When you’re trying to shed a few pounds, do you find sweets are your downfall? We understand, because we have a sweet tooth, too. We also understand it’s soooo hard to resist sweets, especially when every holiday seems to be celebrated with chocolate!

Well, as it turns out, a new study says a little dessert at breakfast just might just HELP you lose more weight! This is exciting news!

The study, which appears in the March 10 issue of the journal Steroids (and was featured in the New York Times), reveals the results of a study in which scientists put 144 obese people on a low-carb, low calorie diet (1,400 calories/day for women and 1,600 calories/day for men). The diets were the same except that one of the diets included a “high-carb, protein-enriched breakfast with a choice of cookies, chocolate, cake or ice cream for dessert.”

During the first 16-weeks of the study, participants in both groups lost an average of 32 pounds. However, during the 16-week follow up, people who had the dessert for breakfast diet lost an additional 13 pounds, while the other group gained back all but 3.5 pounds of the weight they lost.

We’ve always heard you should satisfy cravings with a small treat so you don’t go overboard when you finally give in. And now this story corroborates the importance of doing so. The trick, though, is to make sure you only consume one portion size of the dessert and that you don’t use this as an excuse to consume massive quantities of fat and calories.

Some experts recommend that while enjoying your sweet treat, eat slowly and enjoy every bite. Maybe step away from other distractions (ie: TV) so that you can focus on your treat.

Let us know if you decide to try this diet tip! We’ll keep you posted on our progress as well!