Eliminating sweets help please!

I eat chocolate every day. I ate chocolate every day while losing weight, and in maintenance I do the same. Are we counting just pieces of chocolate (about 200-250 calories per day), or also chocolate protein powder/bars/PB2/etc (another 500 or so calories per day)?

I also really look forward to my nice meal and dessert after a long run. I usually run long on Sundays and then go to the farmer's market, where there's a bakery stand with delicious brownies and chocolate chip cookies. The thought of those brownies has gotten me through quite a few double digit runs.

Chocolate doesn't cause diabetes. Sweets in general do not cause diabetes. You can enjoy your chocolate and not worry about that.

If you're eating so much chocolate that you don't get all your nutrients, then you probably want to cut back and/or find chocolate flavored things that are more nutritious. I like double chocolate chunk Quest bars. I also have the same breakfast every morning: nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with fiber cereal, chocolate protein powder, and chocolate PB2. Thin with milk or water if it's too thick. It's chocolatey, but also full of protein and fiber that help me hit my macros.

If you're able to stop at one piece of chocolate, then try buying small, individually wrapped chocolates. I think Ghirardelli squares are nice for this, if you have those. They're pretty big, but they're thin, so they're only 50-75 calories each.

Finally, I'd be more concerned about finding your maintenance calorie goal than I would be about your chocolate intake. It sounds like you don't have a good idea of how many calories you need to maintain on. Everyone has a maintenance range, not an exact maintenance weight, but it sounds like you're frequently changing your calorie intake rather than determining how many calories you need for maintenance. There are many threads in the Maintaining Weight forum about finding out your maintenance calorie needs.

I can say from experience that dieting brings out the worst in us vis a vis cravings. You sound worried, and that's understandable but once you've been back to eating your maintenance calories for a little longer the uncontrollable cravings might lessen.

Also speaking from personal experience, I obviously don't know your whole story but if your only symptom is that you're struggling to control your chocolate intake, I don't think you have an eating disorder. Unless your anxieties about your weight/diet and fear of diabetes are controlling your life, making it hard to concentrate/eat/sleep/etc. (and if they are, definitely talk to your GP or a counselor).

One time I wrote down everything I ate for a week and brought that to a counseling appointment. My counselor and I took a look through to make sure I was eating enough/getting everything that I needed. That helped me make some changes and feel more assured that I was eating healthy (because when you've been binging/restricting for too long like I was, your sense of "normal" gets really whacked). If you decide to see your GP, I definitely recommend doing that!

Don't go cold turkey! Even if it works for a while, you might slip right back into the same pattern once you let yourself have chocolate again, and I assume you don't want to give it up for the rest of forever (and you shouldn't have to! Chocolate is yummy and fine in moderation!) I don't know if this would work for you, but why not get small chocolates (hershey kisses, or my personal favorite those little Dove squares) and give yourself a limit of 2-3 per day? You can put them in a weekly box/pill container, so if you want to eat more you'll have to steal them from tomorrow-you, and tomorrow-you will learn quickly that that's just setting yourself up for sadness. Alternatively, you could give the bag to your sister or someone else, and ask them to only give you 2-3 per day.

Best of luck!

Finn

I totally get the chocolate thing.

Woo me, but for some of us I sincerely believe chocolate is an addiction. My chocolate related behavior had all the earmarks of a more serious drug addiction. The subterfuge, the cunning “need” to stop off for something and just “happen” to pick up several pounds of chocolate, disguising the money spent, shopping different stores so the cashiers wouldn’t recognize me (honest!), trying to convince my husband I was still eating the same sack (four or five sacks later), not caring how it affected my own health, or, worse, was totally disrespectful to my diabetic husband’s health. It must have been torment for him to see me selfishly stuffing my face with sweets. Several times, I even tried to “overdose”- to eat so much of it to make myself so sick I’d never want it again. Didn’t work. I had a real problem.

If you’re suffering with chocolate compulsion, I totally understand. For me, it’s a real thing.

What helps me cope on a regular basis is a twice daily banana/cocoa smoothie. It’s sweet and it’s chcolatey. It’s enough to hold me, and I religiously budget the calories every morning.

And for some nutty reason, simply inhaling the fragrance of the ground chocolate helps relieve the craving too. I know I sound like I’m a basket case, but it really does help.

I do not have the strength to be like others here who can have “one” mini bar or one “square”. Give a drunk a drink......

God help anyone who gets between me and a couple of tablespoons of raw cocoa in the morning and evening. 40 calories a day of unsweetened chocolate goodness but it’s hella healthier than the “old” days, and enough to stave off the cravings.

Hi, My name is Spring and I’m a chocoholic......

lemurcat2 wrote: »

springlering62 wrote: »

I do not have the strength to be like others here who can have “one” mini bar or one “square”. Give a drunk a drink......

Except you said you eat a smoothie with cocoa twice a day. Isn't that chocolate?

I don't care, glad what you are doing is working for you, but it seemed pretty inconsistent.

I think for some of us, the precise form of the food matters.

I deeply struggle to control myself when I start to eat potato chips. I can walk past the bag with no trouble. However, once I weigh out and eat one serving, my craving for the second is out of control.

At the same time, I can easily eat a small portion of french fries without exciting any cravings. I admit that this seems ridiculously inconsistent; but it is true for me.

Maybe having some cocoa in a smoothie does not have the same impact on on cravings for the OP as a chocolate square.

For me, when I'm having a chocolate craving, the kind of chocolate absolutely matters. If it's low cocoa content, I have to eat a lot before feeling satisfied because there's not much chocolate, it's mostly sugar. With a good really dark chocolate bar, however, I'm satisfied with a lot less. Trader Joe's carries a 100% cocoa chocolate bar (for eating, not baking) and I can be satisfied with 100 calories. It's made by Montezuma's and it's super good if you like dark chocolate. Chocolate pudding (made with cocoa, avocado, and dates) satisfies when I have a chocolate/sweets craving.