How to stop eating chocolate?

[Neveryours]

Hi everyone, I need a little bit of help and I am wondering if anyone can offer some advice who has cut chocolate out of their life, or at least cut down on it dramatically.

I desperately want to be healthy, and I try to be. I am not overweight, so that’s not my issue, it’s just that I want to stop eating unhealthy food. I am not bothered about any other junk food other than chocolate. I am completely addicted, I feel like I NEED it, I can’t get through a day without it. I know that sounds extreme but it’s just the way it is and I don’t want it to be like that anymore.

I know it’s easy to say just ignore the cravings, but I struggle, they are just too strong. I get cravings for other things too but I can ignore these ones. I had a craving for Chinese takeaway last Friday but told myself nope, just don’t order it, simple as that. And I didn’t. However I just can’t do this with chocolate. If I have a chocolate craving, I can’t concentrate on anything else like I will try to take my mind off it but I just can’t stop thinking about it. It gets to the point where at 10pm I’ll literally get dressed and walk 20 mins to the shop just to get a chocolate bar. And I always hate myself for it afterwards. I start every day thinking right do not eat chocolate today!! It’s not as if I’m an alcoholic or a drug addict, this should be easy! But I cave every single day. I eat a share bar of chocolate daily. Why don’t I have the willpower to stop doing this? What can I do, what can I tell myself?

You know how some people LOVE a cup of tea and they can’t wait to get home from work, get their pjs on and settle down in front of the TV with a nice brew? Or maybe it’s a glass of wine for some people. That’s me with chocolate, I don’t drink alcohol at all, for me that comfort feeling comes from chocolate. I look forward to it, it makes me happy (in the moment).

i know that this is bad for my body and I get moments of panic when I think about how unhealthy I must be. Sorry for sounding so dramatic about this, I know it’s not that deep, it’s just bloody chocolate not heroin! But I’m sick of having a constant battle with myself in my mind over it.

can anyone who managed to kick a sugar addiction help? I know that the answer is probably just to stop eating it and eventually the cravings will go away. But how do I gain this will power?!!

I also love all chocolate.

I'm just sharing an idea that worked for me.

I swapped to %85 and above and ended up not wanting to binge eat it quite as much.

Now I just have a square or two whenever I fancy and feel quite virtuous as I tell myself it's good for me (antioxidant).

It hits the craving but doesn't stimulate the sugar craving that then makes you want to eat more and more.

Same here. I could quite easily polish off a family sized bar of chocolate on my own in an evening. But I had a massive shock when I got on the scales at the beginning of January, not to mention the effect it was having on my health. So I decided to cut out all processed foods from my diet and see how I felt.

A week on and I don’t have any sugar cravings, my diet is a lot better and I feel better in myself. Haven’t even wanted chocolate. The first few days was pretty grim but well worth it. Don’t think I will ever be the sort of person who can do things in moderation when it comes to certain foods so had to do something extreme.

You could also do a little platter when you get home of dried fruit, nuts, and a square or two of dark chocolate.

Putting it all on a plate helps your brain to understand it is a substantial snack.

It will fill you up so you shouldn't want to mindlessly snack on less healthy milk chocolate

There's nothing unhealthy about chocolate daily as part of an otherwise healthy diet. You're eating a share bar every day, so it's actually portion size which is the issue. How about buying a normal size bar? Then when you get used to that, you can reduce to one of those slightly smaller ones, then down to the treat size bags of buttons? If you like diary milk it comes in SO many sizes, it's really easy to just keep reducing the size of your bar.

No, I don't think it is the same. Alcohol is alcohol...
Chocolate is a bit more complicated. There's the chocolate itself and then there's the sugar. By switching to progressively darker chocolate (maybe with nuts in) you can have some chocolate without so much sugar. And because it's not filled out with sugar the chocolate hit is more intense so you find you don't need as much.

I really have gone all the way from loving milk chocolate to the 2 squares of Montezumas 100%!

