Do You Splurge Too Often?

Every day we have to make the decision about what we are going to eat. We have to plan and think about what we will eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and any snacks in between.

With so many meals to consider, it’s easy to justify eating junk food now and again. Problem is, we often distort our reality of what “occasional” means. It’s easy to eat a candy bar every day, considering it’s just one of the many meals you ate that day. Unfortunately, those empty calories in the candy bars really add up overtime.

What you consistently eat, matters.

So how often is too often to splurge? I think it just really depends on a couple of important things.

Calories and Portion Size

How many calories do you need each day? Once you have figured this number out, you can determine how many calories you have “available” at the end of each day to put towards your “splurge”.

I want to point out that your overall focus should be eating nutrient dense foods so you can be healthy, rather than calorie counting all day. Sometimes though, calorie counting may be how you get started. Now, back to some simple math…

If you end up having 500 calories extra every day available for junk food, you either need to eat more real food that will satisfy your hunger and nutritional needs, or you need to recalculate your calorie intake.

Let’s say you are trying to maintain your weight, you probably should have about 100 calories or so extra available each day, and you can choose your splurge based on that. If you have 100 calories extra and want a treat, you can eaither have a 100 calorie splurge each day or “save up” those calories and in five days have a 500 calorie treat (as long as you kept within your calorie budget each day).

Activity Level

Do you sit or lay around all day? If you lead a very inactive lifestyle, you just won’t need as many calories as someone who exercises or leads a very active life every day. How much you move is going to effect how many calories you will need each day.

Remember, food is fuel for your body. Refer back to Calories and Portion Size.

Overall Goal

I realize a lot of people feel like they need to treat themselves. Trying to determine how to eat candy each day just isn’t quite the idea I had in mind for being “healthy”. I’m not a big fan of treating yourself or rewarding yourself with candy or desserts, I prefer healthy treats (healthy frozen yogurt, for example). I also realize that everyone ticks differently and what doesn’t work for me, might just work for you. For me, it’s easier to avoid sugary treats completely than to limit them. I wish I had better self control because a treat now and again would be nice, but I know myself better than that! ;)

What are your favorite splurges, and how often do you allow yourself to enjoy them? If you would like some healthy desserts that are guilt-free, check out some of our amazing recipes!

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