Take it one step further. Instead of just eating dessert before dinner, why not eat it before lunch? How about chocolate cake at breakfast?

If that sounds like a diet disaster, think again. Research from Tel Aviv University presented at a meeting of the Endocrine Society finds that eating dessert as part of a balanced 600 calorie breakfast can help you lose weight and keep it off for the long haul.

Does it sound too good to be true? Maybe not. According to the researchers, if you indulge in dessert in the morning as part of a meal that includes proteins and carbohydrates, your body's metabolism is more active and you may be better able to burn off those sweet calories during your day.

In addition, you might find that having dessert at breakfast prevents you from obsessing on what you really want and helps you lose the cravings for sweets the rest of the day.