I went cold turkey on a keto diet a couple of years ago. It killed the craving and I hardly ever eat it anymore. I also had a haribo issue, again hardly ever them anymore.

I'm not Keto anymore but I needed some kid of brain switch.

I think that chocolate is actually good for you and so you don't need to give it up. I used to eat a lot of chocolate bars from the local shop but I realised I didn't even like them that much they were too sweet and slimy. I switched to more expensive dark chocolate and I have a little bit each day with a cup of tea and my favourite treat is the Hotel Chocolat 70% dark chocolate hot chocolate, I only have a small cup of it once a week but it feels very indulgent.

https://www.earth.com/news/sweet-discovery-eating-chocolate-can-add-years-to-your-life/

Start eating proper dark chocolate (not bournville) 85%. You only need a square and it will fix the craving. The added benefit is that after a while anything other than dark chocolate will taste sickly sweet so you won’t want it.

The other thing I eat if craving something sweet is medjool dates. Sound gross but they have this delicious almost caramel flavour, for me 1 or 2 of those does the job.

I do think magnesium supplements help .
What kind of magnesium should I take chocolate cravings?
“The [recommended dietary allowance] for women over 30 is 320 mg, but you can take less and get good results,” she said, recommending a type of magnesium called L-threonate. “It is a form of magnesium that crossed the blood-brain barrier and is deeply relaxing, I suggest taking 150 mg at night
Have a google.

A few people mentioning dark chocolate. I really don’t like the taste… I found one that I actually liked but it gave me a bit of an upset stomach 🤦🏻‍♀️

I find the higher the carby food I eat, the more I crave chocolate, so try to curb my bad carbs habit
I also find that making a cup of Options salted caramel drink stops all cravings.

I think sometimes ignoring cravings can lead to binging. In your shoes OP if you really want chocolate have some chocolate, but have say half of what you’d normally have, and have it with something healthier or and filling eg yogurt and fruit. That way you’re getting the taste of the thing you’re craving, the fibre and sensation of being physically full from the fruit, and protein and fats from the yogurt which will help you feel satiated.

Omg there’s some super helpful suggestions here, thank you so much! I am going to be trying some of them. I like the idea of having something that is chocolatey in the house that satisfies the craving but that I don’t like enough to eat a lot of it. Then maybe I can just eat less and less and cut it down and break the cycle

I was the same but now i’ve gone vegan and i really like some of their chocolate ranges they just aren’t half as more-ish, but still delicious. I’ve cut out regular chocolate completely and can have a block of vegan chocolate in the cupboard/fridge and have a few pieces during the day rather than the entire bar… could never give up chocolate love it way too much. I doubt you want to cut it out completely i think that would be worse as you’d crave it more but that could just be my opinion…

I’ve given it up. Several times 😔
I’m currently off processed sugar, and stuck to that over Christmas. I feel much better for it, so hopefully I can keep this going.

My strategy when I’m ready to give it up is to only give up milk chocolate- dark is fine. Other sugary things also fine. Then I keep a nice bar in the house so that I absolutely can have it if I want. I’ll even open it and have a sniff. For some reason, knowing I can have it helps. I don’t get into a mindset of deprivation. After a few days I’ll feed it to dh or the dc, and once I’m past the two week mark, the worst of the cravings have passed. Then it’s easier to just cut down on sugar.

I have to be in the right frame of mind though. I’d never try to start right before a period is due, or if there’s a lot of stress. So I bloody enjoy it while I am on the chocolate.

I rarely drink and I’ve never done drugs because I’m afraid what it could be like - chocolate addiction is powerful.

