Your Guilt-Free Dessert Guide

Your Healthy Dessert Guide

Desserts are a delicious and fun part of life. Many family gatherings, parties and functions have amazing desserts to partake of. And what's summer without a scoop of ice cream to beat the heat?  

Unless...you start working towards a fat loss goal. Then dessert becomes the enemy that pops up at birthday parties and get-togethers in the forms of cake, cookies, cupcakes and candy, tempting you to give in.

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So what do you do? Give up desserts forever?

Taking a zero-dessert stance is a risky decision because it increases your chances of falling of the wagon, so to speak. Instead of having an acceptable dessert every once in a while, your dessert denial turns into large slice of cake...followed by some ice cream, a handful of cookies and topped off with some chocolates for good measure. Enough calories for 5, 6, or 7 mindful dessert choices.

I don’t want your fitness results to be forfeited over a slice of cake snowballing into your daily caloric intake.  And I don't want your health journey to ever feel like you have to avoid the things you enjoy (just modified to make healthier choices). 

So I’ve come up with the following 7 Steps to Guilt-Free Desserts. Use these steps as your guide to safely navigate sweet temptations and to quickly arrive at your fitness goal.

1. Fruit Is Best.
Fresh, organic, seasonal fruit is the ultimate all-natural, guilt-free dessert. It’s filled with fiber, vitamins, minerals and delicious, natural sweetness. Don’t be afraid to include some fruit in your diet. Learn to savor and enjoy fruit just as you would a decadent slice of cake. Fruit should be your number one, go-to, favorite dessert.

2. Choose Only Wholesome Sweeteners.
When fat loss is your goal, cane sugar and refined sugars such corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup have no place in your diet. Ever! Not even when you indulge in dessert. Lucky for you, there are plenty of more wholesome sweeteners available (and desserts made with them) which will have less of an impact on your blood sugar. 
Try: raw honey, pure maple syrup, coconut crystals or even apple sauce to make your desserts naturally sweeter.

3. Use Whole Food Flours.
So you have your wholesome sweetener and now you’re reaching for some white flour to bake, right? Wrong. Just like sugar, white flour is processed, with no nutritional value, and should be banned when fat loss is your goal. 
Try these whole food flours instead: almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal or oat flour.

4. Take Your Chocolate Dark.
If chocolate is your dessert-of-choice, then learn to love the dark stuff. 73% cocoa content is a good place to start, then as your sweet receptors become more sensitive you’ll start to like even darker chocolate. Dark chocolate is lower in sugar and higher in cocoa, which is where the actual benefit of chocolate lies: antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

5. Portion Size Matters.
When you’re working towards a fat loss goal you need to control the amount of sugars that enter your body, even when that sugar is from these healthier dessert options. The goal of these is to give you that sweet tooth fix you may have, and still being able to enjoy and partake in celebrations as you normally would. BUT...you still have fat loss goals. So while a little dessert is acceptable, keep them a few bites. Learn to savor and enjoy.

​6. Remember Moderation.
Since fat loss is your goal, dessert should not be an everyday occurrence. Just because I am giving you healthier options doesn't mean I am also giving you the green light for daily dessert! ​As we know, lean meats, and an abundance of fresh vegetables should make up the bulk of your diet. However, wholesome, portion-controlled desserts are OK too... occasionally. When you’ve met your fitness goal, and are maintaining your results, then you’ll be able to include wholesome desserts a little more often.

7. Exercise Hard.
I would never propose to use food as a reward for exercise, but I will say that working out should be a requirement before including these wholesome desserts in your diet. If you’re not working out, then even these wholesome desserts in moderation could lead to some pounds gained. Exercise is a huge part of the puzzle when it comes to losing fat and getting lean.

Instead of completely avoiding desserts (or any food group for that matter) learning how to make healthier choices and healthier portions is the key to feeling like you are still able to eat the things you like...even dessert! 

As always, aren’t happy with your current body​ and need help creating your goals, the plan, or implementing these healthy habits, I am only a call or email away and would love to do whatever I can to help you succeed!
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Now is your time to get into the best shape of your life! Let's get started. 

Dedicated To Making Healthy Your Habit,

Mychael

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