I'm addicted to chocolate - help

[Sk3l3t0n]

I am being unreasonable, obviously, but I need the attention of AIBU.

I am absolutely addicted to chocolate. I cannot stop eating it. It's like when I Was a smoker, I know all the risks etc but I Cannot stop. I eat it multiple times a day, I would eat more if I could.

I have been like this since I was young, as a child I would steal it. As a teenager I got into smoking and I don't recall being as obsessed with it when I smoked. I smoked till my late 20s then one day I woke up and said 'not anymore'. Somewhere over the next few yeas the chocolate started up again and its worse than ever. I do all the things people say, dont keep it in the house - doesn't work I go and buy it. Chew gum - doesn't work I go and but it. Eat a balanced diet - doesn't work I go and buy it. I have had counselling. Didn't work. I have had blood tests. All fine, not diabetes etc. I do have AuDHD and I know that binging is related. But I don't care about other sweet things; I hate sweets, hate desserts, hate sugary drinks. I don't drink alcohol, dont use packet sauces with loads of sugar or but ready meals with loads of sugar or have cereals or sugary condiments. I eat a great diet and I know a lot about nutrition. But I cannot go a day without chcolate. And one small bar is never enough. I have tried switching to dark chocolate but they only come in massive bars and then I eat the whole thing. I even tried that Paul McKenna thing to help me quit - it did not work!!! Cold turkey also has not worked, I managed a whole day then relapsed. Fuck, I took coke as a teenager and it wasn't like this!!!!

How do I stop this? I quite smoking overnight with no cravings so I know it is in me, but I can't fucking do it. I don't want to have a pickled liver, or develop diabetes or brain issues as I get older. But I'm early 40s and this has been going on for a long time. I'm chewing my hands right now as there is a chocolate yoghurt in the fridge and it is all I can do to not go and get it.

Problem is, do you have to buy a whole pack of them? Because that's my downfall! But maybe I just need to try and exercise even more self discipline. I have tried, so hard, but I fail every time. Its very humiliating. I hide evidence too, so I know its a form of binging, but I don't do it with any other food, so it feels different?

Exactly the same here OP. I could’ve written your OP. I’m 41 and it’s getting worse. Nobody takes me seriously they just laugh and presume I’m exaggerating.

I eat at least a bar a day (individual size). I don’t drink any sugary drinks and don’t have sugar any other way (apart from small amounts maybe in sauces etc). I try and get my 5 a day, don’t smoke or drink alcohol and have my hbac done every year and I’m no where near even pre diabetic.
so cut yourself some slack! There could be worse things I always think.
from one choc a holic to another!

Cut your consumption in half and try out some low sugar versions. They can’t be eaten in quantities due to a laxative effect.

I am sorry, I have had the same. I had counselling recently and because I had cut down a lot her attitude was 'well I wouldn't consider that a proper issue' - but it makes me sad, has teh ability to affect my health, affects my finances because chocolate is stupidly expensive these days and the behaviour is still the same. I stopped seeing her. I have heard so many people say its not addictive but it is and its so depleting. Hopefully we both find an answer.

i miss 1 little line in brackets at the end of a long paragraph…….. sorry 🙄

I used to be called a phantom chocolate eater as a child…I would sneak and couldn’t resist the urge!
I track everything I eat on my fitness pal…..but then I get the guilt if I go overboard.
I restrict chocolate until after tea and evening and just to one bar….i don’t buy anything else.
Also I have a coffee on a morning and that’s it now. To not have coffee and a sweet treat.

however the if I go out and meet someone for a coffee etc I can’t resist a sweet treat.

My BMI is 29 and i fluctuate between a BMI of 26-30 all the time. I just can’t keep it down! I’m ‘good’ for periods….then Im like F**k it’s Friday (or any other day of the week 🤣)

You need to just have NO chocolate at all. None.

Just don't buy it.

The addiction is once you have some you just want more and can't stop thinking about it.

If I have chocolate it talks to me in the cupboard!! I have to go eat it all!

So now I just never buy it.

I did wonder if writing everything down would shame me into not doing it?? I may go tomorrow and get some dark and a notebook and I have to write it all down AND post it in the kitchen for the rest of my family to see. Hopefully that way, I will have to face up to it!

