Ahhh… the age old debate in the world of health and nutrition… what’s better for weight loss?   Allowing yourself a delicious high calorie dessert or sticking to only low-fat, low-sugar (low-taste!) options?!  Well, I’m hear to tell you which one I prefer… and I’d love to hear what you guys think, as well!

I used to opt for sugar free ice cream, 100 calorie snack packs, and highly processed low fat granola bars.  You know, all those quote-unquote healthy options!  And guess what?  I was 35 pounds heavier than I am now!!  These days I eat dark chocolate, rich chocolate avocado cookies, yummy coconut milk ice cream and any dessert that I want (as long as it’s gluten, dairy and soy free)!  The big difference (and the reason I can enjoy my treats and not feel guilty) is portion size!  I prefer small portions of the real, tasty, genuine, authentic dessert treats!  I would much rather have a handful of dark chocolate than FIVE 100 calorie packs!!

Rich, decadent desserts are just SO much more satisfying.  It’s almost a paradox of sorts… whenever I tell people that I eat chocolate and sweets every day, they’re naturally pretty surprised!  It’s normal to assume that eating a diet with calorie dense treats would result in weight gain, but it can actually result in weight loss!  Highly satisfying treats are helpful because they limit unnecessary snacking on low quality treats (like Starbursts, Skittles, cheap chocolate, etc.)  Studies have actually shown that those who enjoy chocolate regularly tend to weigh less than their sweet- shunning friends.  Sounds good to me!!

Eating a rich dessert feels like you’re treating yourself instead of denying yourself.  Who cares if you can’t eat the whole chocolate bar (trust me, when it’s 90% cocoa… you won’t want to.)

Now I know I have a different view than most of my health conscious friends on this debate.  They’d prefer to cut out sweets altogether rather than have to limit the sweets… but I completely disagree.  So I’m curious, what do you prefer?? Would you rather eat low calorie sweets, no sweets at all, or the richest most delightful treats (in moderation, of course) when trying to drop a few pounds??