For all the dessert loving sweet toothed people, there is finally some good news. Or rather, God has heard your prayers.
Eating a dessert along with your main meal, can actually help you take in less calories than what you otherwise thought. So, next time, you spot the cheesecake, the chocolate mousse or the ‘gajar ka halwa’, don’t say no…just pounce on it.
If this recent study is to be believed, then the time to get tempted and stop oneself is over. The catch here and what ultimately formed the premise of the study is – choosing high-calorie options first might help you opt for a healthier meal later. The study showed choosing generous dessert first may lead to eating lower-calorie meals.
The experiment was conducted in the cafeteria of the EGADE Business School at the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. 134 diners aged between 18 and 60 with an average age of 32, were included in the study.
Martin Reimann, Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona in the US, post the study, said, “We believe diners who chose the indulgent dessert first then picked healthier main and side dishes to make up for their high-calorie dessert. Diners who picked the healthier dessert may have thought they already had done a good deed for their bodies so they deserved higher-calorie food further down the cafeteria line.”
The tempt of food –
So, what they did was the following. They had the option of a healthy and a less healthy dessert – fresh fruits and lemon cheesecake. For the main dish, they had the same combination of healthy and less healthy. One option was grilled chicken fajitas and a small salad and the other was fried fish and French fries.
What they found out –
The findings, published by the American Psychological Association, showed that diners who chose the cheesecake first, were twice as likely to order the lighter main dish later and ultimately consumed fewer calories than diners who chose the fresh fruit first.
The result –
“People should be aware that their initial food choices and their mindset may affect the overall healthiness of their meals,” suggested Reimann.
So, in short, a delicious dessert actually can help you cut down your calories. So, next time you go to a restaurant, order the dessert first and see yourself, automatically, ordering the less sinful main course later.
Of course, the study also pointed out that the order actually depends upon the persons state of mind too. When put under stress, people were more likely to choose both a high-calorie dessert and a high-calorie meal. Martin Reimann, one of the lead study authors, says, “People should be aware that their initial food choices and their mindset may affect the overall healthiness of their meals.”