Eat Dessert After Breakfast

A weight researcher claims that dieters have less hunger and cravings throughout the day and are better able to keep off lost weight if they eat dessert after breakfast.

Endocrinologist Daniela Jakubowicz says, "The goal of a weight loss diet should be not only weight reduction but also reduction of hunger and cravings, thus helping prevent weight regain." She and her team studied nearly 200 nondiabetic obese adults who were randomly assigned to eat one of two low-calorie diets. Both diets had the same number of daily calories–about 1,600 for men and 1,400 for women–but differed mainly in what they ate immediately afterwards.

Halfway through the eight-month study, participants in both groups lost an average of 33 pounds. However, in the last four months of the study, the non-dessert group regained an average of 22 pounds, while the group whose breakfast included a small sweet, such as chocolate, a doughnut, a cookie or cake lost ANOTHER 15 pounds.

And if you eat something chocolate, you’re even FARTHER ahead of the game: The Swiss company Callebaut, the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer, has won the backing of the European Food Safety Authority for claiming that its cocoa flavanoids can lower your blood pressure.Barry Callebaut has carried out over 20 clinical studies since 2005 in order to prove his claims.

What if you don’t agree with all this, and try to stick to a healthy diet–can you eat TOO MANY vegetables? Dietitian Brooke Schantz.says, "While fruits are nutritious, too much of even a healthy food can lead to weight gain. The key is to remember to control the portion sizes of the foods you consume."

Overeating healthy foods is easy to do, but the same rules apply to healthy food as junk food. Weight fluctuates based on the basic concept of energy in versus energy out (or DOES it?) If your total caloric intake is higher than the energy you burn off in a day, you will gain weight. If it is lower, you will lose weight.

Schantz says, "I have had many patients tell me that they don’t know why they are not losing weight, then they report that they eat fruit all day long. They are almost always shocked when I advise them to watch the quantity of food they eat even if it is healthy.

"People tend to give themselves the freedom to overeat ‘healthy’ foods. While the label might say that a food or beverage is low-fat or fat-free, watch the quantity you consume and refrain from eating an excessive amount. Foods that carry these health claims may be high in sugar and calories."

But don’t go overboard: if you’ve been eating TOO MUCH cake for breakfast (and drinking too many spoonfuls of sugar in your coffee), then you should know that the download of Anne Strieber’s famous diet book is now ON SALE, just in time for bathing suit season: The price has been REDUCED TO $2.99 (which is $2 off!)