The shelves are full of chocolate eggs at the moment, many at bargain prices: it’s difficult to walk through a supermarket without succumbing.
If you’ve got Easter eggs in the cupboard, you’ll sometimes be in that mood when you absolutely must have chocolate …
And, you know you won’t be able to stop at just a single piece.
Here’s eight ways to beat those chocolate cravings
- Go for a walk.
As soon as you’re out of the door, you’re away from the chocolate. After a brisk half-hour walk, you’ll be energized and ready to resist the sweet stuff. - Eat “anti-chocolate”.
Some foods just aren’t compatible with chocolate. Eat a pickled onion. Suck an aniseed ball. They both have such strong, distinct, tastes that you won’t want chocolate afterwards. - Do something with your hands.
Try some form of craft (cross stitching and paper crafts work for me). Or play a video game, write a letter or email… anything to distract you, and which keeps your hands occupied. - Bin it.
This is a powerful message to yourself, especially if, like me, you’re of the waste-not-want-not school: throw the chocolate in the trash. Is it really more wasted there than it would be as extra pounds of fat on you? - Clean your teeth or chew gum.
For me, brushing my teeth is a psychological cue that I’m not going to eat anything else. Gum will stop you eating while you’re chewing it: this also helps if you’re prone to picking at food when cooking. - Put it somewhere inaccessible.
Stand on a chair, and shove the chocolates right in the back of a high cupboard. It’ll require much more effort to get them out again – enough to make you think twice. - Have something small.
Sometimes, a taste of chocolate can help take away the urge to scoff a whole family-sized bar. Try one of the following (all take a little while to consume, which also helps).1. Mug of light hot chocolate
2. Low-fat chocolate mousse
3. Chocolate flavored popcorn
4. 2 Squares of 80% dark chocolate - Set a time limit.
If you still want chocolate in an hour, you can have some. Most cravings don’t last more than 20-30 minutes: chances are, you’ll have forgotten about the chocolate once the time’s up.
What do you do when you “must” have chocolate? Do you have any good tips on coping with cravings? Or are you one of those lucky people who “doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth”?
i have upto 6 snickers in 40mins 10 galaxy cake bars and 1 full pack of chocolate hobnobs each day of the week all in the space of 3 hours and my body still craves more yet my energy levels feel really low im 5ft 11 at 11stone4 and gaining no extra weight just want to get rid of having this urge to eat chocolate please help
Totally agreed on LOL! XD
I mean; it’s like having fine wine in the house; yes? You just don’t want to ruin the experience or desecrate the pedigree by pigging out on it.
=_=…..
Well; assuming if you were giving ALL your chocolate to one person….
But I don’t think Lady G was being intentionally nasty. She’s probably just suggesting to dilute the overall downside of chocolates (and still enjoy a bit of this sweet treat) by sharing it amongst a lot of people.
It doesn’t just have to be your colleagues; you know. Your relatives; your friends; the orphanage…heck; give some to a homeless shelter and make a poor kid’s day. C:
As for chocolate being a ‘bad’ food, that’s basically true of ANYTHING eaten without moderation; even fruits, green tea or lean protein. The thing is to pick something with a higher cocoa butter percentage. They’re denser in fat, yes; but a LOT more satisfying due to the creamier texture. Couple that with fat’s satiating effect and the lower sugar content of high quality chocolates; you’d be far less likely to binge and/or get a sugar crash. As long as it’s paired with a healthy diet, it shouldn’t hurt you. Much better than eating a lot of inferior, high-sugar candy bars anyway.
Perhaps your chocolate cravings are some sign of a magnesium deficiency? I’ve encountered studies suggesting this. If the cravings are in tandem with an urge to eat anything else sweet, then that’d be a sugar craving; which has roots in factors like stress. Proper management of these problems would provide a better long-term solution.
But if you’re looking to cramp that craving right now, you could try looking up the nutritional facts for whatever’s tempting. I usually find the figures scary enough to nip all desires in the bud. Or; if you’re truly nuts about the stuff (like me
), you could try “feeding” your mind with chocolate instead. The world of chocolate itself can be pretty mind-boggling and engrossing once you get to know it. By the time you emerge from poring the contents of Godiva’s latest box or reading about conching process, a Twinkie simply isn’t appetising anymore.
My last tip would be to find a substitute: a piece of apple or some other healthier snack works fine if it turns out that you’re just fancying something sweet.
Not all baking chocolate is like that. Just read the labels before buying things.
# 6 is a great idea!!!!! cuz if i put something alll the way in the back of stuff and a bunch of other things are in front then i wont wanna get it out cuz i wont clean it up and it will just be messy and my mom will get mad
lol if i go for a walk ill pass the variety/convenient store and buy some chocolate
Hey, this might sound crazy but I’ve found that drinking green tea really helps with chocolate cravings. Its worth a try and way healthier too!
I control my chocolate craving by eating fat free yoghurt with cocoa powder. My favourite meal is cocoa oats with vanila, but it has to be watery.
I put half pan water, 2 spoons cocoa powder, vanila extract, 6 spoons oats. I cook for long time, it is like chocolate puding. I love it! As well dring cocoa with water and little milk. But it is good to have cheating day, enjoy real chocolate!
Yes, chocolate is high in energy. But the energy is mostly fat and sugar which are mono saccharides. So why does it make a difference? Mono saccharides are much smaller chains of fat, so they are digested much faster. That is why chocolate and all kinds of sweets are referred to as “empty calories” because essentially, you can eat a lot of it but the energy will quickly run out, and at the end you also get a fabulous crash =).
I agree! Thanks for sharing!!
i’ve decided nothing can stop my craving. the more i go without it the more i want it and a certain week of the month there is nothing i can do.
so i eat some.
i’m thinking that maybe if i eat something small in the middle of the day i wouldn’t crave it in the early evening (right after my workouts) but i don’t know.
what do i do?!
if youve got lots of choc eggs for easter, or the kids eggs), melt them down and cook with them (crispy cakes etc) and give them as pressys to family! gets rid of them in a fun way and sharing it out saves the pounds! a little bit of anything doesnt hurt just dont eat them all! i find this way satisfying without denying myself!
well …. i eat so much chocolate its unbelieveable and i try to do these things but it just dosent help i need sirous help any suggestions ?
I never have Chocolate in the house. If I’m craving chocolate, I have some low-calorie hot chocolate, chocolate pudding (by Jell-o), or I eat something completely different like a tomato, or celery, or and apple. In previous years, I found that the perfect fixer for a chocolate craving was to have a nice juicy red grapefruit. The tartness takes away and sweet craving and you feel so fresh afterwards ^_^.
I mostly crave chocolate for the fat content though, since I don’t really like fatty foods, and don’t eat many of them. When I crave chocolate, I tell myself that it is a treat, that I will be good the rest of the day and that it is my dinner. So, I buy myself a nice 70% or 80% chocolate bar (Cote D’or is my fave, second is Lindt), and eat it all. Yup, all. Since that’s about 600 calories, I have to eat well the rest of the day and keep myself busy. BUT in one of those chocolate bars is TONS of fibre, protein, and iron. Iron and fibre are y friends, and I like visiting them often.
What about having something that has a chocolate flavour such as a protein shake?
totally agree with this. Its all about moderation
I didn’t want to eat any chocolate… before I read this!
One word … CHOCOPERFECTION the candy bar thats sugarless, healthy, low carb and low cal! pricey but worth it!!
I say stay away from sweets if you can , my friend Rick eats 1 ounce of semi sweet dark chocolate almost every nite and is still losing weight .