ADDICTED TO CHOCOLATE :(

missmelis1976

Hi Friends, I'm new to MyFitnessPal. I have a really, REALLY hard time with my sweet tooth. Specifically chocolate. If I had my way I'd eat it all day every day. Before joining MFP 2 weeks ago I would eat it first thing in the morning. I'm no longer doing that, thankfully! But I still have such a craving for chocolate... I can't seem to find any good substitutes. I'm not a big fruit or veggie fan. Is there any chocolate that is ok for me?? I'm 5'9. I weigh 158 and I'm trying to get down to 145. Thank you all!

GoldenEye_

I still eat chocolate and lose more than a pound a week while I'm in a healthy weight range. It's just 85% chocolate now and only 10 grams a day (on a 1200 cal diet). I couldn't do portion control before either, but after I ate extremely restrictive for a month I allowed some foods back in. I learned portion control and learned to enjoy the taste of it without eating a whole bar. Eating a higher % chocolate also helps as it's less easy to chew away a lot of it and has more taste.

missmelis1976

Thank you! Is there any kind you recommend? I'm guessing it wouldn't have much flavor being 85%?

ChelzFit

I also eat the higher percentage chocolate and find it very easy to fit it in my calorie range. I buy the special dark Hershey Kisses, 20 cals a kiss and have just one after each meal. Also Ghirardeli makes mini squares with just 36 cals for the special dark and they also have ones with just 50 cals that are bigger. I love them!

GoldenEye_

My personal favorite (It happens to be the first one I got from the shelves, hahaha) is Bjørnsted dark 85 %. It's organic and only has 3 ingedients (Cocoa mass, cocoa butter, raw cane sugar). But I'm sure it doesn't matter a whole lot from what brand you buy it. I'm not sure how you think darker chocolate is less flavorful, but maybe that's just a taste difference?...

mebelfanti

I feel your pain. So I usually get a chocolate flavor protein powder and a few different chocolate flavors of protein bars. My husband and I really like the Think Thin brand which can be found at a lot of grocery stores. We also splurge on the fancier, higher % chocolate bars once in a while and have found that one or two squares really does the trick now that our taste buds aren't used to so much sweet. Once you get through a few weeks of cutting back your cravings should get better!

vikinglander

Icelandic Chocolate - 70% cacao - by Noi Sirius. Best ever. Half ounce = 75 calories.

Meaganinsardinia

I crave sugar when I am stressed. I have found a lifestyle change including a much less stressful job and daily meditation has helped me curb the habit.

tinkerbellang83

For me I just buy the small treat bars of Dairy Milk, they are 95 calories (18g bar). I have a treat size bag of malteasers with my lunch on workdays and 1-2 of the dairymilk bars with a cup of herbal tea in the evening, and still losing a pound per week. You don't have to cut it out to lose weight, just try and moderate your intake, the chocolate itself doesn't make you gain weight, eating too much of any food does.

I did cut it out chocolate before and substituted it with Nakd Cocoa Orange & Cocoa Mint bars, they have a little cocoa in them but are made from fruit and nuts.

ZephieC

I buy the giant bag of milk chocolate squares at Costco (swiss delice) and I keep them in the downstairs freezer. (so there is some effort required to get it:) They are about 34 calories each. So you can have them throughout the day if you need too. Sucking on them frozen works for me. They come in dark chocolate too but I don't enjoy that as much as milk.

vnb_208

Hershey kisses for me about 24 cal per kiss keep some at work some at home i can easily fit 4-5 in my day

sarahbrown314

Echo what has been said about chocolate protein powder. I also have developed a taste for chocolate flavoured tea's, which are much lower calorie than a piece of chocolate would be. They're in the ballpark of 20 - 40 cal's from a place like Davids Tea (I'm Canadian, not sure if you're familiar with the chain). Just don't add milk or sweetener!

WinoGelato

With less than 20 lbs to lose, you should be set to lose no more than 0.5 lb/week. At your height, and depending on whether you exercise regularly or not, you should have a modest amount of calories to work with on a daily basis. My standard advice is to fill your day with a mix of foods that provide nutrition (macro and micro nutrients), satiety (fill you up) and enjoyment (this is where the chocolate fits in). If you are logging accurately and eating a variety of nutritious foods in that calorie deficit, there's no reason why you couldn't eat chocolate in moderation when you have room in your day for it.

Many of us here have been successful in achieving our weight loss goals while never giving up things like chocolate, ice cream, pizza, wine, fast food, etc. You likely can't eat all of those each and every day, but you can fit in the foods you love and still lose weight.

DancingMoosie

I love chocolate. Specifically, Ghirardelli 60%cacao dark chips. I also love peanuts and peanut butter. I've found that going a few days without them help me break the cycle of craving and overeating them. But I guess portioning them before sitting down to eat them is also helpful.

apullum

I get dark chocolate bars and eat them slowly, usually one 50-75 calorie square at a time. I also make various things with chocolate protein powder, chocolate chia pudding, chocolate tea, light chocolate syrup, chocolate protein bars, chocolate soy milk, chocolate Halo Top...I have so many chocolate ideas!

BWA468

I've been buying the blocks of Kit Kat. About 81 calories for a row which I think is pretty good and theres a few flavours too. Well at least in NZ there is. I can usually fit at least 2 rows in to my day (daily highlight haha)

MelissaPhippsFeagins

missmelis1976 wrote: »

Thank you! Is there any kind you recommend? I'm guessing it wouldn't have much flavor being 85%?

Actually, I think it has more flavor than milk chocolate, which could be why less satisfied that craving.

I have also been known to stir 2 tsp. cocoa powder into my coffee for that flavor hit without extra calories from sugar. And Stash makes a Black Forest tea that I really enjoy too.

bbell1985

cocoa powder in greek yogurt. add some stevia.

mlinci

I lost over 45 lbs while still eating a small chunk of chocolate every day. I have anything between 10-40g per day, and make it fit into my calorie budget.

Christine_72

Have you tried chocolate flavoured protein bars? My favourite is Quest double chocolate chunk, microwaved for 15 seconds. 190 calories, plus a decent amount of protein and fibre.
I also make chocolate/peanut butter cheesecake made with protein powder. I use this recipe:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500016/low-calorie-protein-cheesecake/p1

jennybearlv

I love chocolate too and fit it in my calorie budget multiple times a day. My favorite are the foil wrapped Dove pieces. I have dark chocolate and peanut butter dark chocolate in the pantry now. They are 40-50 calories each and unwrapping the foil is so tedious it is difficult to eat more than one or two at a time.

cerise_noir

Me too!

I eat chocolate regularly. It's all good.