12 Months of Fitness: Challenge #8 – Skip Dessert

Are you ready for your next 12 Months of Fitness (#12MoF) challenge? Check out the introduction to 12 Months of Fitness here. My testers have been tackling this challenge since mid-March and are sharing their experiences with skipping dessert.

Are you ready for your next 12 Months of Fitness (#12MoF) challenge? Check out the introduction to 12 Months of Fitness here.
My testers have been tackling this challenge since mid-August and are
sharing their experiences with skipping dessert.

12 Months of Fitness: Challenge #8 – Skip Dessert

For the next month, your
goal is to cut out dessert. That’s it. Just see if you can cut out the need to
eat something sugar-y (or chocolate-y) right after a meal. Sometimes, we just
need to break the habit.

Suggestions for accomplishing this are:

Eat a small second
portion of one thing from your meal. For example, you loved the sweet potatoes
so eat a small portion of those instead of dessert.

• Get up from your meal as soon as you’re done
  eating and clean up the kitchen/wash the dishes. Lots of times, some form of
  physical activity can help alter your mindset from “MUST EAT SUGAR” to “Don’t
  need that chocolate”.
• Chew gum instead of eating dessert.
• Some say that smelling a dessert is as
  satisfying as eating one (I don’t know these people but who am I to argue,
  right?). Why not give it a shot?
• If you must eat dessert, try to substitute
  berries or another sweet fruit instead of cake or pie.

And to help you stay motivated, here's how it's working out for our #12MoF testers (you can meet them over on our Facebook page!):

"Cutting out dessert
can be so hard, especially at the end of a long day when I just really want to
treat myself! The best strategy I've found so far is to eat such a deliciously
healthy dinner that I don't have any room left for dessert. I'm not talking
about gorging on pizza so that there's no room for ice cream … instead, I'll
make a dinner that's both filling and healthy enough that there's no need to
feel guilty about being full. My favorite resource for recipes like this is
Happy Herbivore!" {Elizabeth}

"This was probably the
hardest challenge yet. I love dessert–especially ice cream and chocolate! If I
was still hungry after dinner, I tried helping myself to more veggies or a
little more protein. Still, I craved sweetness. If I needed something
sweet, I (grudgingly) opted for an orange or an apple. It definitely wasn't the
same, but I actually started craving those over chocolate after a few
days!" {Kaleena}

"Skipping dessert is actually fairly simple (I say this as I
eat a Hershey bar. Don't judge. It's Halloween). My husband and I have a
massive sweet tooth so the best thing to do is just not keep desserts in the
house. We just try not to buy it. We often go out for ice cream on the weekend
and if we indulge, we eat some dark chocolate. If we do really want dessert,
I've been making mini apple pies using fresh apples, lemon, honey, cinnamon and
nutmeg. Mix it up and stuff it in a crescent roll. It does the trick." {Ariella}

See? You CAN do it! Share your #12MoF struggles/triumphs with Tulle
Nation on Twitter, our Facebook page, or take photos on Instagram. Be sure to use the hastag #12MoF so we can all support you!