In defense of eating Dessert before Meal.

The usual lesson we’re taught in childhood is, Meal first, because dessert “spoils your appetite” and causes you to eat less of the healthy food.

(leading to a too-high percentage of dessert and a too-low percentage of Real Food in your nutrition intake)

However. I have a few arguments against that– from the viewpoint of an adult who loves sweets, believes in allowing myself pleasure, and definitely doesn’t think dessert is a bad thing–

but who knows there is some need for moderation, because I do struggle sometimes with the urge to eat a lot more dessert than is good for my body.

First, about that conventional wisdom:

- If eating before a meal really spoiled your appetite, then “appetizers” would not exist.

- If you are hungry enough for a full meal, dessert first won’t change that, unless it’s enough dessert to noticeably fill your stomach.

- It might stop you from eating ALL of a large meal, or it might stop you from going back for seconds, but it generally won’t stop you from eating as much Real Food as your body is telling you it needs.

- On the other hand, eating a full meal first does NOT generally spoil your appetite for dessert, even if it DOES fill your stomach.

- The desire to eat dessert lives in the mouth. A person who’s very full will often still eat dessert, more than the body can easily handle, even to the point of feeling overfull and sick.

- Which is usually not an ideal outcome.

So. I guess that “dessert after meal” makes some sense if your goal is to get as many calories into you as possible– and ensure that they include 100% of the recommended nutrition in a Real Food Meal as well as whatever else you eat.

Which, I suppose, is part of why it’s pushed so hard on growing children.

But as an adult, when you just need enough nutrition to get through each day, don’t need to grow, and have to be responsible for your own willpower in choosing how to feed yourself?

well, in this case there are some real advantages to having dessert first!

- As shown above, if you’ve already had the dessert before the meal, you aren’t likely to overeat it to the point of sickness when you’re already full.

- Your body listens better to the “that’s enough, time to stop eating” instinct when it’s normal food, instead of extra-delicious sweets.

- If you have a hard time resisting overeating of sweets, it can help to eat something else after you eat sweets, so that your mouth no longer has the sweets as the most recent memory to hang on to and keep craving! And a whole meal works well for that.

- Also, if tooth decay is part of your concern about overeating of sweets? A non-sweet meal after dessert can leave the teeth cleaner than ending on the dessert itself.

So, yeah. As an adult you do often have to exercise some self-control about healthy habits! And it can suck! Willpower has to be built over time, and it isn’t easy!

But you find your own ways.

And sometimes, as an adult, the best ways to make willpower work in your mind are different from what you were taught as a child.

And that’s okay.