I am addicted to chocolate and can't stop.

If doing what everybody says isn't working for you, why not try something different? Going chocolate-cold-turkey might be worth a shot. Everyone is different.

Many years ago, when I was a freshman in college and decided to join ROTC, I had a lot of weight to lose first. So as part of my diet I outright dropped all sweets. Pretty much anything that had added sugar in it, I didn't eat (although I wasn't entirely wise on what sort of foods had added sugar, so I was probably taking in more than I thought). The first couple weeks sucked. I remember my fencing team passing around chocolate truffles after a tournament and how awful it was not to take one. After about a month I had absolutely no cravings for sweets. Didn't bother me in the slightest to eat dinner with someone who was chowing down on that chocolate cake.

But, anyway, I think your 36 lbs is damn impressive. And the reason it's so impressive IS that it's been since Nov 2012. So many people drop the weight but can't keep it up (like me). You obviously can. So yes, you might have a weakness for chocolate, but it seems to me that you're doing better than most dieters despite it.

Decrease the amount gradually. You'll see that not so difficult.
Enjoy your life

I find eating even a homemade sugar free cocoa treat to be too triggering. Last week I made some and it was really hard to have self-control. They were supposed to be for dessert, but I ate my portion all as the appetizer. And it was only because I have a big husband and a fierce daughter watching over their portions, that I was able to stay within my allotted portion.

Sorry that you are struggling so much, OP. I think it's best to keep temptation away. If I drank too much, I wouldn't buy a 6 pack thinking, 'just one'. Addiction is addiction, and it's real. If chocolate is sabotaging your goal, then it's self-defeating to eat it. Wishing you clarity and self-control!

Try buying a smaller bar. You'll still get your chocolate fix but won't be in danger of eating too much of it.

Definitely don't keep a chocolate supply in the house!

You could plan to have the chocolate and fit it into your calories? Go buy a small chocolate bar every day or have a massive bar or a whole box of fudgesicles at the weekend. And enjoy them! :bigsmile:

I have a Snickers or two every day. All that matters is that you're happy with what you are doing and it's sutainable for you.

Good luck!

Dont keep chocolate at the house, when you want it you might not want to drive to go buy.

Plus if you do buy chocolate just buy a small bar and that's it.


Its all in your head, you say u can't quit I say otherwise.

Buy less. Eat close to maintenance to avoid binges.
I love and eat chocolate every day - and yes, the 500 calorie Ritter bar can be my downfall, but I manage to fit it by not overly cutting on calories. And buying less. Balance it with a lot of lower calorie, filling items.
Assure your protein needs are met - I found I lusted after chocolate when my macros are way way off.

Have you tried some of the Chocolate protein Bars? I keep them at no more that 200 calories. Another thing I love are my protein Shakes. The one I make is Chocolate. By adding some yogurt to it and some Peanut butter extract ( I use Watkins) to the shake, It tastes like a Peanut Butter Cup.(under 200 Calories. If it is not Chocolaty enough I add some Dark Chocolate Cocoa. More extract if needed. I use AWE 60. total protein 36 grams, Carbs13, fat 2, fiber 2, Iron 11.. Total Calories 194 .There are a bunch of protein drinks you can make using /extract in them to make them taste like a chocolate Candy bar. Or chocolate. Do the protein mix and add strawberry extract = Chocolate covered Strawberries, or Raspberries, Cherries. . You can also use fresh or frozen Fruits.I use Silk light as milk and Truvia If I need extra sweetnes. I also make a true "shake" by adding crushed Ice in the blender And Whip the heck out of it. There are so many combinations using Extract. You can make almost any of them to taste like, Chocolate, Fruit deserts . I have a ton of varieties I make taste like whatever I am craving. I wish I could make one for you and see it that helped your cravings. I use mine for 1 meal replacement a day usually.:drinker:

The only thing that broke my addiction to sweets was being diagnosed with diabetes. And really, the only thing that did was make it switch to sugar free candy.

I have two methods that help me from going overboard. 1.) I allow myself one meal a week that is whatever I want. You could save that one night for that high calorie chocolate treat you love. or 2.) If you want chocolate but binge eat huge sizes THEN DON"T BUY the big ones. Just get the single serving sizes and savor them. Good luck.

I have a rule to avoid chocolate by itself. For example, I can eat a granola bar with chocolate, a trail mix with chocolate chips, or chocolate-dipped strawberries. I also like adding a half teaspoon cocoa powder to steamed unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which is a low-calorie treat. This helps me avoid overindulging.

It is a choice as others have said. I've been a chocoholic my entire life. The one thing that helped me when I first started was to not bring things into the house that would tempt me. I also started buying dark chocolate in individually wrapped pieces. Believe it or not, over the months my craving for chocolate has really lessened. One or two pieces of dark chocolate does the trick for me now and I rarely want more than my 2 pieces.

Now, is this because I have learned to control my cravings or is it because the dark chocolate has magical powers to stop my carvings? :laugh: I'm pretty sure it is the former. Keep working on it. Learning to control our food cravings is an ongoing practice. Keep at it. If you truly want to lose the weight - you'll find the power within yourself to do it!

Good luck.

I struggle with chocolate too. Now - quite shockingly - I'm starting to train myself into this moderation thing. Kinda.

