Always need dessert? Emotional eating?

hselch · January 2012

So basically I do really well all day and I eat a very good dinner after which I'm usually full. However, I always feel the need for some sort of dessert even if I'm not hungry. It doesn't feel like emotional eating and it's definitely not a binge by any means but I'm not hungry but I eat anyway. It's not like the dessert is anything special either. I know it's just habit, but I can't seem to break this habit of after dinner eating! I even know what I could do instead ( read a book, go for a walk, sip tea blah blah blah) but I usually end up just saying whatever and rationalizing that my body needs the extra calories ( which is probably true but still).

Basically I'm just wondering if anyone out there feels like this after dinner too and/ or has any tips for breaking this habit or how I can force myself to drink tea or brush my teeth?!

I just know that by cutting out dessert ( and thus an extra 200 calories and extra sugars) I can lose weight and feel better and actually look forward to breakfast! So any tips and consolations are much appreciated!!

h3h8m3 · January 2012

You suggest that you might need the calories... are you eating enough during the day? If not, you should. Eat the right amount of calories earlier in the day.

The simple solution to stop eating dessert is to just avoid having it in the house. If that's not possible at least get it out of sight and make it inconvenient to get.

IndioGirl · January 2012

I have dessert every nite - I budget my calories to allow for evening snacks (my hardest time) - It's not about diets - they don't work - what happens when you go off them - you gain the weight back - why - cuz you go back eating "normal" normal is what got you fat in the 1st place - this is about a whole liveable lifetime lifestyle change in your eating -

So if you want dessert - just budget your calories to include one..

katkins3 · January 2012

My husband and I were used to having a desert and thought we would have to give it up.
Not so! There a lots of low calorie deserts out there, both commercial and home made. We like baked apples with cinnamon, Skinny Cow ice creams, flavored yogurt, and even a McDonald's ice cream cone is only 150 calories and their berry parfaits is pretty good. Ruby Tuesday has a berry parfait dessert we order some time.
You can find many low cal and even nutritious deserts online. Russell Stover makes sugar free candies, (but don't eat too many at once or they cause diarrhea).
You don't have to give up your favorites, just have them in moderation and enter you calories.

hselch · January 2012

I guess it's not so much that I WANT to eat dessert, its that I feel I NEED/HAVE to. I would just like to make dessert something to look forward to-if that makes sense.

But i am definitely working on budgeting it in!

kateroot · January 2012

Budgeting it into your daily calories will definitely help. But if you're looking to cut down on having dessert every night, I find that if I don't buy sweets, it's easier for me to have a cup of tea after dinner or something instead of dessert. If they're not in the house, then I have to actually go out to the store to get them, and a lot of times that's enough incentive for me to just skip dessert. It also helps me sometimes to eat my dinner super slowly, so that by the time I'm finished I'm pretty full and my cravings aren't as intense.

Ceebee37 · January 2012

I have dessert each night, just healthy choices like weight watchers, low fat icecream, jelly, sponge, frozen yoghurt, etc, or a weight watchers chocolate drink:) I love my dessert, I just factor it in my calories.

Hellbent_Heidi · January 2012

Its a habit...your body craves the sweets after dinner because its used to getting it at that time. If you can break it for a while, it will get easier. Anytime you cut something out of your day, the body will eventually stop craving it.

Always need dessert? Emotional eating?

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