Life is better with dessert!  What if I told you…

1. You don’t need to fear dessert.
2. Eating dessert doesn’t need to lead to weight gain.

Bonkers, right?

Wrong.

Do you want to enjoy dessert without the guilt?

Here’s how…

Homemade spiced berry crumble

1. Improve your relationship with food

It’s time to tear up that mental list of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods.  There is no such thing as a ‘fattening’ food and there is no such thing as a ‘slimming’ food.  Eating one food vs another certainly does not make you good or bad.  It’s not a moral issue.  It’s food.

When it comes to weight loss or weight gain, the science shows that it’s the overall balance of calories that matters most.^{[i],[ii],[iii]} If eaten in the context of an appropriately balanced diet, there is no one food that can make you fat.  It’s too much food (relative to physical activity) that does it.

2. Practice moderation

While a little dessert won’t make you fat on it’s own, food quality does matter.

Some foods are definitely more nutritious than others meaning we get more of the nutrients we need to optimise our energy and health.  Some foods are also more satiating than others^[iv] thus helping us avoid eating too much.  Highly rewarding and tasty foods, on the other hand, (like dessert) can encourage us to eat more calories than we need^[v], leading us to gain weight.

That being the case, wouldn’t it be better just to totally avoid all of these tasty, hyperpalatable foods?

Probably not in the real world.  One of the most important aspects of any diet is whether or not you can stick to it^[vi].  As appealing as it may seem for some, becoming some sort of puritanical health warrior isn’t a great idea.  It’s certainly not a badge of honour.  Rigid ‘clean’ eating is not the easiest or smartest diet to try to stick to.  I’ve been there myself and, for me at least, all it did was promote binge eating and increase stress and difficulties in social situations.  Some would say this is an eating disorder known as orthorexia nervosa.^[vii]

Relax.  Food is more than the sum of its nutrients.  Life and food are to be shared and enjoyed and dessert is a great part of life!

Make the majority of your diet whole, nutritious foods, but be sure to occasionally include a little of those less nutritious foods that you love the taste of.  If you have a history of demonising certain foods, moderation might be difficult to begin with.  It certainly was (and still can be) a challenge for me.  This is why I want to stress the practice part of ‘Practice Moderation’.  It’s a practice, don’t beat yourself up.

Homemade ‘Cranachan’: a traditional, Scottish dessert

3. Make your own desserts

This isn’t crucial but there are a number of reasons I think making your own desserts can be beneficial.

Desserts tend to be energy-dense meaning they can have a lot of calories for only a small serving of food.  If you’ve made the dessert yourself, you’ll know how much sugar, butter, etc. you used and have a greater appreciation of, and connection to, what’s in it.

You can also tweak the nutrition to suit your needs.  Ingredients and quantities can be manipulated to create lower-calorie or higher-protein desserts should you want to.  Or you can just make them more nutritious.

Nutrition apart, preparing your own food can be fun.  It can be a social activity and strengthen relationships with your kids, friends or spouse.  It’s an opportunity to learn and to be creative, which is associated with happiness.^[viii]  The whole process is slower and it’s chance to enjoy a broader experience than merely guzzling down the food itself.

4. Exercise appropriately

The other side of the weight management equation is energy out: physical activity.  More muscle and more movement increase your calorie requirements meaning you can eat more food.  We know that physical activity also has many health benefits.^[ix]

This doesn’t mean more hate-filled, calorie-burning, gym marathons all for the sake of a chocolate biscuit.  It doesn’t mean punishing yourself because you had an extra cupcake (remember step 1: improve your relationship with food!).

It simply means be active.  Move!  A progressive resistance training programme is a good idea because it will promote the growth and maintenance of muscle mass which supports fat loss and helps us to maintain our metabolic rate.^{[x],[xi],[xii],[xiii]}  Don’t for get the progressive part.  It’s important to keep challenging yourself!

Like with your diet, however, what’s important is that you can actually stick to it.  So do something that you enjoy.

BIG IDEA: Life is better with dessert.  You can enjoy dessert without feeling guilty or getting fat.

TAKEAWAY: Foods aren’t inherently fattening or slimming, and what you eat doesn’t make you good or bad.  Any food that you love the taste of can be enjoyed in moderation in the context of an appropriately balanced diet.

ACTION STEP: Want some healthy recipes? Click the button below to download my ‘Easy Meals for Busy People’ cheat sheet!

Always Keep Reaching!

Mike

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