Feel Guilty About Dessert? Eat Sweets Without Guilt
Have you ever felt bad after eating dessert?
If you answered yes, it’s not surprising – consider how we talk about desserts. They are sinful, whether a treat, a vice, or a guilty pleasure. We learn how to indulge in sweets guilt-free or how long we need to spend working out to “burn off” the calories.
Although it’s essential to consider the nutrients in food, did you realize that guilt about what you ate could be detrimental to your health? Feeling guilty when you eat can damage your well-being, lead to feelings of helplessness, and can be related to disordered eating habits.
Here are three suggestions to help you remove the guilt – and stress – from eating so that food can be joyful and beneficial for your body if you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I am so horrible for eating this,” and immediately felt sorry for doing so.
Don’t Save Calories
How often have you told yourself, “I’ll save my calories and have a very light lunch since I’m going out tonight”? You could even choose to forgo lunch entirely.
The issue is that restricting eating during the day can backfire and result in solid desires for food. You know the ones, like when you overeat from the bread basket and then feel bad right after because you were starving when you got to the table?
When you’re starving, you’re more likely to eat quickly, which might result in overeating and the shame that comes with it. To pay attention to your fullness signs is likewise considerably more difficult. Furthermore, if you force food down your throat, you aren’t even taking the time to savor it.
When You Worry About Unhealthy Foods
It is far better to normally eat during the day and feel only mildly hungry when you go out to eat.
When we eat food that we’ve classified as “bad” or “off-limits,” we frequently feel guilty. We learn so much in life that categorizes food as either “good” or “evil.” Since red is associated with a “transgression” and stimulates us to feel guilty, even the red, amber, and green food labeling has negative connotations.
According to a study, you are savoring food that you consider indulgent can make you feel filled sooner and make eating more enjoyable [1].
Eating involves more than just providing your body with nourishment and serving as fuel. However, food guilt can diminish the experience and delight of eating, such as the ability to take part in a fun party, a birthday or cultural celebration, or just a dinner with friends and family.
Considering how you have dealt with food guilt would be worthwhile. By keeping a journal, you can pinpoint the factors that contribute to your food guilt and what transpires when you’re feeling guilty.
Let Go of Rigid Food Rules
Do you have any dietary restrictions? Maybe you tell yourself that you shouldn’t eat after 8 o’clock or that gluten is unhealthy for you. Perhaps you’ve even declared pizza and ice cream taboo in your home.
We elevate a dish to a pedestal when we tell ourselves we can’t eat it. Ironically, this increases your appetite for the food you’ve banned and causes you to idolize it. Then, after giving in to those urges, you feel even worse about it because you just ate something you had previously considered forbidden.
On the other side, food has less emotional pull, and we feel less out of control around food and less guilt when labels are removed, and restrictions surrounding food are relaxed.
It’s essential to pay attention to the thoughts you have about food. Do you give yourself advice on what you should or shouldn’t do? For instance, I shouldn’t eat gluten and should only eat before 8 p.m. Guilt begins to fade when you loosen your restrictions on what you can eat.
5 Reasons You Should Stop Guilty About Dessert
1. It would help if you did not Deprive Yourself
We know that consuming a lot of sweets isn’t the healthiest option because it can result in several health problems down the road. But it’s also not a good idea to follow a rigorous diet for the rest of your life!
We can allow ourselves to indulge once or twice a week when eating a balanced diet. It’s acceptable to treat yourself to dessert sometimes.
Here are some easy actions you can take to eat better if you want to reduce how often you eat dessert:
- Start by consuming smaller meals
- Divide your food into small dishes
- Store food containers after you’ve finished serving
2. Some Desserts Can Protect You from Strokes
The chocolate lover will find this to be excellent news. A small amount of dark chocolate daily can help lower long-term stroke chances.
According to a study, those who consume dark chocolate frequently have a 17% lower chance of surviving a stroke than those who do not [2].
3. Dessert Can Lower Blood Pressure
The fact that candy bars can reduce blood pressure is an excellent reason to purchase some. Regularly consuming a little square of dark chocolate can lower your chance of developing cardiovascular problems [3].
Flavanols are found in cocoa, which is used to make chocolate. The most well-known flavonoids are called flavanols, include:
- Procyanidins
- Epicatechins
- catechins
4. Eating Dessert on Your Diet Will Not Automatically Make You Gain Weight
Rest assured that you should eat dessert as long as you are eating them in moderation. Enjoy every last bite of that treat while you work to reduce your waistline.
We have excellent news for anyone who has been avoiding all desserts out of fear that they may prevent them from losing weight: If you choose your desserts wisely, there’s no reason you can’t indulge.
5. Putting You in a Good Mood
All types of desserts, but especially puddings and chocolates, are delectable. Have you ever taken a bite of your favorite pudding and noticed an increase in happiness? That emotion is genuine.
Your preferred dessert can make you feel better than almost anything else. Your health will benefit significantly from this emotion [4].
You can enjoy every mouthwatering bite of dessert without feeling bad. Desserts can healthily satisfy your hunger, leaving you satiated and energized to continue working toward your health objectives.
Eat In Moderation!
Give yourself small amounts of sweets as a treat and as part of your healthy eating plan. Make careful to include them in your meal plan because sweets typically have a lot of calories.
Among your options are the following:
- Have a tiny serving every so often (for example, instead of having a whole chocolate bar, enjoy a small piece of your favorite chocolate)
- Balance your daily food intake to make room for your dessert, and be careful not to overeat the following day!
- Look for desserts with less butter and cream, such as low-fat yogurt ice cream in place of traditional full-fat ice cream and sponge cake in place of creamy cake.
- If you’re having lunch or dinner and want to indulge in dessert after your main course, split the dessert with a friend to cut the calories in half!
Go ahead & enjoy the dessert!
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6873279/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28324761/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908554/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4406590/
Want to learn more about having your cake and eating it too? Schedule a session today with Tradena N. Rayner, MS, RDN, CDN, the Weight Inclusive Dietitian. She accepts Aetna, Anthem, BCBS, United Healthcare, Sana Benefits, and self-pay.
