only 3rd day already eaten chocolate

Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »

A piece of chocolate in the last 3 days...

You've done much better than I over the last 3 days I can tell you that!

I watch a lot of Athlean X on YouTube and the biggest piece of advice I have heard from him...

"You don't have to be perfect, just pretty damn good!"

It's just part of your journey, not a bump in the road, or falling of the wagon... Just part of the process

Jeff at Athlean X has great advice for starting a nutrition plan. Just remember make small changes to your eating habits. Don't think of it as a diet because then it becomes a list of rules rather than a lifestyle. There's room for chocolate as long as you're earning it. Don't give up because you had some candy, you can do it!

Forgot to add:

The only reason I wouldn’t eat any food in particular is if it’s a trigger food and will or possibly could cause you to binge out. But just starting out, mistakes will be made, don’t get down on yourself to hard. Stay consistent and persistent and your results will come.

Eating something that you enjoy isn't going to ruin your diet. It's all about calorie deficit. I ate fast food on an almost daily basis, but I was still able to lose 125lbs in a year. I don't necessarily recommend that from a health standpoint, but it actually helped my weightloss because it was my way of having portion control versus unlimited food at home. I just picked the healthier options.

Whatever works for you. If having a piece of chocolate keeps you from being miserable on your diet, then eat it as long as it fits your calories goals.

Be careful not to be subconsciously looking for reasons to quit. Like talking yourself into thinking your confused and weak and can't figure out how to lose weight. You are not broken.. you just take charge and do what you need to do. You can eat a lot of healthy foods that will give you energy ..you don't have to eat at an extreme deficit to punish yourself. dedicate yourself to figuring it out, educating yourself and don't beat yourself up when it doesn't go right. That happens. You can also figure chocolate into your plan.

Try nuts. Put them in pre-measured packets. There are also hi-fiber cookies that you can pre-measure and take with you. Higher protein snacks you can try are protein bars, and as mentioned hard boiled eggs, peanut butter, cheese and crackers. You have to try few things and see what works for you.

mindoverplatter8 wrote: »

I've been a member for 3 days and have already fallen off the wagon. I had some chocolate tonight. Late afternoons and evenings are my worst times: I am tired, feel a little weak and want nothing more than to eat dinner and go to bed. I don't have the energy to cook dinner, so I rest for two hours before I get the strength to cook. In those two hours I eat and today I ruined a good day by eating some chocolate. i am disappointed in myself, but not surprised. how do other (older) people manage the end of the day? I have very low energy levels which don't last long.

Admittedly, I do not know your circumstances, i.e., diabetes, or worries about blood sugar. But like good coffee and great wine, a lovely piece of chocolate has room in the calorie count as long as you are mindful of it.

Don't sweat it , I eat chocolate EVERY day and have still lost 90 lbs and counting. Stay within your calorie deficit and you'll lose weight.

mindoverplatter8 wrote: »

I am able to snack at work but most days i am so busy i dont have time to snack, which is why, when i get home, i am so tired. I eat a light lunch. I do function better in afternoon and evening if i have tea/coffee, but then i cant sleep through the night. What fast snacks do people eat at work?

I'm retired now but crackers to munch on when I worked and now instead of bread.

I will often stir cocoa or chocolate nut butter into my porridge so I can have chocolate for breakfast.

It sounds like you do need to try and get something in the late afternoon, fruit, a protein bar, a yoghurt, all easy to pack and eat. Or of course something you can have immediately when you get home from work.
I would also try to plan easy to cook meals, batch cooking, using a slow cooker, can all make life more simple.

I am a chocoholic and had/still have a hard time controlling myself around chocolate. I often find it hard to stop at one piece/one portion because of how much I like it. Depriving myself of it makes it worse so so there are ways I've found to cope/manage it so that I can still eat it.

1. Eat chocolate you can have in small bits - whether little Godiva pearls/squares of chocolate/small treat size chocolates that you can spread out at and at least psychologically feel like you're eating more than you are.

2. Have the chocolate but eat a serving of fruit you like before or after the chocolate - in my case it's granny smith apples, cherries, raspberries or green grapes - along with carbonated mineral water. These fill you up so you feel less inclined to want to snack more on the chocolate.

3. Roughly plan ahead of time how much chocolate you're going to let yourself have that day and if you want more, tell the Chocolate Devil sitting on your shoulder that you can have some more chocolate tomorrow as part of tomorrow's Chocolate Budget.

4. Calculate how much the chocolate you want to eat is going to 'cost' and assess the impact on your daily calorie budget. At that point, you can decide if you can eat it comfortably within your budget or if eating it means that:
(a) you will have to swap out another food you wanted to eat;
(b) you will need to do some more exercise to offset it. For instance, I know that 4 squares of Cadbury is 140 calories and 3 Quality Street chocolates are 132 calories so will take m around 30-40 minutes of leisurely walking with my dogs to offset. In contrast, 10 tiny Godiva pearls 'cost' 31 calories.

I sometimes enter the chocolate into my diary to 'see' the impact and decide if I want it that much. Sometimes I"ll adjust the portion, frequently I'll still go ahead and eat it. Sometimes I'll decide to skip it and eat it tomorrow when my budget has refreshed and been topped up with exercise.

What does NOT work for me:
1. chocolate substitutes. I find them yuck
2. eating fruit or other snacks instead of chocolate. I once laughed when I read someone telling someone to eat beetroot or vegetables instead of chocolate. For me, nothing comes close to how yummy chocolate is.

Good luck!!!