Not to sound creepy but I’ve been watching you. It’s late at night; you’re cleaning the kitchen or just arrived home from a dinner out. Perhaps the kids are asleep. It’s quiet. You feel a little tired but there’s something that needs to happen before you go to sleep. Maybe it’s a piece of dark chocolate or a Skinny Cow. It isn’t much you say, maybe 100 calories. After all, what’s wrong with a little dessert? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions shortly.
Last summer, back when it was warm, I caught a segment my close friend (and fellow nutritionist) Keri Glassman did on frozen desserts. She presented her top treats and the reasoning behind her selections. At one point the anchor, Storm Field, looked at her and said “but we shouldn’t have these daily, right? Why all of a sudden are people having dessert everyday?” Not bad for a weatherman, Storm had a good point. Keri concurred during the segment and I nodded as I watched.
I wouldn’t be a dietitian if I didn’t do a little calorie counting here and there (though I far prefer talking about juicer issues). Let’s take that 100 calorie after dinner snack (aka dessert). That seemingly tiny treat, nightly, adds up to 36,500 calories in a year. And we all know that the treat isn’t always tiny. Well that 36,500 divided by 3,500 calories in a pound is 10.43. Simply put that Skinny Cow may be keeping you from getting skinny. I learned today that skinny is a bad word (diet Pepsi is catching plenty of slack for their new skinny can versus what’s in the can); many people don’t want to be skinny. If you don’t have 10 pounds you want to lose, I’m not talking to you but for the other 99% of you reading this, at least you know what needs to go.
If you’re suddenly feeling panic stricken, don’t. I’m not making house calls (yet) and swooping in to confiscate the candy. I’m not saying you have to do away with the dark chocolate. I have a couple of options. The first, we’ll call Show Yourself a Skip. If you’re someone who has something every night of the week, commit to a skip night or 2. For starters I would pre-plan the skip nights, for example you can start the week with skips every Monday and Tuesday. This will remove the automatic nature of dessert eating and you’ll hopefully be able to ask yourself “do I need something or can I skip it” down the road. For those of you who need more of an intervention, I suggest Dessert Detox. Try a week where you end your eating day with dinner. Check back with me and let me know how it goes. And for the record, I’m not actually watching you.
Are you someone who has dessert daily? Do you think dessert has shifted from a sometimes event to an all-the-time thing? Can you see Showing Yourself a Skip or Dessert Detox in your future? I’ve ditched the dates, detox for me.
Interesting point. I have been trying to clean up my eats and this past week I inadvertently skipped my after dinner mejool dates myself, and ya know what, I lost a lb. So. I guess it helps. I think that many people have a psychological addiction to sweets that can only be addressed by asking, "what is that dessert replacing?" Maybe finding a new hobby, a new way to wind down at night or looking deeper into what psychological void that sweet is filling will help (one) give it up here and there? Calorie-free food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI go in waves. When I start having something sweet every night, I NEED it every night, but once I cut it out, I come to crave it less. That probably makes sense, huh? All I know is that once this baby is out, it will be dessert detox for me :)
ReplyDeleteVerging- I agree it's behavioral and for many people is that "I can relax after dinner" thing. I find a bath works just as well or a cup of tea. Aidan, sweet begets sweet so you're absolutely right, when it's gone you don't usually miss it. Can't wait for baby news, mid march?
ReplyDeleteI have always been a dessert every night person and I would buy the skinny cows, puddings etc. In the past year or so I have cleaned up my act and now I refuse to eat any of that processed stuff and have stuck with either dark chocolate or no nasty ingredients cookies. I realize though I am eating dessert more out of habit than anything else. I try and take my own advice I give to my clients and before I reach for dessert I assess my hunger levels and decide "do I really need this treat." If I am hungry, I have an apple which satisfies my sweet tooth and fills me up. Thanks for posting this, Lauren. I think we can all be more mindful when it comes to our after dinner treats and a dessert detox wouldn't hurt either :)
ReplyDeleteAt my old job I used to be in the habit of walking by a desk that always had a bowl of hershey kisses on it. When you consider what you’re eating in a day, I’m sure we all can identify the things we really enjoyed or that we could have skipped. With the kisses, there were days that I really was craving them, and other days when I just ate them because they were there, and I was in the habit of doing it. When you put it in terms of calories per year adding up to pounds, it’s certainly an incentive to steer clear of the bowl! Unlike breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it helps to stick to the notion of thinking about sweets and dessert as special occasion items, and to “reward” yourself in other ways after dinner with a bath, or turning off the phone, computer, and tv to read a magazine.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad that dessert every day has to go!
ReplyDeleteI realized that long ago:)
The first thing that has to go though is the sugary drinks! Those are a big “waste” of the sugar allowance. If you still have sugary drinks in your life you’d be amazed at how easy it is without them, and how many calories are “shaved” by addressing this habit.
I was thinking about this the other day...In the old days, people had dessert very rarely, and it was treated as a treat. I don't need to lose weight or anything, but I still think that it would be better if I skipped out on that extra treat after dinner so that I can appreciate it more :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%! So many of my clients ask me for healthy desserts. It's such a hard habit to break! I've just actually completed 1 week of no snacks after dinner and it was absolutely horrible. I'm training for a marathon and those extra 300 calories around 730pm really, really make a difference.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right, if weight loss is the goal cutting out that after dinner snack can make such a huge impact. It's unreal. Great post!
Alex, exactly we're not anti dessert but maybe weekends or special occasions but daily? Don't think so. Leanne I'm with you with the nothing after dinner, just have to make dinner satisfying and "fill up" on the right things. Little changes big results.
