I try to keep sugar out of my diet. I also love desert and sweet foods.

My rule is that a desert that's home made - by me, my wife or whoever is allowed. It seems to work. If I really want to eat something sweet then I have to cook it first. It's the instant availability of sugary food from shops that get you.

Secondly - it gets much easier with time. Whether it's habit or a change in your gut biome or both: the sugary cravings do get less.

Thirdly - try and get enough sleep. I think most people crave sugar when they are tired. I find this one the hardest at the moment. Sometimes life can be like that.

Don't cut out dessert entirely. Here's three suggestions:

1. Eat half the portion you would have otherwise. Just eat smaller bites and savor it. You'll still get the same enjoyment. If you're eating out, split your dessert with someone else (because I know it's hard to leave food on the plate).

2. Find desserts that are less caloric. If the dessert has fewer calories, you can eat the same amount that you used to and you'll still be doing better.

3. Turn it into a treat rather than an every day occurrence. Maybe eat it every other day instead of every day. Maybe only eat it if you cook a healthy meal (and skip it when you go eat that burger from In-n-out).

Going cold turkey is really hard, and not at all required, unless you have impulse control problems (e.g. many people have "trigger" foods, which they should stay away from entirely if they can).

This sounds obvious: but don't keep those foods in the house. It's stupidly easy to go off the diet if those chips are just there and you're hungry because you only ate half a dinner. If they aren't there you won't be tempted.

Of course this can involve getting everybody in your house on your diet. That's not and easy thing to do.

In the short-term I found that eating a piece of fruit whenever I craved sweets was a good replacement. Over time the fruit started to taste sweeter and sweeter (in a good way), and junk foods started to taste overly sweet. You can taper down the fruit later if you think you're eating too much of it. I think you also need to minimize non-caloric sweeteners for this to work.

Long-term, I took a food I was already interested in eating daily and made the minimal tweaks necessary for me to think of it as dessert. In my case it was oatmeal: adding 0.5T/11g of blackstrap molasses and 0.5T/6g of brown sugar to 0.5c/40g oatmeal (dry weight) makes a complex, subtly-sweet treat. It's ~200 calories total (~50 from molasses & sugar).

This might not be practical advice for you, but it is worth pointing out: there are two sides to the calorie equation. Increasing calories burned is just as good for weight management as reducing calories consumed (and might provide other health benefits).

So while looking at lifestyle changes, don't forget the activity side. Adding a few long walks, or a new hobby that gets you moving more, might help as much as skipping some dessert.

Like I said--might not be practical for you, but worth remembering.

You absolutely should have dessert because compliance with a diet is the true #1 indicator of weight loss. If you can't stick to a diet, you will rebound. To achieve this, look up If It Fits Your Macros.

Essentially, you can have dessert, but it eats into your daily caloric budget. That's why you see people go for meats and veggies, because they give you the best nutrient bang-for-the-buck, allowing you to eat the most volume of food for the least amount of calories.