I genuinly think I'm addicted to the stuff.
I crave it so bad.
And my craving arn't satisfied by a square or half a bar.
3 bars of chocolate later i'm still wanting more.
I can't go a day without it. I physically can't stop myself.
I need serious help! It's ****in up my diet!
Try going without it for one day. Just one day. Get all the chocolate out of the house and vow not to go buy it. Stock up on supplies to substitute with--sugar-free chewing gum may be good, or crunchy carrots, or tea with creamer or milk--maybe even some protein foods, like good cheese--but avoid anything with chocolate flavor. That will just keep you going.
You can do anything for just one day. You have to make yourself do it. Are you going to let a candy bar rule your life?
Some people can have "a" square of chocolate and be done with it, but clearly you're not one of them. You'll need to stop it cold turkey and leave it alone for awhile. It's a trigger food for you.
Good luck! Three candy bars a day will definitely not help you lose...
Chocolate is a trigger for me too . . . impossible to do the one square routine . . . so I jsut try to keep it out of the house.
One thing that does work for me is to mix a little good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder into my plain FF yogurt -- seems to satisfy my chocolate craving without triggering that 'more', 'more', 'more' problem.
Don't buy 3 bars at a time. If it's not in the house, you can't eat it. Then, even you can't control yourself, you will at least eat "only" one bar.
Personally, I think that if I ate three bars in one day I would never look at chocolate for the rest of my life, not to mention the fact that I would be probably constipated to the point of needing a surgery (chocolate does that to me).
Can you replacing the chocolate by something with less calories? For example, a chocolate yogurt? I like JayEll's suggestion that you should try to not have chocolate for a single day and have a supply of healthy foods you can eat, I am sure you can do it. If you can not have it for a day, it will motivate you to not have it for 2 days, etc.
Bear Naked Granola makes this one flavor- Heavenly Chocolate- because it is! It's perfect for my little chocolate fix because it's granola, so I know it's packed with whole grains. Just a little nibble will usually do the trick for me. If that doesn't work, I usually have 70% or higher dark chocolate on hand. A little bit goes a verrrry long way and also does the trick. Cause sometimes cravings are just so strong, denying myself will only make it worse.
How much other sugar are you eating? I found it made a huge difference to just make sugar not a daily thing. It's not deprivation, it just is. Why should it be daily? It's a weekly treat. It really does change your sweet tooth after a few weeks, and it keeps getting better.
I am just like you, except I'm like that with EVERY thing that's bad for me to eat. I can't just have a few fries...I have to have a basket full. I can't just have one hot dog...I have to have three or four. Now, I stay away from everything bad and only make healthy choices.
I agree with JayEll. You have to completely quit cold turkey. No chocolate anything. Get it away from you. Don't buy it.
Can't really add any more than has already been said. I'm just like you and when I started I had to just cut it out cold turkey. Would actually spend the evenings sitting on my hands/drinking LOTS of fluid/doing ANYTHING to occupy myself (evenings are also a trigger for me lol). Well I did fine for a few months and slowly had a bit here and a bit there (every few weeks so not enough to trigger really).
The past few weeks however I've had it slightly more often than I should - it just doesn't work. I'm having to go cold turkey again. Crisps? I can sit in a sea of them and not be fussed. Chocolate I'm just having to accept isn't on my agenda.
I am living proof that chocolate addictions can be broken. I used to "require" chocolate on a daily basis. Here's what I did to break the habit:
1. I replaced chocolate bars and ice cream (my weakness) with other chocolate treats - sugar-free chocolate pudding and fudgecicles. Yogurt didn't work for me because I don't associate yogurt with "dessert," and "dessert" was what I wanted.
2. For the first couple weeks of my diet, I ate AT LEAST two servings a day of SF pudding or fudgecicles. Sometimes I had more. I usually waited until after dinner to have my "dessert," but sometimes I would have a serving after lunch and another serving (or two!) after dinner. I worked it into my total calories, which wasn't hard because they're low-calorie foods.
3. After a couple of weeks, I got really tired of pudding and fudgecicles, but to my surprise I wasn't craving chocolate - or any other sweets - at all. I had kicked the sugar habit! I now find that I'm able to have a single serving of dessert (complete with sugar and fat) a couple times a week without jonesing for more, and I don't want it everyday.
I know everyone is different, but maybe this would work for you, too. Good luck!
I hate to sound like a broken record, because I always give people this advice with any cravings for sweets: frozen grapes. They're nothing like choclate, but I eat 1 cup every single night. It's 65 calories and takes a long time to eat and it's super yummy. I know it's not choclate, but it might help you while you're trying to kick your habit. I hope this advice helps but I know this is tough stuff. Good luck and hugs to you.
frozen grapes are amazing. I don't even need that many of them- the sweetness is amplified because they are frozen, hitting that "sweet" craving right after a great dinner. I love 'em!
Omg I have never thought of Frozen Grapes! Does it work with strawberries as well? I think I am going to put some in my freezer
Strawberries, I don't love frozen, though they're great to have in the freezer for smoothies.
But sliced frozen bananas - FABULOUS!!!! Like banana ice cream.
Cate, you've gotten great advice. And take comfort from knowing that if it really is an addcition, addictions CAN be managed. I like the making substitutions and one day at a time approach. And of course making the conscious decison not to have it. Before you know it, you'll be stringing together a few days worth of "doing without" and then a week and then a month.... And the longer you go without having it, yay!!! - the less you'll want it. Addiction MANAGED.
Why buy and stock your shelves with something you want to quit? I don't get it. I don't know any recovering alcoholics (AA members) who keep a well stocked bar, nor an ex-smoker with a carton of cigarettes in the house. Take the money you normally spend on chocolate each week and put it in a savings account. In six months go buy a fabulous new purse, or a new sexy pair of jeans.
I know, one chocolate bar won't kill you, but neither will one drink or one cigarette...
Last edited by Lori Bell; 07-15-2008 at 12:09 PM.
Reason: spelling
why cant i shake this chocolate fixation?
