Element Mindful Munching: Dessert

For many of us, dessert is a comfort food to help us feel emotionally better. Many of us tell ourselves that in an effort to lose weight, we are going to cut out all desserts. This lasts for a few days or may last for a few weeks until we give in to our desires.

Many of us turn to a sweet after a meal because we feel we deserve a treat, or feel physically tired after a long day, or we want to join in the fun or celebration with others. Oftentimes, we turn to dessert because of habit. Learning to set intentions and pay attention to our dessert habits and desires can be an eye-opening, life-changing experience. After getting curious and studying our own dessert desires, many often find that the sticky, chewy cake we once loved really doesn’t taste that good.

Mindful eating is eating with attention and intention. This can translate into eating slower, eating less, eating without guilt or shame, eating more nutritiously, and eating with more pleasure. It may be easy to eat something like simple, plain food like broiled chicken breast or carrot sticks mindfully, but navigating dessert can be much more challenging. There are many ways to mindfully eat dessert. Here are three to try:

Paying Attention

If you notice that you want dessert, take a moment for yourself and ask where this desire is coming from. Pay attention to your mood, the sensations in your body, the thoughts in your head, and notice what they are telling you. Do you want dessert because you see a plate of cookies in the kitchen, smell a pie baking in the oven, are you physically tired and looking for a pick-me-up, are you feeling lonely or frustrated, or are you seeking comfort, companionship, or pleasure? Does your body feel physically hungry, or is it not yet satisfied? Stopping and paying attention to your body, thoughts, and feelings before eating dessert, or anything, encourages you to make a conscious decision about if and what you will eat.

Structure

Eat whatever you want for dessert and enjoy it guilt-free, but create a structure around it so you don’t mindlessly eat. Examples of structure or rules could be:

I will enjoy ½ cup of ice cream once per day as long as it is scooped into a bowl
I will enjoy 4 regular-sized bites of any dessert I choose
I enjoy dessert on Saturday night

Special Treat

Enjoy dessert when it strikes your fancy, but make it a special treat. Before beginning, take several deep breaths. Enjoy dessert in a bowl or on a plate, smell it before you take the first bite, and take a good look at the dish before your first bite. When you are ready for the first bite, bring it to your mouth, savoring the flavor and feeling the texture in your mouth. Put the spoon or fork down between bites. Take another breath and assess if you have had enough. Know that the first bite is always the best and that when we slow down and pay attention to taste and our body, we may be satisfied way before the dish is complete. Don’t worry about not finishing or wasting uneaten food; you can always save it for another time.

Mindful eating is a time to play with your food. Take this opportunity to learn about yourself, why you are craving dessert, what it really tastes like, and how it makes your body feel. Dark chocolate is my favorite sweet. When I started paying attention to when I craved chocolate, I realized that I craved it when I felt tired, and when I really started paying attention, I realized that it upsets my stomach a little while after eating it. So now, while I still indulge in dark chocolate occasionally, I do it with attention and intention, enjoying every bite.