Dessert Desert
One of the goals Bart and I set this year was to only eat two desserts a week [Edit: This means two servings of desserts a week, not two nights a week where we can eat desserts as fast as we can shove them through our lips. If that means half a dessert four nights a week, great. If that means two desserts in one night, also great].
I won’t lie and say it’s been all fun and games; on a few weeks it has been a kind of lame thing. But really, overall, it hasn’t been that big of a problem. It means that we generally don’t eat desserts during the week and have one on Saturday and Sunday nights.
One of the things I’ve really liked about it is that it’s made me realize how many sweets I eat without recognizing it. I’m certainly not going to waste one of my desserts on a handful of Hershey kisses. Some dry, disgusting cookies some one brought into work and left on the table? No thanks. Before this, I would have, though.
We’re flexible about our desserts too – we do halves or even quarters (for instance, we’ve determined that two regular sized cookies is one serving, so when I had half a cookie last night, it was a quarter of a serving and only one-eighth of my overall weekly dessert budget).
And seriously, it is so fun on a Sunday night to say, “We both have one dessert left. What should we have?!” Nothing tastes better than your last dessert on Sunday night. This dessert last week? Divine.
Does this just sound insane or, like Kristi, do you find yourself thinking, “hmm, I could do that.”
Not insane at all. When I was trying to lose a little weight last summer, that's what I did. Dessert for FHE and one other dessert during the week. These days, >>I<< still only eat two desserts a week, it's just that the baby seems to want her own dessert every day! 😉
You have great will power. I am impressed. This sounds like a smart way to limit the desserts without completely depriving yourself of them. I will contemplate trying this… we’ll see later if I can commit.
When you make those cookies for Sunday night do you eat the whole batch at once? This would be what I would do, but it seems like that wouldn’t work.
I think this is a great idea. More power to you. I’m not sure I could do it, because just knowing I couldn’t have a dessert would make me want more.
You clearly have a lot of will power.
I am very much impressed.
xox
I am physically capable of doing it but I have no desire to. I kind of live off of sweets. Half of the days I don’t cook I just have a piece of cake or some cookies for dinner instead of real food. It’s just how I operate. Healthy? No. Happy? Yes!
I’ve done the dessert one day a week thing, but I really don’t do well with limiting myself that much. Like Jenna, I usually go overboard when sweets are permissible, and/or on the nights when I can’t have dessert I’ll eat everything that’s sugary but not considered a dessert just to kill my craving. Either way it totally defeats the purpose.
I do better just limiting my portions. Or, like Kayla, I cut out the good stuff to make room for the bad. Not good, I know. I’m just making good use of my relatively good metabolism while I can.
I don’t think it’s insane, but I am a big believer in Will Power. I gave up soda last year, except for one monthly root beer, and when people asked me how I did it, I was like, “I don’t buy soda. And then I don’t drink it.” Is that just me? That said, I am happily off that wagon now.
My trick to reconcile my love of baking and hate of the chub is to send off the excess to JG at work. Teachers will eat anything.
It doesn’t sound insane at all. Actually, it’s a very good idea. I always thought of the treat after dinner to be dessert, but I never think about the cookie or piece of chocolate, I eat nearly every day, to be dessert. I guess I’ll think twice before I have something sweet, and save it for a special night. I don’t know how long I’ll last, but I will give it a try.
Wait, I just checked out those cookies you linked, and since I’ve already had my fair share of desserts for the week, I don’t think I can wait until Sunday to make them! Dang it! I shouldn’t have looked!
Hmm…I really like your idea! I actually started trying to go with no sugar, but I found it impossible not because of cravings (those went away in less than a week) but because living in the real world makes it difficult to avoid desserts. If I go to a ward function, there are desserts. If I go on a date, we’ll usually go out for dessert. Hanging out with friends, its part of the social atmosphere to eat junk food. So I like your idea!! I like it so much, I may adopt it! Thanks for posting it!
I’m with RA — I know if I buy it or make it, I’ll eat it. So I just don’t.
I think I might be drooling at the picture of the ghiradelli cookies. Yummy. So how much does a handful of Cadbury Eggs count? Every day of the week? (But only once a year, until the bag is gone). I need to know that before I could commit.
I’m glad you pointed out how often we eat just lame sweets for no real reason whatsoever. I don’t make “dessert” that often, but I often find myself eating some dry packaged cookies or something just because they are there. When I do make dessert I end up eating most of it, because I am the one who is here, I don’t let the kids eat tons of it, and Roger only wants one piece or one cookie. Sorry, this is your post, not mine 🙂
I am doing this too, but limiting myself to one dessert a week. So far it’s going well. I just drink a lot of hazelnut vanilla tea (o calories) with milk to appease my sweet tooth.
This is a great idea! I will admit–when I first starting reading your post, I was thinking, “I could never do that.” But by the end? I think I want to try it. I love my dessert, but I keep wondering if I could be just *that* much healthier if I tempered my cravings a bit!
hey i nominated you for an award! 🙂
ten cents a dance looks really good too after your raving review…
-amy
I can honestly say that desserts don’t do it for me…I am a salt girl.
I do the same thing – chips are a treat to only have occasionally. Sigh.
Wow, that’s actually a really good idea. Right now at this moment I would say that I don’t eat too many desserts, but like you said, I think you eat more than you actually think you do. Now I’m going to be paying more attention to that. I’m impressed you’re sticking to it!
i wish i had the self-discipline to do that. you go girl.
if only i were that dedicated! i may have lost the extra 40 pounds by now 🙂
that sounds like a great idea, especially if you’re both doing it – that way it probably doesn’t feel like you’re missing out on good stuff every night! my bf and i just started a new eating plan and one of the big things for us, since we eat out for dinner at least 4 nights a week, will be only eating half of whatever we’re served. it makes such a difference to just be aware of how much is going into your mouth, especially at a restaurant where the portions are usually gigantic anyway!
That’s a super great idea! I may steal it!