Weight loss:how a daily 'treat' can damage our dress size...

Food for thought: tucking into a daily 'treat' can tighten our trousers.

Although tucking into a tiny treat may seem like a sensible solution to sustaining self-control - particularly if a problematic sweet tooth is prone to hindering our healthier habits - demolishing a dainty dessert on a daily basis can contribute to more than just an overconsumption of calories.

In fact, something as simple as turning to sweet treats (think creamy cakes and chunks of chocolate!) for our daily dose of indulgence can not only increase our overall caloric consumption by an additional 200-300* calories a day - that's a whopping 1,400-2,100 additional calories a week (the latter being equivalent to the average woman's daily recommended energy intake!) - but leave us failing to fight the flab as we continue to over consume the calories that we need to cut and control - excess energy, be it from healthy or unhealthy food sources, resembles the core culprit responsible for a fuller figure.

In order to ensure that a daily dessert doesn't damage your dress size, aim to tuck into two to three tasty treats a week - ideally homemade from innocent (ish!) ingredients -when working towards weight loss. Although deprivation has no place in a healthy, balanced diet and favourite foods should never be forbidden, satisfying a sweet tooth seven days a week can quickly contribute to a wider waistline if the extra energy consumed isn't eliminated via exercise and activity.

Final thought: exercise may eliminate (to an extent!) the excess energy that tightens our trousers, but it doesn't eliminate the detrimental effects of a diet derived from unhealthy 'food' sources such as sugary sweet treats - a valuable fact to remember when reaching for fast food, ready made meals and moreish munchies!

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