Originally, the story was going to be a step-by-step guide on “How to lose the last 10 pounds.”

But, since this was Men’s Health, the focus shifted to getting abs. (Side note: the photoshoot for the story ended up being one of the weirder things I’ve done. I was reminded that I’m definitely no Zoolander.)

If I was going to help people see their abs, then so be it. But, I was hell-bent on not doing what was always done. From my perspective, the world didn’t need another insane workout with unrealistic time commitments.

I wanted the “get abs” plan to be doable. That meant I wanted dessert. And, I wanted it multiple times per week.

What Science Says About Losing Weight (And Keeping It Off)

I enjoy a good celeb story as much as anyone, and I’ve interviewed dozen of big-name stars and shared their workouts and diets.

But here’s the thing: it’s one thing to break down the routine of an actor, actress, or athlete whose primary goal and day are built around diet and exercise. It’s fun to read about, but it’s not exactly practical for the average person.

Real plans for real people can’t be too extreme or insane because it’s not realistic for others to replicate. For me, that meant no two-a-day-workouts or personal chefs. And, as I mentioned, I wanted to eat dessert each week.

I believe in eating good food. I also happen to love cheesecake, brownies, cookies, and ice cream. And, so do many other people.

More importantly, I needed to solve my own internal conflict between what I know is true and what I believed.

I love science. I’ve built my career around being evidence-based. Everything in my understanding of getting lean told me that calories matter and eating dessert while getting lean is possible.

After all, this is how a professor can go on a “Twinkie Diet “for 10 weeks and lose 27 pounds.

Or, how research suggests that eating dessert with breakfast led to longer-term weight loss compared to people who avoided a dessert-filled first meal. In fact, that study suggested that dessert eaters keep losing weight (an additional 15 pounds lost) while those that restricted dessert gained most of it back (22 pounds put back on).

In my opinion, I wasn’t blessed with the world’s greatest genetics. In fact, I was overweight my entire childhood.

So, if I’m being honest, I was skeptical whether I could actually get great results if I ate dessert. Maybe it works for others, but it just didn’t seem like it could work for me.

I knew the assignment was the ultimate test. I set the rules, the stakes were high, and the story was going to be published.

So, what happened?

I ate my desserts, and, at the end of the 12-week process, I was 8 percent body fat.

Women who ate small desserts four times a week lost 9 more pounds than those who enjoyed a larger splurge whenever they wanted.

Why You Should Eat Dessert (On Any Diet Plan)

For starters, complete food withdrawal is more likely to lead to falling off your diet than experiencing long-term success. [Note: I’m not saying you shouldn’t occasionally try to remove foods from your diet that seem to be causing issues. That’s a different story. I’m talking about creating a plan based on complete restriction.]

One of the biggest barriers to weight loss is the grind. Diets tend to be frustrating and mentally exhausting. And that frustration and exhaustion lead to stress and cravings. It’s a downward spiral to inevitably leads to you “cheating” on your diet, binging on foods you’ve missed, feeling guilty, eating more bad food, and then saying “F it!” and quitting the plan.

Some variation of this happens to everyone. And, it’s not just psychological. As you restrict calories and lose weight, your body adjusts, hormones shift, and hunger increases.

What should you do? You need to eat foods that fill you up and keep you satisfied (think proteins, fiber, and veggies), but you also benefit from dessert.

Desserts and treats can decrease cravings for sweet, starchy, and fatty foods. These are the “hyper-palatable” foods that derail diets. And, your desire to eat more of them happens when you completely restrict them. But, if you have a little, it can limit you from having too much.

It’s why my dessert and abs experience was so eye-opening. I ate real food, desserts, and treats. No, I wasn’t crushing massive slices of cheesecake three times per day, but I wasn’t starving for sugar, fat, and salt, either.

In many ways, it was the anti-diet approach. Instead of waiting for the moment where I wanted to quit, I proactively way prevented where most diets go wrong: cravings and withdrawal.

That’s why finding your sweet spot with some treats is important. After all, when you compare most diets you’ll find that a lot of them work. So, why choose one that makes you miserable or you’ll be forced to abandon it before and you stay on it long enough to see the real results?

Yes, you still need to create a diet the consists of vegetables, fruits, proteins, and healthy fats. But, that’s a message we all know by now. What’s still lost in translation is that what you eat doesn’t have to make you miserable.

Remember, part of the trick to healthy living is consistency and patience. It works for diet and exercise. No magic. Just consistency and sustainability.

The Dessert “Rules” (Sugar Not Sold Separately)

When you’re trying to lose weight, the worst thing you can do is ban all indulgences, which creates a feeling of withdrawal.

A more effective approach is one that allows you to satisfy your cravings in controlled portions.

Research from Alabama found that when overweight women ate small desserts four times a week, they lost 9 more pounds than those who enjoyed a larger splurge whenever they wanted.