But that is the issue, it was the same with cigarettes. 'Don't have it in the house' doesn't work because I will find an excuse to go out and buy it. I don't have it here, so I end up going out every day and getting it. I know I shouldn't, as I am walking or driving my car I know its wrong, but I can't stop it.

This sounds very similar to how I was. I have AuDHD and since I was a teenager I was eating chocolate every day. Often more than a family sized bar each day. I loved Easter and around that time would eat a 6 pack of Cadburys Creme eggs every day.

I also ate healthily apart from that, cooking from scratch and fresh fruit and vegetables. I also tried everything (chewing gum, sweets, distractions) to help me quit, but nothing helped. I tried dark chocolate but it gave me a migraine.

I usually ate it at the end of the day, and to be honest, life seemed really boring without chocolate, as it was something to look forward to.

I'm now almost 50, and I don't know what's happened in the last year, but my cravings have now massively reduced! I don't know if it's hormonal or what, but I'm almost finding chocolate too sweet now. If I do have some, it's much less of an amount than I used to have. Strangely I'm now craving crisps more, which I never used to. Annoying that I can't crave something really healthy instead!

I'm sorry I don't have any advice, as nothing I tried actually worked, but you may find that over time your taste may change 🤞

I am the same , there isn't a day without it, around 300 calories a day of dark chocolate, but a big bar a day before my period. I have tried to quit a few times, but the most i lasted was 2 months, now i cant last even a few days.

Hi OP, I really do empathise with you and any therapist that doesn’t take any kind of food addiction seriously is not great tbh so defo try a different one.

It’s so hard because choc is so yummy, and eating a small amount daily is fine but it sounds like you’re having trouble being satisfied with a small amount.

I really think you’d get a lot from this YouTube film about Laura Try cutting out sugar for 30 days. She also mentions chocolate in there and tries 100% dark (which in my opinion is not even worth eating lol!)

It’s just super super interesting how she explains the nutritional side of added sugar (not naturally occurring sugars). And you might find that after watching it, you don’t want to put that type of damaging, sugary, processed crap inside your body.

Normal supermarket choc is mostly a big pile of sugar, buy top quality choc only - green and blacks etc. (I don’t know the super posh brands sorry!) And see if you can eat one piece mindfully.

Breathe in, smell it, taste tiny bits of it. Who cares if u then eat the whole bar, just try this mindful experiment with the first bite at least. Practice makes permanent and you have to undo your devouring habit.

Laura also mentions some 1-10min Mindspace meditations around food cravings that ask you to slow down for a moment.m and think about what feelings are driving the craving. Is it tiredness, stress, worry, boredom? Noticing can lead to different outcomes and coping mechanisms.

Sometimes you might also be thirsty, so whenever you want to go out and buy chocolate, make a cup of tea first. Green tea is a good pick me up. It’s totally not the same but Pukka also do a chocolate tea which you could try.

Try to go just one day per week without choc to start. Really celebrate this. Then try two and build up.

You got this OP. Back yourself. You can do this!

Would it help to spread something gross on /mix something gross in some chocolate and keep it in the house, like marmite or someone else’s spit? Aversion therapy basically

Might you need to eat more for your main meals? Maybe you are craving chocolate so much because you are hungry?

If you aren’t overweight then you must be eating the right amount of calories every day, if you remove the calories from chocolate (which are probably quite substantial) you need to replace them otherwise you will lose weight.

I always want something sweet after my meals. I’ll have a bit of fruit or yogurt and drink water (not tea or coffee - these make me want something sweet) after some time passes I realise I’m really full and don’t need/want any more.

Some things you could consider trying when you get a chocolate craving:

Hot chocolate - 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, 1teaspoon sugar, hot water to dissolve then fill mug with hot full fat milk.

“Healthier” baked goods - all sorts of recipes out there, I like a wholemeal banana bread or fruit loaf, smothered in butter or peanut butter - throw in some chocolate chips if you want them to be a little chocolatey. Choose things with more fibre and protein as they will be more filling than chocolate.
Perhaps do the baking when you get the craving, as that will keep you busy?

Dates and Peanut Butter - I go a bit mad for this, this is almost as addictive as chocolate, it really hits that craving.

