Any chocoholics on here?

I have a small piece of dark chocolate every day as part of my daily calorie budget. I have drastically cut back on all foods. I ate too many calories, that’s how I became overweight. No one food was the culprit for becoming overweight. I’m learning moderation of all food, it’s my plan for becoming, and hopefully this time, staying, a healthy weight.

I used to be a chocoholic. If I went one day without chocolate, then I started thinking about it non-stop. If I craved it, I would get off the couch and go get it. I was actually addicted and I knew it and I didn't care.

Then I had a health scare with my kidneys and later with heart palpitations (both turned out to not be serious). In the first scare, I overhauled my diet to make it more kidney-friendly, though I didn't try very hard at cutting out chocolate. And then with the heart palpitations, my doctor said...no more chocolate or caffeine. So I tried to quit. I was unsuccessful though I did cut way back. And it did lead to bingeing, which I didn't like.

I tried a few things - low sugar/low carb, mainly. During that time, I moved from milk chocolate to dark chocolate. I also cut way down on chocolate pastries. I didn't stick with low carb (I also love pizza and french fries and brownies and ice cream) but the dark chocolate stuck. And it was more satisfying than the chocolate I had been eating before. I also discovered that the chocolate cravings before my TOM was probably because chocolate has a lot of magnesium in it, and magnesium helps with muscle cramps. So I started with a magnesium supplement. And it helped.

Now I have a truffle or square or two nearly every day. It's almost always 50-100 calories. I keep up with the magnesium and the yoga (also very calming). I incorporate other foods with a lot of micronutrients that I was missing. And I also had to accept that weight loss just meant that I'd have to eat less of things I had been eating before. It was hard at first, but now I don't miss it. I make space in my calorie allowance for the chocolate, even if that means I need to do a few flights of stairs or extra lap around the campus at work.

smithker75 wrote: »

apullum wrote: »

MsBaz2018 wrote: »

apullum wrote: »

MsBaz2018 wrote: »

Nope. Just had 100g of Lindt milk chocolate and logged it as dinner
Fits within my (1200+exercise) calories too.
I am being cheeky. Of course I don't recommend. I just saw the call to chocoholics while I was finishing the last bite

I, personally, support it once in a rare while...just not Lindt. I have a whole list of other brands I prefer over Lindt, if anyone is interested in that tangent. My husband and I eat enough chocolate that we actually keep a spreadsheet with our comments and ratings.

I hosted a chocolate party last Valentine's Day. We ate nothing but chocolate. It was delicious and we all felt awful the next day. No regrets, but maybe next time I'll make actual dinner to go along with the chocolate.

A spreadsheet for real? Wow you are hardcore chocoholic! I like that
ETA: your chocolate party reminds me of this chocolate bar in Singapore...and why I gained so much weight living there. Sigh.

I want to go to this place in Singapore!

The spreadsheet was sort of born from necessity. We like trying new chocolate, but after a while we started to forget which ones we had tried and which ones we liked best. Also, I just enjoy data

The top milk chocolates on the spreadsheet right now are Scharffen Berger extra rich milk (41%), Endangered Species natural milk (48%), and Tony's Chocolonely (32%). I'm really into dark milk chocolate, usually in the 40-60% range. If you ever find yourself around Raleigh, NC, go to Videri and try their dark milk bar. 55% cacao, one of the best bars I've ever had.

I had Tony's Chocolonely (all varieties) in Copenhagen and it's delicious!

quiksylver296 wrote: »

apullum wrote: »

MsBaz2018 wrote: »

apullum wrote: »

MsBaz2018 wrote: »

Nope. Just had 100g of Lindt milk chocolate and logged it as dinner
Fits within my (1200+exercise) calories too.
I am being cheeky. Of course I don't recommend. I just saw the call to chocoholics while I was finishing the last bite

I, personally, support it once in a rare while...just not Lindt. I have a whole list of other brands I prefer over Lindt, if anyone is interested in that tangent. My husband and I eat enough chocolate that we actually keep a spreadsheet with our comments and ratings.

I hosted a chocolate party last Valentine's Day. We ate nothing but chocolate. It was delicious and we all felt awful the next day. No regrets, but maybe next time I'll make actual dinner to go along with the chocolate.

A spreadsheet for real? Wow you are hardcore chocoholic! I like that
ETA: your chocolate party reminds me of this chocolate bar in Singapore...and why I gained so much weight living there. Sigh.

I want to go to this place in Singapore!

The spreadsheet was sort of born from necessity. We like trying new chocolate, but after a while we started to forget which ones we had tried and which ones we liked best. Also, I just enjoy data

The top milk chocolates on the spreadsheet right now are Scharffen Berger extra rich milk (41%), Endangered Species natural milk (48%), and Tony's Chocolonely (32%). I'm really into dark milk chocolate, usually in the 40-60% range. If you ever find yourself around Raleigh, NC, go to Videri and try their dark milk bar. 55% cacao, one of the best bars I've ever had.

Oooh, I just bought three different types of Tony's last night at World Market for stocking stuffers. I'm excited to try them!

Tony’s is a recent discovery for me. I’ve had the seasonal mulled wine bar, the sea salt caramel bar, and a seasonal dark chocolate cherry bar. The first two were both milk chocolate and lovely. I was not as impressed with the dark chocolate cherry, but I think the bar was a little stale. I’m going to give their dark chocolate another try. In the US, I’ve found it reliably at World Market, REI, and especially Raley’s/Nob Hill if you have those. Our Grocery Outlet recently had the mulled wine bars for $2 each.

rheddmobile wrote: »

I like Endangered Species chocolate - especially the one with the wolf on it, which I think has cranberries? A square is 26 calories, so I can have a couple or three a day.

I recently discovered cacao powder, 20 calories for a spoonful makes Greek yogurt or oatmeal into a fancy dessert. I also shave 85% dark chocolate over my coffee.

I love everything I’ve tried from Endangered Species. The 72% bar is one of my favorite dark chocolates, along with that 48% bar for milk chocolate.

apullum wrote: »

If you ever find yourself around Raleigh, NC, go to Videri and try their dark milk bar. 55% cacao, one of the best bars I've ever had.

I live around a 1.5 hour drive from Raleigh and I think I need to plan a trip to go check this place out

Chocolate (at least 72% cacao, 85% is better) is essential, right up there with coffee.