The small sweets provide the psychological edge that allows you to stay motivated, without derailing your eating plan.

Within any diet, 10 to 20 percent of your calories can be directed toward a little treat. The key is watching the portion size (yes, always tricky), so that a cup of ice cream doesn’t turn into an all-night feast at the 24-hour buffet. Or, in many situations, putting yourself in a position where you have the support to make sure that those types of binges are harder to occur.

But you know what? Going from one scoop of ice cream to an entire pint is much less likely when you don’t feel like the food is off-limits.

Learn your limits. Understand your triggers. And build a system that helps you succeed.

But, if you want the highest likelihood of weight loss success that lats, then don’t remove all the foods you love. It’s one of the most common reasons why so many diets fail.

READ MORE: 

The Abs Workout: A Real Way to Transform Your Midsection

Want to Burn More Calories? Add This to Your Fat Loss Plan

Why Weights are Better Than Cardio for Fat Loss

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Eat The Damn Dessert appeared first on Born Fitness.

While we believe that desserts and snacks are a part of life, it’s understandable if some people want healthier versions of their favorite desserts. The trick: make substitutions that might sound like they won’t work, but when you taste the final product, you’ll never even realize the changes you made. Which is why we create things like protein ice cream or this recipe, espresso chocolate brownies.

This brownie recipe is a flourless version of the classic dessert. A traditional brownie is roughly 250 calories. This “healthy” recipe is about 60 percent fewer calories without any added sugar.

Enjoy these delicious treats to satisfy your nighttime cravings or store in the fridge and pack it in your lunch for a midday snack to keep you far (far) away from the break room donuts.

Why it’s a Healthy Recipe

Black beans—not-your-average main brownie ingredient—are a staple protein source for many non-meat eaters. Translation: you can eat more than one serving without loading up on too many calories. These legumes are also high in fiber, which helps aid digestion, and a great source of folic acid, magnesium, potassium, and iron.

And while coconut oil (the new Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding—it cures everything!) is overhyped, it does offer some health benefits. It’s loaded with lauric acid, a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) that accounts for about half of the fat in coconut oil, which might help improve HDL (good) cholesterol.

Chocolate Brownies: The Ingredients

Serving size: 16 servings

Cook time: 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained
• 1/3 c virgin, unrefined, cold-filtered coconut oil, melted
• 3 tbsp. cacao powder*
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tbsp. instant coffee
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. sea salt,
• 2 egg (for more fudge-like consistency, use 1 egg)
• 1/3 c coconut milk
• ¼ c Truvia**
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, optional
• 1 tsp. honey, optional
• ½ c dark chocolate chips

*Cocoa powder is an equally good substitute.

** I like the way Truvia bakes, but feel free to substitute with other sweeteners; I just can’t vouch for the taste.

Directions for (“Healthier”) Chocolate Brownies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans very thoroughly. This is one of those steps you don’t want to skip. Rinsing with water with strip away the preservatives used in canning and help get rid of that funky black bean taste.
3. Add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a blender or food processor. Blend until well combined.
4. In a Pyrex or non-stick baking 8×8 pan. Grease the bottom sides with coconut oil. Sprinkle ½ of the chocolate chips on the bottom, then pour the “batter” on top and sprinkle with the other half of the chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Then let cool for about 10 minutes.
6. Optional: blend ¼ toasted unsweetened coconut and 1 tbsp. Truvia until a powder consistency is formed. Sprinkle on top of the brownies.
7. Cut into 16 squares (4 cuts vertically, 4 cuts horizontally).
8. Store brownies in an airtight container in the fridge.

Nutritional Information & Macros

Dietary Information: Gluten-free, Low-carb, Nut-free, No sugar added, Vegetarian

Macros per serving (1 brownie–assuming you have 16 total):

• 102 calories
• 6g fat
• 7g carbs
• 5g protein

The post Reinventing Dessert: Espresso Chocolate Brownies appeared first on Born Fitness.

If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. The cliche applies to most concepts in fitness and nutrition, but it’s not the case if you’ve mastered the art of healthy dessert.

While you know that reducing sweets and sugars can help you look the way you want, it doesn’t have to be an all or none situation. In fact, research suggests denying sweets will hurt you in the long run. It doesn’t take a Ph.D to understand that overly restrictive diets lead to poor eating decisions, and that in the worst case, can even cause more serious issues like binge eating.

So why suffer? While most people can choose to eat what they want (dessert included) when following a good diet or a plan where you count macros, a simple reality exists: even with dietary freedom, you still have to limit how much you eat, and sometimes to the point of frustration.

That’s why “healthier” versions of your favorite desserts allow you to satisfy your sweet tooth and maintain your sanity. And surprisingly, you can do it without lots of added sugars.