This is so embarrassing to admit to, but I do sometimes just get a normal size bar. But what happens is it’s not enough so I just buy another bar after a few hours. Then a few hours later I really have to stop myself from buying another. I will feel like I want another but I manage to stop myself at that point. However, if I eat a share bar at once, it stops my craving all day. One small bar just makes me want it again later on.

i know I sound super unhealthy. I am vegetarian and I eat fruits and vegetables every day. My dinner always has salad with whatever I’m eating, I only drink water. I don’t eat crisp or cakes or anything like that. And if I only ate one bar of normal sized chocolate a day I wouldn’t see it as a problem in an otherwise healthy diet. My problem is the amount of chocolate that I crave and eat is a problem for me and makes me very tired. I know that it’s bad for me, I know it makes me feel rubbish but I just can’t seem to stop it because the urge is so so strong.

I am going to do this though like you said and keep reducing the size! some really good ideas and tips here so thanks so much everyone

I hugely cut down on sugar for a long time by drinking more water and grabbing an apple or some frozen grapes BUT the first ten days was literally more about forcing myself not to and telling myself I was doing well. I allowed myself a tiny amount and more at the weekends. After two weeks I craved it less but saying that Christmas has knocked me out again

The keto diet definitely works, no cravings at all but I get bored with that and unlike the poster above, as soon as I start eating carbs again, I start eating chocolate.

I could have written your post except I wouldn’t go for a 20 min walk to get some at 10pm. Saying that, we always have chocolate in the house so I wouldn’t need to.

I am trying to lose weight as over Xmas I put on half a stone making me 3 stone overweight 😳. I’ve really got to sort it. Chocolate is my problem. I could cut out crisps and savoury food easily but just can’t do it with chocolate.

today I’ve eaten well apart from the choc. I’ve had scrambled eggs on seeded toast and a chicken salad for lunch. It’s a snake I’ve also had 7 squares of choc and a crème egg too 😢. I guess I’ll eat something else later too.

im reading this thread with interest as I HAVE to lose 3 stone this year. I can’t be like this anymore and chocolate is the reason.

Can you buy ‘healthier’ non ultra processed chocolate? I think you can get it in most supermarkets now. They do come in 100g bars though which might be problematic.
tbh I haven’t had choc for a long time, having been a big chocoholic. I home bake healthier cakes etc and I use carob which is a chocolate sub, but has a different taste and it isn’t moreish.

There's a chocolate called 'Hu'. There's no nasties in it and even for dark chocolate (which I hate) it's really nice. Maybe swapping for something healthier even though it's still a bar of chocolate, would be the key?

I've had similar chocolate issues in the past. Some things that help me:

• the first 3 days are the hardest. So focus on getting to 3 days with no chocolate
• if you're not overweight / trying to lose weight then you will need to significantly up your calorie intake to make up for the chocolate you removed from your diet. I found having a planned snack for the morning and the afternoon helpful in getting over the sugar/chocolate craving. Those snacks don't have to be super healthy, but you probably want to avoid a big sugar hit. I really like coffee, so started getting a milky coffee like a latte in the mid-morning which is both filling and energizing. After a few weeks, I found I didn't really want the milky one anymore and stepped down to home-made filter coffee or instant in a thermos. One of those yoghurt/granola pots was a good afternoon option.

Would a chunk of nice cheese fill the same sort of gap? Being dense and rich and high fat? It might be ‘substance’ you are craving.

It did take me 4 or 5 days to break my chocolate / sugar habit and I had to go cold turkey. It was easier because it was lockdown and while keeping myself out of the house in long isolated walks I also was not popping to the shop, only shopping once a fortnight.

Pick a few days when you are busy / meeting friends in the evening / anything but relaxing in front of the TV and at home.

I’m attempting low carb this January and beyond having never done it before. I also have a chocolate addiction. I’ve been making ‘fat bombs’ - coconut oil melted and add cacao powder, drop of stevia, desiccated coconut and then pour into ice trays and freeze. They’re quite intense but give me the chocolate I need. Tho I’m now tempted to buy 100% chocolate. I agree with others, eating posh chocolate every day - there are far unhealthier things you could be doing.

Switch to 100% dark chocolate (Montezuma and Conscious Chocolate are my favourites), or add cacao powder (again, make sure this is 100%) to porridge or smoothies to get your fix.