Keep busy:
Do some self care - that may be yoga or Pilates, painting your toenails, putting on a facemask
Declutter or organise a drawer or cupboard space.
Do the baking mentioned above, or meal prep for the next day (make a soup or stew or prep your lunch.)
Pick up a craft hobby

It’s taken me several years to give up sugar but I’m off it for 18 months now, milk chocolate was always the hardest part - took 2-3 weeks to dull the cravings and once it had lost its grip, I reduced other sugary foods.

I’ve learned it’s all or nothing for me. I can’t just have a little bit - if I do I’ll be back to eating it for breakfast and lunch for months before I can drag the willpower together for another break.

when I’m not eating chocolate, real food tastes so much better. I notice how sweet carrots are. Strawberries are mind blowing. And dark green veg, and brown bread are delicious.

A few days into my cycle was the best time for me to give up ( or try any new habit actually). I just had to find the right mindset and go for it. I’d chuck it all in the bin, and then just practice my willpower in the shop. Chucking it in the bin would make me feel guiltier about buying more.

There’s so many small niggles that disappear when I stop eating sugar.

I am very similar. I find one bar of dark chocolate kit kat (4 fingers) cut into pieces in a bowl of rice crispies, with milk, takes ages to eat and then I dont feel the craving as much. Also, try chopped roasted hazlenut pieces with it, or roasted hazlenuts just with a plain cereal and milk (can buy them in bags from tesco in bakery section). You may associate the taste of roasted hazlenuts with certain chocolate bars and it fills a similar void. Would echo trying to just buy one bar a day. And find a smallish (45g) dark chocolate one. Look in eastern european shops as they have more variety. Probably no need to go cold turkey if you can reduce. I feel your pain. My partner thinks I am exaggerating how much I am addicted to chocolate. I'm reminded of that Alan Partridge storyline when he was addicted to Toblerone.

Cut down really gradually. Buy a small bar to look forward to after dinner, then brush your teeth.

Buy cocoa powder and add it to ... milk, oat milk, porridge. It gives you the chocolate kick and it's good for you.

Bear in mind that it's good for your focus and concentration so you may have been self-medicating to some extent. But it's easier to control dosage with cocoa powder than anything else

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37211619/

Cold turkey. You need to stop buying chocolate and shift your focus to something else that gives you an endorphin hit to help manage the cravings. Even if you aren't overweight, being addicted to something is exhausting and unhealthy. I have a HUGELY addictive personality and have a list of things that I have to avoid. I've always found that doing some sort of exercise really helps. Take a mental note of when you reach for chocolate - is it habit? Do you need to relax for 5 minutes? Are you bored? Try and figure out the trigger and then address that needs. Have something else that is easily reachable or very aesthetic, that feels like an even bigger treat that boring old chocolate. It's hard but you've got this. You just have to say "that's enough". It's amazing how quickly cravings will reduce once you break the cycle.

I've lost a few stone and can't crack it. I have both a golden crisp and a mint crisp every single day. I'm also, embarrassingly, a physician 🤣

Oooh a part of me thinks I’d do the opposite of everything you’re doing! Reverse psychology.
you’re limiting yourself, so it’s now all you can think about. I’d be tempted to do the opposite.
Go out and buy tonnes of it all. Stick it all in the fridge/ cupboard and tell yourself, it’s there, I can eat it all right now if I want!
Guaranteed you’ll only do that once, feel so sick and not want to even look at it again, or actually, just knowing it’s there and you can have as much as you like could take away the taboo / naughty side of it. When we tell ourselves we CANT have something, we always want it more, right?

Good luck whatever you do!

Best thing is cold turkey for minimum 8 weeks. I'll join you 🤣

Last chocolate i ate was 4 years ago a twirl.
I stopped cold turkey not as hard as i thought i dont have anything that as chocolate in it either.
I suffer with migraines and it was my biggest trigger last bite put me in hospital.
Just to be sure a week later i had a bite of chocolate cake happened again.
White chocolate is the same.

I have a bit of an issue with chocolate - which is worse when I'm under emotional stress.
A way i deal with this is to make myself a strong cup of Green & Black cocoa for my dessert in the evening. I have this mainly with water and small amount of milk, and NO sugar. I may have this with a small bowl of mixed fruit and nuts - and this satisfies my sweet desires and chocolate cravings and is not unhealthy.