Enter protein peanut butter cups, created by Born Fitness meal prep specialist, Liv Langdon, founder of Liv Out Loud.

This desserts has 20 grams less sugar than the popular Reese’s cup—and are sweetened with natural Stevia powder and unfiltered, raw honey. Bonus: the phyonutrient pinocembrin, which is unique to raw honey, supports healthy enzyme activity and good bacteria in the gut.

Add in cacao (which is packed full of flavanoids, which help your cells repair damage caused by the toxins in food and the environment), and all-natural protein powder, and you have all the ingredients of a dessert so good that you’ll still have trouble believing it’s OK to eat.

Ingredients

Chocolate outside

• 1/2c Stevia-sweetened chocolate chips*
• 1/8c cacao powder
• 1/8c coconut oil
• Dash of cinnamon
• Pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Protein peanut butter inside

• 1/8c peanut butter powder
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/3c all-natural creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. raw unfiltered honey
• 1 tsp. stevia powder
• 5 drops of Sweet Leaf Stevia drops, vanilla crème flavor (1/4 tsp. vanilla extract can be substituted)
• 1 scoop of protein powder of choice** (depending on the size of the scoop, add 1 tbsp. of almond milk to keep mixture easy enough to stir)

* I used Lily’s Stevia-sweetened dark chocolate baking chocolate chips in this recipe. Unsweetened dark chocolate chips can be substituted, but the nutritional counts—carbohydrate and sugar specifically—will increase.

**I recommend using vanilla or unflavored protein powder; preferably an all-natural variety with little to no artificial flavoring or dyes.

Directions

1. Line two muffin pans with 12 small baking [muffin] cups.
2. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, combine all of the chocolate outside ingredients. Microwave for one minute. Then stir until chocolate chips are fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Spoon about ½ tbsp. of the melted chocolate mixture into each baking cup or just enough to cover the bottom with a thin layer. After you have filled the cups, carefully tip the pan so the chocolate spreads half way up the sides of each cup. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chocolate hardens.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, add the peanut butter powder and 1 tbsp. of almond milk. The peanut butter powder will thicken into a creamy peanut butter consistency. Add the natural peanut butter (you may need to microwave it for 30 seconds to soften for stirring). Add the honey, stevia powder and vanilla drops. Stir until fully combined. Add the protein powder and 1 tbsp. of almond milk to the peanut butter mixture. Stir until a smooth consistency, whipped consistency is achieved.
5. Remove the muffin pan from the freezer. Add a 2-tsp size dollop of the protein peanut butter mixture in each muffin cup. Spread along the bottom, leaving a little room along the edges.
6. Pour another ½ tbsp. of melted chocolate in each cup, fully covering the peanut butter mixture. Freeze for about 15 more minutes, or until the chocolate shell fully hardens.
7. Makes 12 small peanut butter cups. Store in the freezer until ready to eat. Forewarning: the chocolate melts easily and can get a little messy. Worst-case scenario, you can lick the chocolate off your fingers.

Nutrition Information and Macros

Dietary information

• Gluten free
• Vegetarian
• No sugar added
• Vegan (if plant-based protein powder & Stevia chocolate chips used)

Macronutrient breakdown (includes 12 servings)

1 peanut butter cup: 124 calories, 8g fat, 8g carbs, 5g protein

READ MORE: 

Peanut Butter Protein Rice Krispies Treats

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Overnight Oats

PB&J Protein Snack Balls

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Protein Peanut Butter Cups appeared first on Born Fitness.

That said, I obviously realize that some variations of my favorite snacks can’t be enjoyed regularly. Which is why I’m always working to find healthier variations of my favorite desserts, without sacrificing the flavor.

Here’s a new spin on rice pudding, which doesn’t even include any rice. It comes from self-proclaimed exercise and food junkie, Sara Gaylord. Not impressed by the credentials? You will be once you try this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup rinsed quinoa
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 11 packets sweetener of choice (Stevia, splenda, or whatever you prefer)
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Recipe Instructions

1. First, make the quinoa. In a medium saucepan, sautee the quinoa in about 1 tbsp coconut oil for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add coconut milk and ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
3. Add 3 cups unsweetened almond milk, ¼ tsp cinnamon, 11 packets of Stevia/Splenda/your preferred sweetener, and ¼ c golden raisins.
4. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until the almond milk is almost evaporated, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove from heat and stir in ½ tsp vanilla extract. Serve warm. Or cold.

Cook time: 35 minutes

Rice Pudding Macros (for the entire batch: you should split into 3 servings)

35g protein 200g carbs 40g fat for the entire batch

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Healthier Rice Pudding appeared first on Born Fitness.

And yet, for some people, the ability to indulge is limited by the fear of undoing your hard work. Even if you know you should, “Enjoy these cookies,” the well-intentioned freedom and encouragement are met with resistance and stress.

