Dessert and weight loss are two factors that do not have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, we'd say that if you love sweets, cutting them out entirely could hurt, and not help, when it comes to losing weight. The key is making healthier choices when it comes to eating dessert, whether it's what you're eating, how often you eat, or how much.
Can desserts help you lose weight?
If you have a sweet tooth and are trying to lose weight, skipping sweets entirely could backfire. Enjoying dessert can help you stay on track.
You will feel less private
It's hard to maintain an all-or-nothing mentality 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you try this thinking by banishing all "bad" foods and trying to stick with only "good" foods, you will likely end up feeling like you're forbidden to eat something.
Deprivation isn't fun, and the feeling can make it even harder to stay away from the things you enjoy. Worse yet, depriving yourself of dessert entirely can increase your cravings.
You are less likely to binge
If you allow yourself to enjoy dessert as part of your weight loss journey, you will be less likely to binge or get out of the car. How many times have you eaten a piece of cake just before starting a diet and told yourself " this is the last bite I'm going to eat " just to " cheat " or binge on ice cream three days later?
Considering certain foods as off-limits and depriving ourselves of their enjoyment only increases our chances of bingeing later on. This is called the binge-restriction cycle . In other words, bingeing can be a sign that you're restricting yourself too much. Instead, if you know you have a constant craving for sweet things, keep that in mind in your weight loss approach. By incorporating dessert into your diet, you will be more likely to stay on track in the long run.
3 mistakes we make with dessert
Giving yourself permission to take it is a step in the right direction, but it is not a surefire path to weight loss. When you're enjoying something sweet, be sure to avoid these common mistakes, which can derail your weight loss progress.
Eating too much
Exaggerating in quantity may seem different to everyone. For some, mismanaging portion sizes can hamper your weight loss efforts. Enjoying a chocolate ice cream cone is a delicious treat (about 400 calories), but sitting down with a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's is another story (about 1200 calories).
How often you surrender can also take you away from your goals. If you are eating the same chocolate ice cream cone a few times a week, you will probably paralyze your weight loss efforts. The key is to consider the portions and the frequency with which you eat these types of desserts.
If you feel like you need something sweet every day, it just comes down to serving size. An ounce of dark chocolate, a mini ice cream sandwich, or a small cookie are all prime examples of a daily dessert that probably won't sabotage your weight loss efforts.
Feeling guilty or ashamed after taking it
Giving yourself permission to enjoy dessert only to feel guilty afterwards is counterproductive. If you feel this way, it means that you still see them as a "bad food" and have not fully accepted it as something that can be a healthy part of your eating plan.
When we consider food as "good" or "bad" we are implying mutual exclusivity, and this is not how food works. This mindset associates food with morality, and this line of thinking can backfire.
A March 2014 study published in Appetite found that women with a weight loss goal who associated chocolate cake with feelings of guilt were less successful at losing actual weight than those who associated dessert with feelings of celebration. In other words, how you see certain foods can have an effect on your weight loss success.
To avoid feeling guilty or ashamed, pay attention to how you view your food. If you find yourself labeling foods "good" or "bad," try reframing your thoughts and language around food. Try to think that "food is fuel".
Feeling compelled to delete it
This is in line with feeling guilty or embarrassed about eating dessert. You consider dessert to be "bad" and therefore need to get rid of it. This mindset means that you haven't fully allowed yourself to enjoy dessert while trying to lose weight, and you feel the need to correct the misstep by burning the calories and / or "punishing" yourself through exercise.
