Give Yourself An Afternoon Treat

This is great news! It is healthier to hit the vending machine than it is to go hungry. The typical long stretch between lunch and dinner is much too long for blood sugar levels to remain stable without a infusion. Nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D.., a fitness advisory board member. Your best bet: "If you tend to get famished at 3 p.m, don't fight it, plan for it," she says. Keep healthy snacks like apples, almonds, string cheese and pears at the office and you won't have to scramble for something to eat.

If you don't bring your own, no biggie, just choose wisely at the machine. "Sunflower seeds and peanuts are super healthy, a chocolate chip granola bar is a smarter chocolate fix than a candy bar, and baked chips or popcorn is better than regular chips for a salty crunch," Blatner says. Pass up fruit snacks in favor of the real things from the corner deli. Absolutely  gotta have chocolate candy? Opt for a plain Hershey's bar or peanut M&M's which are slightly lower in calories and saturated fat and sugar and have slightly more fiber and protein than other bars.

Sweet Treats Are OK!

You don't have to completely deprive yourself of ever food that may be deemed "unhealthy" as you are trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.  I personally think that telling yourself you can never have sweets just makes you crave it more and then causes you to binge.  I have read studies that say that a little treat after a meal is good because that little bit of sugar signals to your body that you are done eating.  I do this in my life and I think it has made a big difference.  Some days after dinner that little treat is perfect and I feel satisfied.  Some days it just doesn't sound good and so I don't eat treats those days.  But treats don't have to be bad. 
If you are out grocery shopping and those fresh donuts just sound so delicious go ahead and get one.  But just get one, you don't need three or four!
I love chocolate and candy bars used to be my weakness.  I keep a bag of mini candy bars around and when I really need some chocolate I eat just one mini candy bar and that completely satisfies my craving.
I also LOVE ice cream but it can be loaded with fat and sugar.  I like to by the "slow churned" or "double churned" types.  They usually have about half the fat and less calories and I think they taste just as good as their full fat counterparts.  Another trick that I have implemented for my husband and I is that I keep ice cream cones on hand.  Stay away from waffle cones, those are full of fat and calories.  But cake cones have about 50 calories each and sugar cones (look like mini waffle cones) have about 60 calories.  A good scoop of ice cream on a cone is completely satisfying and great portion control!
Another important thing is to plan ahead.  If I know we are going out to dinner for a friend's birthday and I will be eating a burger and fries or pizza, I make sure to eat extra healthy for the other meals that day.  It may not completely balance out every time but every little bit of effort you can make to compensate for a less healthy meal is great. 
Take a look at your life and see in what ways you can implement the little tricks that I use and maybe you can also find some others that work great for you!