If you know how to set up a balanced eating plan (think 80/20 rule), there’s no need to hold back when you eat something that isn’t healthy. And yet, most people would still prefer healthy variations that trick your taste buds into enjoying what you eat without a second thought.

Rather than buying goodies from the store—you can create your own variations (in not much time)—and still satisfy your sweet tooth without thinking anything other than, “Wow this is good.”

When I share recipes with my coaching clients, a common favorite is no-bake protein cookies. The cookie dough-like dessert is easy to make and relatively quick to prepare. And since the government is cracking down on cookie dough, this recipe will give you more peace of mind. Consider them perfect for cheat days, weekdays, the holidays, or really any day. Dig in and enjoy.

No-Bake Protein Cookies

The Ingredients

• ½ cup cashew butter
• 2 scoops protein powder (I like BioTrust because it creates a thicker batter, but other options work too)
• 1 tsp vanilla extra
• ½ cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup almond milk
• Optional: Add in some chocolate chips. This is if you want to make chocolate-chocolate chip cookies

Instructions

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Order of operations does not matter. Mix until it forms a thick, grainy, cookie-dough like batter. You don’t want it to be too smooth or watery.
2. Set out a piece of wax paper and scoop out a spoon-sized piece of cookie-dough. Roll into a ball and place on the wax paper.
3. Place into the fridge or freezer (freezer if you want in about 20 minutes, fridge if you want to wait an hour)
4. Eat and enjoy

For the macro-conscious eaters, depending on the size of your cookies you’re looking at the following breakdown: ~140 calories, 10 grams protein, 8 grams fat, 8 grams carbs

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Healthy Recipes: No-bake Protein Cookies appeared first on Born Fitness.

The mix of sweet, salty, and a little bit of fat is physiologically proven to be irresistible. (That is, of course, assuming your name isn’t Jason Feifer; the amazing man without taste.)

The problem, of course, is that most desserts aren’t healthy. They’re filled with all the stuff you’re told to avoid (sugar, fat, more sugar). And, while I’d argue that the occasional dessert is part of a healthy diet, eating lots of desserts usually does more harm than good. Or, at the very least, it makes it really hard to lose weight and look the way you want.

This leaves most people with two options:

1) Eat dessert and don’t look the way you want (or train much more)

2) Don’t eat dessert and crave bad foods.

Both of those options seemed pretty awful to me, so I created a third option:

3) Protein ice cream (AKA protein pudding or “healthy dessert”)

Protein ice cream might not sound as good as cheesecake, but it’s simple and it tastes really good (even my wife approves). The best part: it’s healthy, can be added to any diet plan, is low in calories, and a great job of solving sweet cravings at almost any time of the day.

How to Make Protein Ice Cream

Protein ice cream requires just 3 ingredients: protein powder, almond butter (or peanut butter or cashew butter), and milk (of your choice). That’s it.

I can’t recall where I discovered the first variation of this dessert, but I’ve made many small adjustments to the original recipe, and for the past 15 years this has become a daily staple of my diet. (Yeah, I eat this stuff every day. )

Specifically, protein ice cream is the last thing I eat each day. Why? For starters, I love it. It tastes awesome, it’s healthy, and it’s the perfect way to finish my night. But, I also find that it satisfies my sweet tooth and doesn’t leave me craving foods that are much worse.

In fact, I’ve shared this with every client who struggles with cravings, and they’ve found the same thing. And when you consider that desiring treats are usually the hardest for people when they are adjusting to a healthier diet, this is the perfect way to break up the monotony and help with the transition.

If you want to give my nightly treat a try, here’s how to make it yourself.

Born Fitness Protein Ice Cream

Ingredients: (amounts vary by how many calories you want)

• 1-2 scoops of protein powder (I use Ladder because I created it; both the whey or plant works.)
• 1-2 tablespoons of almond butter (I prefer Justin’s Nut Butter; the maple almond is my favorite when combined with chocolate powder)
• 1-3 oz of your milk of choice

Directions:

Place your almond butter in a bowl and then add protein powder. Wisk in the almond milk slowly, and then mix the powder, almond butter, and milk, until you have a pudding-like substance. If you want, you can eat this right now and call it protein pudding. I prefer to throw it in the freezer for 30-45 minutes for an ice-cream-like consistency.

Bonus tips:

If you want, you can top the ice cream with a variety of garnishes. Oftentimes, I add sliced bananas and cacao powder, or even a few minced nuts for some crunchiness. If you want to go crazy, throw on a dollop of whipped cream. You won’t be disappointed.

READ MORE: 

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Overnight Oats Recipe

The Curious Case of Why People Fear Protein

Peanut Butter Protein Rice Krispies Treats

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Protein Ice Cream: The Best Diet-Friendly Dessert appeared first on Born Fitness.