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Why You SHOULD Eat Chocolate This Morning
We have some sweet news for you -- if you skipped dessert this morning, you shouldn't have! A new study shows that eating a full breakfast, including protein, carbs and yes, dessert, helps you lose weight and keep it off. Pass the heart-shaped chocolates Researchers at Tel Aviv University conducted a 32-week study of clinically obese people and found that participants who made dessert (cookies, cake or chocolate) part of their 600-calorie breakfasts lost an average of 40 pounds more than participants who ate small, 300-calorie, low-carb breakfasts -- even though both groups consumed the same amount of total calories per day (1,600 for men; 1,400 for women). What's really exciting (besides the thought of chocolate cake for breakfast) -- the breakfast dessert-eaters kept the weight off longer! Researchers surmise that not only is the morning an ideal time, metabolism-wise, to eat something sweet (you have the rest of the day to burn off the calories), but a treat in the morning can keep you from from craving carbs and sugar all day. Angela Ginn, RD, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, agrees: "The morning is a great time to eat a decadent treat," she says. "Having something sweet in the morning can satisfy a sweet tooth and give a jump start to your metabolism. "Your body is like a car -- fuel is needed to perform," she adds. And food = fuel. That's why following a deprivation method doesn't work to keep pounds off. "Losing weight is all about calories in versus calories out," Ginn says. "The struggle with many diet plans is the feeling of deprivation." According to Ginn, the key with eating sweets in the morning "is not to crash and burn." When eating sweets for breakfast, make sure you add protein and/or heart-healthy fats into the mix, she says. Don't be afraid to start your moring with a delicous peice of a Toblerone. You know you can't resist!
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