Some people feel that dieting means giving up the food they love and that includes desserts or any sweet treats. However, when you have to limit yourself too much because of your diet, you may begin to feel frustrated and your healthy eating plan is as good as compromised. You can still enjoy desserts, even if you want to lose weight, as long as you follow a few simple guidelines and keep in mind that as with most things in life, moderation is the key.
Low calorie desserts
As we always emphasize: the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. That being said, you can replace your usual rich in calories dessert with a “diet-friendly” one: low on calories and light on the hips. There are plenty of choices. If you’re not the type of person that likes to cook, you can buy sugar free desserts at most grocery stores. Look for the ones that are 100 calories or less and you get to enjoy a delicious ice cream without feeling guilty about it. If you like to cook, that’s even better, home made food is usually healthier and tastes better! In this case, great options include a low calorie assorted fruit salad: apples, sliced bananas and caramel sauce, or a yummy smoothie with fat free milk and yogurt, your favorite fruits and ice. No, cake is not out of the question. You can make yourself a “light” red velvet cake using low fat cream cheese frosting. There even are recipes out there for a skinny German chocolate cake. Organic chocolate is a good option as well and if you’re the type of person who gets a sweet tooth often, make sure you keep semi-sweet chocolate chips in your freezer and have a Tbsp of those if you have to.
Eating out
It’s relatively easy to go for healthy desserts when you’re the one doing the cooking or grocery shopping, but when you eating at a restaurant you have less control, because your options are limioted by what’s on the menu. There are a few general tips to keep in mind for when you are eating out. Firstly, eat an apple before you go out to eat, this will help you control your hunger (we all know hungry people make bad decisions). Before getting to dessert, try to eat your food very slowly and savor each bite, but do not clean your plate (leave at least 1/4 of the food on the plate). Make sure at least 20 minutes pass after finishing your meal and before ordering desserts, this will give your stomach enough time to signal your brain that you are pretty full. You could try and spot healthy desserts on the menu: fruits mousses or souffles, sorbet, anything with mainly yogurt, watermelon. If none of that seem to be in the offer, simply order your favorite dessert and split it with one of your companions: half a dessert equals half the calories. Or you could create your own dessert by ordering a cup of coffee and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream with it.
Keep in mind that occasional indulging is a good idea and it is perhaps preferable to completely removing sweets from your life.
