Can I do it? Can i give up chocolate?

[mountainchick]

I love chocolate...and when I say I LOVE chocolate, I mean I have it everyday...but just a little.

I'm the same way you have been with diet soda. I don't drink any soda, and when I do I'll have a little and it just tastes too sweet.

I know I could never give up chocolate. Nope, nada, can't make me, try to make me and I'll crave it even more. And I'm overweight as well. Its just something that I've resigned that I'm not going to give up, and I have to improve myself in other ways.

Maybe you could give it up, and "treat" yourself once a month or something?? You'll lose the weight if calories out>calories in...just remember to make the right choices in all of your other foods.

Keep cycling...it sounds like you're already addicted to that if you went on a cycling holiday!

I don't have any real advice...just to say, don't give up and we're here for you.

And BTW...I'll be leaving the world of "up over" for the land "down under" this summer. I'll be in Brisbane and Sydney if you're in one of those areas or close to we can go riding!

[Thistle]

And BTW...I'll be leaving the world of "up over" for the land "down under" this summer. I'll be in Brisbane and Sydney if you're in one of those areas or close to we can go riding!

Hey mountainchick. i'm in canberra... about 300 kms SW of sydney. i'd love to go riding with you... any chance you'll make it to canberra? just let me know

[mountainchick]

I'll keep you updated, and I'll bring the chocolate! I kid I kid...

[run it, ride it]

Try gradually darkening the chocolate you eat. Milk chocolate can disappear by the bar, but 70% dark? You still get the satisfaction of chocolate, but it's BITTER, so you don't want to eat a lot.

Give'r a try! You don't have to give up chocolate, just give up the sweeteners in it!

[LBTC]

I agree with the others. Darker, healthier chocolate in reasonable portions is the ultimate answer.

But I think that your challenge is to get from here to there. And I don't disagree that cold turkey is the wrong way to do it. Perhaps after you've been chocolate free for a bit of time, you'll be able to sample a very different type of chocolate - 70% cocoa, organic or even beet sugar, etc; without having the same need to overindulge.

One other thought: I'm no professional, but your descriptions sound more like an eating disorder than a mere addiction to chocolate, and I wonder if you would consider seaking professional help?

Any way that you decide to do this, we're here to support you!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[ace]

Hi Thistle,

I feel for you, and can really relate, agewise (I'm 45), weightwise (at one point, I weighed 300 lbs- I'm 5'5), and addictionwise (have dealt with a disturbed relationship with food for most of my life). And dealing with an addiction to food is really tough. I think the main difference between being addicted to food and being addicted to alcohol/drugs can be summed up like this: when you become abstinent from abusing alcohol/drugs, you put the tiger in a cage, and leave it there. When you become abstinent from abusing food, you put the tiger in a cage, and then have to take it out for a walk three times a day. It is really hard to find the right balance between not abusing food, yet still being able to enjoy it.

Whatever anyone else says about their own relationship to chocolate, only you can know whether it's something you can never, ever have, or if you just have to cut back. But be careful about setting yourself up by saying you can never have it- forever is a pretty long time! Might be easier to just give yourself a goal of not eating it for a week, then see how you feel.

One thing that really helps me is I don't have any food in my house that I don't want myself to eat. If I'm going to have candy, I bring home a small packet. If I bring home enough for 10 people, I'll eat it at one sitting. This is one of the changes I've made that have helped me lose 85 lbs over the past 5 years (still got about 65 to go).

Be nice and gentle with yourself, and please let us know how your experiment is going.

Best,
Amy

[solveig]

You CAN give it up. Not necessarily that you should give it up forever...but I have a similar relationship with sweets. I went cold turkey...ate no sugar for a week, and had really classic addiction withdrawal symptoms. Edgy, cranky, etc...but I filled the time with something else and regained a whole lot of time that I had previously spent thinking about how rotten my digestive system felt.

I do still eat sugar / chocolate occasionally, but in far lesser quantities and frequency. But the experience of eating none for a while is one I learned from and that I'd recommend.

Good luck!

S

[Offthegrid]

I have binged on food off and on for a long time. My highest weight ever was 270 pounds several years ago.

One of the things I was taught is that if you make any food forbidden, you're much more likely to binge on it. Instead, it is healthier to eat a small portion of the food you are craving. Much easier said than done, I know.

An example from my life. Right now I personally am working on drinking less diet soda. In the past, I tried to give up diet soda altogether and could not do it. This time I've not banned it altogether from my diet, but I am not drinking it at work. Now I'm drinking far more water and feel better. Maybe you could try something similar.

In the end, see what works for you. Maybe there is a new hobby you could try instead of chocolate that could give you some of the same benefits. I find knitting very relaxing and it keeps the hands busy. Same with writing in a journal, scrapbooking, whatever.