7 Tricks to Not Eating a Dessert and Staying on Track with Your Diet ...

By Jennifer

Oh, girl. I know how to eat dessert. I’m a pro! But I’ve only just learned how not to eat dessert, how not to indulge every culinary whim and wreck my diet. If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, and find you’re always skipping dinner to get right to dessert, keep reading. Here are 7 tricks to not eating dessert, and thus staying on track with your diet.

1 Empty the Pantry

One of the best ways not to eat dessert is to not buy it, or have it on hand, in the first place. If you don’t have any cookies or cupcakes, you’re not going to devour them, right? Step one: empty the pantry and get rid of anything you know you’ll crave later. Step two: on your next trip to the grocery store, skip the dessert and snacks aisle and the bakery department, and head for the checkout. There!

2 Fill up First

I am oh-so-guilty of this, of skipping my dinner, or eating only a little, so I’m not too full to enjoy my dessert. So naturally, one of the best ways how not to eat dessert is to actually eat your dinner, ALL of your dinner, before you even consider indulging. That’s right — vegetables, too!

3 Wait 15 Minutes

It takes your brain about 15 minutes to realize your tummy is full, so rather than heading straight for the cheesecake as soon as you’ve swallowed your last bite of peas, wait for 15 minutes to see if you even still have room. You might have filled up on the good stuff (lean protein and veggies) and won’t even have room for, or a craving for, dessert anymore.

4 Learn Your Servings

Sometimes, it’s not a matter of how not to eat dessert. Sometimes, it’s actually just a matter of how not to eat an entire chocolate cake. This is when learning what a serving size looks like is key. A slice of cake shouldn’t be six inches across, and you shouldn’t be able to bathe in the tub a pudding comes in. A serving of dessert ought to be small, small enough to fit in the cupped palm of your hand.

5 Watch the Drinks

You might think you’re doing yourself a favor by having a coffee drink for dessert, rather than a slice of pie. But some coffee drinks can actually have more calories than dessert — some even have as many calories as a cheeseburger! Skip the mocha, skip the whipped cream, and skip the whole milk. Otherwise, you’ll have to consider your after-dinner coffee drink as a dessert. Then it’s not how not to eat dessert, it’s how not to drink it!

6 Split It!

Do you have a friend who’s dieting, too, and also wondering how not to eat dessert? If neither of you can stand it anther second, feel free to order a small dessert (like the shot-glass sized portions at Applebee’s) and share it. Two bites each — that’s plenty. It really is! Savor each bite, and sip water with it to highlight the flavor and texture.

7 Schedule It

Let’s face it. It is impossible, straight up NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, this skipping dessert all the time. Would life even be worth living without it, at least once in a while? No. So feel free to indulge… once in a while. Schedule dessert once or twice a week, a sensible serving. Make it a treat — which is just exactly what a dessert ought to be. A treat.

Take it from me, the original Sweet Tooth herself — it is completely possible not to ruin your diet with an ill-timed treat, hopefully, you’re no longer wondering how not to eat dessert, you’re wondering who to share one of those Applebee’s dessert shooters with! Which of these tips do you think you’ll find most helpful? Or do you have another idea to share? Please do!

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