Hi everyone... just wanna know what you think about chocolate.
I started my new lifestyle 10 days ago and I´m calorie counting. I know chocolate is the kind of food that usually is banned from weight loss diets (actually is a No No according to my doctor), but some days I cut some calories here, a few there and in the night I have "room" for a chocolate, and I mean not a piece of dark chocolate, but a milky way or a snickers (i know, not very good..).
I think this is good for me cause I´m an "all or nothing" person, and usually having one chocolate lead to a binge. During these days I have had one bar and stopped, enjoyed it and managed to stay under my calorie limit, and I felt good about it.
Today talking to a friend she said "are you crazy? even though you are under your calories you should never ever have chocolate"
So what do you think? Should I avoid chocolate and use that calories in "better" foods, change to a more nutricious kind of chocolate or just have a bar a few days in a week?
for me its more about moderation. maybe every other week i have a candy bar. i make sure to count it and adjust my meals the rest of the day so my fat and sugar intake isnt too high.
i dont like the idea of giving up anything forever, especially not chocolate. if you've already done this a few times in only ten days, that might be pushing it. maybe try to scale back to once or twice a month. if you're doing it 3x/week now, only have 2 next week, and then 1 the next week and so on.
i know its not the same, but i supplement a lot with skinny cow fudge bars and skinny cow chocolate truffle bars. it curbs the cravings for me with only 100 calories and 2gs of fat.
my biggest concern is your doctor saying its a no no. is there a specific reason for this? or is it just b/c of the high calorie/sugar/fat content? if you're pre diabetic or something you should probably listen to your dr!
Last edited by juliastl27; 09-15-2009 at 10:38 PM.
I also eat dark chocolate daily. And, I have throughout my journey. Dark chocolate has health benefits. If you follow Sonoma or the flat belly diet - it is a MUFA and part of the plan.
Seriously, DARK chocolate CAN be a part of your plan - just eat clean with your other calories and plan for it.
In the interest of full disclosure - I also plan red wine into my calorie allotment every day too
I LOVE chocolate and because of that I have a hard time keeping it in moderation - if it's in the house I'll eat it. (I know some people who can keep mini-bars, like Halloween candy, around and only eat one - I'm not one of those). So I have one cheat day a week where I can have one thing I've been craving - chocolate or something else - but that's it, other than that I don't keep it around and that's been working very well for me.
I also LOVE dark chocolate now. Ever since I reformed my diet my sweet tooth isn't quite so sweet and the dark chocolate is great! And so much better for you!
Chocolate contains lots of antioxidants like green tea. In moderation it's actually good for you, the darker the better. I love 100% cacao, no sugar at all, though most people don't. For me the sugar just gets in the way of the chocolate. I have one square of ghirardelli 100% cacao baking chocolate @ ~73 calories every few days.
If you can stick to under 100 calories of dark chocolate per day, or every few days, I don't see how it's a bad thing really.
I love chocolate and I can't imagine having to give it up completely. You can't deprive yourself of everything enjoyable. I love the minibars. I grab one of those babies and savor it for as long as it will last. I'm finally getting used to the taste of dark chocolate. I actually like it now.
I'm another one who has to have her chocolate. I get two pieces of Dove dark every day to go along with a nice hot cup of Chai tea. It's my perfect zen moment to the day.
I'm sure your doctor was saying chocolate is a no no because the "chocolate" you're referring to is hardly chocolate at all. You're talking snickers and milky way - that's candy and high fructose syrup with brown food coloring to make it look like chocolate. That stuff doesn't belong in anybody's diet and I can understand that an addiction to this type of drug is difficult to stop.
Real chocolate has real health benefits. I eat chocolate every single day. Once I realized what real dark chocolate is I set about retraining myself to like it and now I LOVE it - so it's possible for you too. I buy a bag of individually wrapped dark chocolate and have one a day. Each piece is only 25 calories so it's no biggie into my calorie plan, I could even have more if I wanted it.
First break your sugar addiction, then learn to love the real stuff. You will never ever go back to that sugary chemical conconction again.
Chocolate