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm going to try giving up my evening mango and dark chocolate. I can do that twice a week, right? Right?
ReplyDeleteI just watched a video that touched on this briefly, from the other perspective. The person speaking kinda rigidly adhered to their diet, but while traveling, had a colleague point out the concept of "festival" as a meaningful traditional cultural activity.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with desserts only on special occasions, and in general, I like the idea as a more general practice.
Of course, I have my 85% dark chocolate semi-regularly, but that's not dessert ;).
OK marie, try Showing yourself a skip 2 nights OR jump right in with dessert detox (I'm here for you). Beth, agree with desserts relegated to special occasions. However, if dark chocolate is after dinner it's kinda dessert, regardless of the %. Hope we're still blogging friends.
ReplyDeleteI am so guilty of this...I totally need something after dinner every night. It can get a bit out of control! So I go to bed early to minimize the damage.
ReplyDeleteThis post is so timely as I've been trying to break my dessert everynight habit for the last couple weeks. I'm usually pretty good with holding off until Wed/Thurs night, but I find winter is really hard as I can't distract myself with a walk outside. Here's a question though - if you avoid dessert until the weekend or on special occasions, are you more likely to overdo it? If so, do the calories from your weekend dessert fest equal the total amount you would have consumed if you allowed yourself a little dessert every night of the week? What's better? I guess in both situations in comes down to topics of self-control and motivation - both bigger discussions in themselves...
ReplyDeleteThe promise of having dessert after dinner helps me to avoid eating sugary things during the day. This approach has helped me cut my sugar intake, so (at least for the time being) I'll probably stick with a daily dessert to fend off my 4PM candy craving.
ReplyDeleteThis is very timely for me as well - I set a goal to drop about 8 pounds by May 1. (I'm at a pretty healthy weight to begin with but like most people would love to see a little bit come off my thighs!) Anyway, I am certainly guilty of heading up to the kitchen most nights after dinner, and in the past few weeks I went on a detox - kitchen closed after dinner. Making exceptions only for the occasional nights that we go out for a nice dinner (maybe 1-2 times a month). Guess what? Dropping 1-2 pounds a week with no other changes to my diet. I wasn't eating like crazy at night either - most nights it was just a skinny cow or small bowl of lowfat frozen yogurt or something.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily have dessert but I do snack after dinner. And I think cuttingback would make some improvements on my attempt at weight management
ReplyDeleteFor me, I love a sweet treat each day. Desserts are my favorite food by far so this is a tough subject for me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes my protein shake works even though it is first thing in the am. I have been conditioned to eat dessert everynight (which is bad), saving carbs or calories for this. I find that a frozen treat, fruit, or Vitatop, do the trick. I tried closing the kitchen the other night, and it was hard but I did it.
I find that I have a much harder time between 5-7pm -- when I get home from work -- this is a different topic but is something I am faced with everyday I walk in from work and SUPER HUNGRY.
I am willing to try the suggestions above. For me, its about living in the moment, paying attention to bad habits. If I am in the moment, I am aware of habits and making an effort to make a change.
I think you are right on. The problem is the habit of eating sweets at night or "needing" that little dessert. I catch myself getting into that habit sometimes. Planning skip nights is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Well, for me, I could never not eat after dinner, because I get hungry! I always tell people they shouldn't eat unless they get hungry. If they get hungry, eat something (my favorite is a blueberry, almond milk, and unsweetened cocoa powder smoothie). If I get into bed hungry I can't fall asleep. The hardest thing is making sure you aren't mindlessly eating at night. As long as your actually hungry, I don't see the harm :)
ReplyDeleteGina, love the alternate view point. Thanks for lending it. I'm curious if you eat dinner especially early...If we are truly hungry I believe in a non-sweet after dinner snack as more of a mini meal. I think if people have 3 meals and 2 snacks in course of their day most of the time not actually hungry. There are always exceptions!
ReplyDeleteahhh I am so a dessert every day type of girl- i assumed that being good all day meant i could save up for my after dinner snacks- I Look forward to it- im afraid if I stop this will leave me craving more sweets throughout the day!
ReplyDelete- Even if it's sugar free ice cream for dessert?!
Lauren you make amazing smart points as ALWAYS!!! I do remember being impressed with "Storm" when he said "these are not for every night though right?". I have to admit that when my own kids say, "What's for dessert?" I think to myself HOW did dessert become something that comes up daily! Dessert should be a way to indulge in a conscious manner from time to time... I do think there are other people however, that have an after dinner snack as part of their daily routine, and that is ok as long as it is part of their daily needs AND of course not high sugar/junk filled dessert type items.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, love your dessert detox. Think I may have to follow that advice after a dessert too many trip! xoKeri
We were never a family that ate dessert after dinner but there WAS always something in the house you could munch on if the mood struck. I would classify myself as a daily dessert person. I like to have a cookie or a piece of cocolate at some point throughout the day. I don't see anything wrong with it though, even if a person is trying to lose weight. But I think I get more of the angle you are coming from and agree with your points. In my opinion, I eat really healthy, so to me, a little piece of something at some point in the day is not going to make or break me.
ReplyDeleteI strongly suggest the dessert detox. I was a daily dessert eater (morning, afternoon and night. I got to the point where I was always craving something sweet after I ate so I tried a detox. I gave up dessert for 8 weeks, lost 5 pound effortlessly and stopped the constant craving. I have reintroduced dessert into my life, but found that I don't "love" it the way that I did. Now I need to work on my kids dessert after lunch habit.
ReplyDeletedo you know how many calories are in each medjool date? i'm obsessed!
ReplyDelete