantime, I have my nice dinner on Saturday nights, my weekend slice of cake to go with a latte, and I keep some 86% dark chocolate in the fridge. BUT... I also try and keep away from all the gazillion other things that will make me fat sooner than I can say "calorie".

I'm probably way more lax than most people here, and if I gain weight I'll have to revise my strategy. But for the time being, this works. If I had a different social life, I would probably have to be much more vigilant!

Denise -
I re-read your answer to this question four times.

It really got me thinking about how I define a "splurge" for myself. Really, I don't think it falls into what most people would consider a splurge at all.

Once a month, we either go out to a fancy restaurant or there is an event where I know the food will be worth the extra calories.

I do make lots of choices when we're out as well. I love seafood and will always order that. Most of the time, those dishes tend to be lighter than others. I always do sauces and dressings on the side, even during splurges. I will also leave food and recently, even have split dessert because I didn't think I'd have room for my own dessert (although that varies!).

I also plan in extra exercise before and after "splurge" days and try to eat very much on plan on the days leading up and afterwards.

I guess my answer is, "It depends".

It depends on my definition of a “spurge” ... because that is not always consistent.

It depends on my weight goal that week or month… and am I looking to for a loss? or to maintain? or am I willing to accept a gain?

Depends on the month. September is different from December.

One “spurge” is fine in September. During the last week of December… Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day, My birthday… quite a bit different than the last week of September. But I don’t get on the scale on Jan 3rd and expect to see a loss. I don’t even expect the scale to stay the same. I expect a gain, and have yet to be disappointed.

Depends on how many calories a person is eating day to day. The USDA says that the average person needs 2,000 calories a day on average to maintain. If a person eats 2,000 calories every single day… even a once a month “splurge” of 4000 calories is going to cause a weight gain… at the end of the year… they will weigh about 7 lbs more.

Personally, I don’t care for the word “splurge” as it sort of implies a “free for all”… and really, I just don’t do that anymore… If I’m going out for a nice dinner… and know I’m going to eat more calories… I’ll cut back some calories the day before and day after.

But honestly, MOST of my dinners are “nice” dinners and I look forward to many or even MOST of my meals… and I may have some meals or days where I eat more calories than others… I also don’t like the concept of “spurge” because for many people… the connotation is to eat diet food x number of days… and then to “splurge” and eat differently than “normal”. OK… to go out for a meal that is $100 isn’t “normal” for me… but even sitting in the nicest restaurant or no matter HOW good the food is… or how “special” it is… I’m still looking for balance… and try and make “Good, Better, Best” decisions… And even a meal where I eat 3,000 calories… believe it or not… I have still made MANY decisions to skip croutons on my salad… or to not finish the appetizer… or to have half a glass of wine or to not finish a cocktail I didn’t care for…

My goal is to go for caloric balance over the week or over two weeks time… and to eat healthy most of the time… and to eat in a fairly balanced way (meaning not eating until I’m too full, to meet my nutritional needs, etc.) most of the time…

And for ME the concept of planning some “spurge” meal X times a month… just doesn’t work. I think that “splurge” might be the opposite of “deprivation”. I’d like to think that I don’t do EITHER deprivation… OR “splurge”. I feel really happy with my food choices… both quality and quantity… and don’t feel that the concept of “spurge” is really necessary.

But it does work for others.

Inside my head, a "binge" is eating until over-full, no matter where it takes place (and those are acceptable at a rate of zero per year, for me, because of past habits). A "splurge" is what Brie said, a meal where calories, fat, and other nutritional considerations are secondary to eating what's enjoyable and sounds good.

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And it's not a splurge as in the eat till you are sick meal.

I don't mean that either. When I say "splurge", I mean a nice restaurant meal where I order what I want and not worry about what has more or less calories. It's only that one meal and not a whole day.

i typically enjoy one dinner out on sunday. but lately, this has extended to breakfast out on monday. i am feeling ok about it generally because i am selecting pretty healthy fare at the restaurants. My treat has been one scoop of peanut butter delight frozen yogurt at TCBY which is low fat. no more than one scoop. so i guess, that makes at least 4 times a month.

i used to eat/treat myself until i felt ill, but i am feeling 100% better about that. I hate that ill feeling, and It has been a long time since i allowed things to get that out of control, thanks to this Board and some of the Beck activities. i just got the Beck book in the mail by the way, and I reading it slowly and doing the steps.

I give myself a meal a week. And it's not a splurge as in the eat till you are sick meal. The meal right after I weigh in, is something that I have wanted all week, maybe a burger and fries, a pizza (two slices), steak and potatoes, ice cream cones, whatever. And then the meal after that is right back on program. So if there are four weeks in a month, I give myself a splurge four times, remembering that my splurge is still a meal, just not as healthy as most meals I eat are.

I know one is safe for me.

I can generally add in another "controlled splurge" where I hit close to 1800-2000 caloires for the day as long as I do not let that splurge extend.

I am still experementing with this. So...this is my best guess.

I've stopped my spurges,(since I put the few xtra pounds on)if I do go back to them it might be 1 or 2 p/m and a small amount

I know I'll be in a minority here, but...less than one. I'm doing much better with "planned" splurges (meaning...cereal for breakfast...salad for lunch...and a dinner that stays within my caloric limits but is much more of a splurge than if I'd had a larger breakfast and lunch).

Maybe when I'm at a maintenance stage, that'll change. Right now, when weighing splurges vs progress, I'm choosing progress.

Short answer - ONE! : )

Many years of trial and error have brought me to that answer. If I have more than one big splurge/month, I struggle more to stay in range. One splurge/month and it isn't a problem.

I prefer limiting the splurges and having it be easier to maintain.