How to Lose Weight without Dumping Desserts

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Lose Weight

Have you ever wondered how cutting back on sugar can impact you, especially if you have been consuming sugary meals for a long time now – habitually?

For a lot of people, eating sugary food, affects the reward center of their brain. This way, it creates a happy reward feeling.

That said, if you are trying to lose weight and you are following a dedicated meal plan, then you might need that reward feeling after lunch or dinner. The one question that many weight-watchers have is whether they can have dessert every day after one meal and still lose weight.

The simple answer to this question is: yes!

While the answer is in the affirmative, there are a couple of things that you need to look out for.

Read on to learn more.

Transition from High-Sugar Desserts to Low-Sugar Desserts

 If you are serious about losing weight but cannot cut out sugary items, it is important to transition from the typically high-sugar desserts, such as cupcakes and ice creams to lower-sugar desserts.

You might as well cut back on the portion size of the dessert of your choice. It is important to not cut out dessert altogether because it does impact the reward center of the brain.

In other words, you will feel kind of lost and even negative and when this happens, you are naturally going to associate cutting back on desserts with negativity.

This way, it will become more difficult to maintain this kind of cutback on desserts for the long term.

Gradually Cut Back on Sugar by Reducing Portion Size

The best way to maintain a low sugar intake but still keep the reward center of your brain fueled is to sort of gradually cut back on sugar. There are two simple ways you can do that.

Firstly, you will try to cut down on sugar for two weeks by cutting out on portion size. Suppose you have the habit of consuming one cup of strawberry and chocolate ice cream every day – which is a lot of sugar.

You should aim to cut your portion size to half a cup or three-quarter cup. This way, you will still get to have dessert and activate the reward system of your brain – but you will be evidently consuming less sugar.

The only potential problem is that there will be days when you will be having extra good or extra bad days, in which case you will probably want to consume the entire tub of ice cream.

If you have little to none self-control in this matter, you might want to have an accountability partner so they can ensure that you are consistently having the smaller portion size.

Change the Flavor

If you are struggling with cutting back on portion size, your other option would be to switch to a flavor that has less sugar in it. While buying your favorite dessert, such as ice cream, you can try out flavors with less grams of sugar.

For instance, the chocolate flavor will have a higher percentage of sugar as compared to the cookie flavor. Apart from cutting back on portion size, you will want to add a healthy dessert with the sugar dessert.

For instance, you might want to take half a bowl of ice cream with a half portion of fruits or granola. Eventually, you will want to make the transition to only fruits and granola. There are countless healthy dessert choices, and once you get the hang of it, you would want to stick to healthy dessert options only.

Some Interesting Benefits of Consuming Dessert

Typically, desserts are linked with weight gain, but as mentioned before, you will want to cut down on portion sizes and eventually replace the typical desserts with healthy variations, such as granola bars and fruits.

But – it is not recommended to cut out desserts or sweetness out of your life forever as desserts can do good for you in the following ways:

Decrease Blood Pressure

We know that chocolate is made of cocoa which has blood-pressure-lowering elements as well.

That said, research suggests that you should eat one small square of dark chocolate daily. Dark chocolate has a high concentration of the antioxidant of flavonoids, which is not only anti-inflammatory but also boosts the immune system.

Workout Inspiration

Since you know that you are indulging in sweets, you are more likely to feel “guilty” and make a conscious effort to work it off afterwards. If you cannot live without dessert, you are allowed to munch on a few portions of sweet goods, such as cookies.

You might want to check out the Crumbl Cookies menu and prices and satisfy your cravings. However, make sure to hit the gym regularly and consume healthy and well-balanced meals.

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Once you successfully focus on portion control, you will be happily munching on desserts without overindulging. This way, you will feel happy – even when you are on a diet, as you will have something to look forward to every day.

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