Satisfying A Sweet Tooth

I've got dark chocolate in my cupboards. Typical female that I am, it's what I turn to when I get a sweet craving. Many people tell me that although they crave sweets, they're afraid of them because, 'once I start, I can't stop.' But, they also admit that by depriving themselves, they wind up scarfing down an entire box of cookies or overdoing it with some other sweet.

It can be a tricky line to walk, but ultimately, the most satisfying and scale-friendly thing to do is to enjoy treats, just don't overdo it. That's why, unlike many diet plans that require you to completely eliminate certain foods like sweets or carbs, the Best Life program allows you to indulge in your favorite foods, whether it be chocolate, ice cream or candy. The key, of course, is moderation. As you probably already know, portion size can make or break your weight loss success when it comes to these treat foods. In fact, you'll find the "Best Life Treat Seal of Approval" for sweets and salty indulgences with a serving size of no more than 150 calories (some of the products below sport the treat seal).

On the Best Life plan, the number of calories you get to spend on these treat foods, Anything Goes Calories, is determined partly by your exercise level, and partly by your genetics. For instance. a woman with a fast metabolism could take in 1,800 calories or more and still lose weight; while someone who burns calories more slowly may have to stick to 1,600 calories per day. In any case, the more daily calories you can handle, the more Anything Goes calories you're allowed.

Take a look at what the treat calorie allowance is for various daily calorie levels below. (If you're eating less than 1,600 calories, you don't get a daily treat. That's because it's hard enough to get all the  nutrients you need at this level without introducing "empty nutrient" foods.)

    1,600 calories per day: 100 calories
    1,700 calories per day: 150 calories
    1,800 calories per day: 210 calories
    2,000 calories per day: 280 calories
    2,500 calories per day: 300 calories

As for the types of sweets, the great thing about Anything Goes calories, you don't have to worry about nutrition. These calories can be spent on foods you love, ones that will keep you from feeling deprived. (Of course, if a piece of fruit hits the spot as much as a cookie, then by all means, have the fruit!)

Here are a few sample treats for 150 calories (for more ideas, check out TheBestLife.com):

• 1 ounce chocolate (a little less than half a regular size chocolate bar) or three Hershey's Extra Dark Tasting Squares

• 3/4 cup reduced-fat ice cream

• 3 tablespoons chocolate-covered peanuts

• 35 jelly beans (about 38 grams)

• 1 Nonni's biscotti (100 to 110 calories) with 1/2 cup fat-free milk or 2 small-ish (2 1/2 inches diameter) chocolate chip cookies

• 1 Skinny Cow Ice Cream bar

• Approximately 2 Edy's or Dryer's Fruit bars

What Successful Losers Have in Common

On TheBestLife.com, there's an entire section to devoted to success stories—people who've lost weight and are now living healthier, more active lives. I love reading these stories, not only because they inspire me to live my best life, but also because they teach me so many important lessons about nurturing what's important to you and finding support and motivation. 

A common thread I see throughout the success stories is the ability to take a perceived failure, assess why it happened as well as how to prevent it in the future, and to move on. I see this a lot with my clients—mistakes are simply part of the journey and when you learn from them and move on, you move forward a stronger person.

For example, although you'd like to eat healthfully at every meal (if you're following the Best Life plan, the weekly meal plans makes this a breeze), there will be times, for a variety of reasons, that you don't. You can either beat yourself up about it, which can actually lead to more overindulging in a sort of "to heck with it!" rebellion or you can learn from it and move on. I always encourage people to eat a healthy breakfast the day after overdoing it. It can be tempting to skip breakfast to make up for the additional calories, but in the long run, skipping breakfast just makes you want to eat more the rest of the day. And remember, try not to be too hard on yourself—instead, learn from your mistakes and move on, better equipped to avoid the problem the next time around.

A Binge Breaker

We all have stressful moments (traffic, a tense work meeting, a burned dinner)—mine just happened to all come on the same day. On this day, my three-month-old son Reid had been awake and fussy right from the beginning—I had a chance to shower but that was it. My husband was late coming home from work and I hadn't heard from him. The dog was scratching to go outside, and oh, did I mention that it was 27 degrees outside? 

I needed a break and I wasn't sure how to take one, so I cracked and fell into the pattern that Bob describes so well in the emotional connection section of the Best Life plan. I was grabbing food from wherever I could find it and just shoving it in my face. I'm not even sure I was really tasting what I was eating.

When I was finally finished with the food fest, I remembered one of Bob's popular self-help exercises, the Circle of Life, so I opened the book up and went through the exercise of examining my life. This was a blessing because hosestly, the breakdown came without warning. Looking over my life and evaluating the emotional connection I had to each area, I was able to identify a problem: I had no idea when my husband was due home each night. The fact that he was late wasn't a problem—I just didn't know how late he was going to be, which prevented me from mapping out my evening—when to cook and eat dinner, walk the dog, put the baby down, etc. I felt like  my energy was quickly draining as I waited for him to come home. After we talked, I was able to develop a timeline so I could plan the rest of my evening, and that helped to get me back on track. From now on, we're going to communicate better about our schedules, and that should prevent any emotionally induced eating frenzies. At least that's one less thing to stress about!

To learn more about the Circle of Life and the Best Life plan, check out TheBestLife.com.