Just to give you some context here, back in the day I would easily wolf down an enormous bag (500g!) of Smarties in one sitting. They're basically like a yummier version of M&Ms, haha. A block of chocolate? Entire packet of biscuits? Easy. I was that kid who could eat their whole Easter basket/Halloween haul in one sitting. AS A SNACK.

So, here's what happened:

When I started keeping track of what I was eating, there were more than a few occasions where I would use up my entire day's worth of calories in chocolate by noon (or at the very least a significant portion of it). Usually this was on weekends, because those were the two days university didn't cater for our accomodation package. Now, since I was ridiculously stubborn (and still am) about not seeing those little red numbers...let's just say I went to bed more than a little hungry. Stupid, in retrospect, because ultimately I was depriving myself of proper nutrients and so on, but MY GOD did I learn. I was one of those people who just had to figure things out the hard way. Habit broke pretty quick after that. I still wasn't eating spectacularly on the two days I had to fend for myself (think microwave macaroni and cheese), but it sure as heck was better than a 1000+ calorie Cadbury binge first thing in the morning.

Fast forward to having moved off campus and now preparing all my own meals. I realized that although I could say no to chocolate and leave it sitting in the cupboard for months at a time, once it was opened there was no stopping me. One moment of weakness, one promise to myself that I would just have a little bit, and...oh look, it's all gone. Oops. So at that point I stopped buying it altogether.

Thing is, I love chocolate. Even if I don't have it in the house, I won't be able to avoid it for the rest of my life. And if I ban it, I'll feel deprived and crave it a thousand times worse. Which would make my encounters with the stuff a disaster waiting to happen. So, my general philosophy with grocery shopping has basically become, "If you can't be responsible with it, it's not going in the trolley". If I buy a pack of biscuits and eat the entire thing in one sitting, well, guess I won't be buying those again. Or at least not until I feel like I can do a better job in the self-control department. It's kind of like incentive, really. If I stick to my two choclate biscuit/squares of chocolate/whatever quota with my morning cuppa then in the long run, I get more of them! And I find that I actually enjoy them more, since I focus on what I'm doing instead of mindlessly munching through everything. Oh, and it means I can buy the good quality stuff (I love Lindt). Because it's worth spending the money on since it's my special treat.

Not sure if my talking through my entire relationship with chocolate will help any, but I'll move on with a few tips I picked up that have helped me.

- Dark chocolate. You tend to need less of it to get the same sense of satisfaction. Yes, it's better for you and all that, but also unlike milk chocolate it's a bit more of an effort to consume in epic portions.

- Don't let your PMS go shopping. Just...don't. Stick to your shopping list. If the chocolate's already in the house and you live with someone, tell them to hang onto/hide it until your willpower comes back if you feel it slipping. I try to eat foods higher in magnesium to combat cravings, but it doesn't make them disappear altogether.

- Since chocolate's pretty calorie-dense, you can find other ways to still get the flavour while feeling full. I mix chocolate in oatmeal or have hot chocolate. I have chocolate Up&Go for when I have to be somewhere absurdly early, and my protein powder is...you guessed it, chocolate flavoured. Some brands of chocolate mousse (like OMG or Soleil) are pretty low calorie as well, and there should be some single-serve chocolate puddings or yogurts that aren't too bad either.

- Only buy one small pack of biscuits or a small block of chocolate to start off with. It may cost more to start off with, but I found it easier to start with a pack of 5 biscuits and learn how to control having that in the house before I was able to handle buying 2 packs of 12 when they were on sale at the supermarket. I have a bit of an ingrained 'finish-the-plate-and-do-it-quick' mentality, so that was what helped combat it.

- After you've portioned out how much you're going to have, put the rest of the pack away. And in an annoying cupboard that you have to bend down/climb on a chair and rummage around in to get it (my snack cupboard is the one right behind the bin, to make the process extra difficult). Make sure they aren't staring you in the face when you go to said cupboard - out of sight, out of mind. So keep them at the back, behind something, and/or in an opaque container.

- Eat away from the kitchen. If you have two snacks a day and during one of them you will be at work or otherwise out of the house, have it then. That way you physically cannot go back for seconds.

- Focus on what you're doing. Savour every bite. And have something else after it like an apple or a cup of tea to make you feel full and to get the flavour out of your mouth (if I can still taste it, I tend to want more).

- Don't carry loose change. That way you won't be inclined to hit the vending machine or anything like that. I know I've probably saved myself hundreds of dollars by simply not keeping coins in my purse. Granted, it's a hassle sometimes when you genuinely need change, but worth it in the long run.

And wow. I think I rambled quite a bit here. But that's all I can think of for now, so I'll wrap this up. Best of luck to you and congrats on your weight loss progress thus far

I'm much the same way. I don't buy candy. I can't remember the last time I did. But I do have a 100 calorie deep chocolate vitatop after lunch and dinner every single day. I budget it in to my daily allotment, and I never feel deprived. If I could cut those out, I would theoretically lose 0.4 pounds more a week, but I would never be able to sustain that as a lifestyle change, so I accept my results as they are and go on with my life.

Maybe try buying one square of Ghirardelli chocolate or one Lindt truffle for your chocolate fix?

I know buying "economy size" is more economical, but some things I have to buy the single-serving packets. No sense in saving a few cents now if down the road I'll be bogged down with even more medical bills than I already have!