I genuinely live on chocolate. Please no judgements

[Nowanextraone]

OK I'm genuinely embarrassed to write this but I feel a 'confession' will hopefully be a pathway to recovery (if that's the right word)!!

I am addicted to chocolate. Cadbury's chocolate. I wish I was joking but I'm not .

I am about a stone overweight (I weigh 11 stone) at 5 foot 4 but my weight hasn't changed for years. Despite my chocolate intake, I stick to about 2000 calories a day.

But for my health, my diet is SHOCKING. My day is basically a 100g bar of cadbury's chocolate for breakfast, and another for lunch 😖 None of my family know I do this, it's like my dirty secret. I have done it for years (genuinely 7/8 years).
I don't eat anything normal or proper during the day.

Then for dinner, I eat a normal, healthy family (home cooked) dinner. Then in the evening, I might share a few squares of chocolate with my husband as a 'treat' (he has no idea about the rest of my day!).

What do I do? I have tried, but I'm honestly like a heroin addict trying to get to her next hit and it all goes wrong by lunch time and I'm back buying the chocolate.

I honestly don't know what to do. I am permanently tired. I'm also permanently hungry during the day. I feel very very unhealthy.

Help

Oh hec!

You won't feel better till you get out of this habit

It's probably an addiction so it will be very hard

Can you start with not having chocolate until you have had some proper food ? And migrating to smallest bars possible ?

It might be most effective to go cold turkey but I can't see how you can do that whilst working and raising a family as I suspect the first few days are horrid

Could it be that you are addicted to the caffeine in chocolate? Try starting the day with some coffee to replace it? Not ideal, but to wean self off?

And/or: Could you also think of another breakfast you might like as much, but that is at least a bit healthier? E.g. I love sour dough bread and honey…

You can also try hypnosis maybe? Where they make you link chocolate to dog sick and such like (made that up, but that sort of thing!).

That was me a few weeks ago. After a really hard year personally I was living on chocolate, biscuits and tea with two sugars! I felt awful and looked awful.

As I’m totally unable to do sweet things in moderation I decided to give them up completely and cut all ultra processed foods out of my diet. I won’t lie, it’s been really tough and I’ve had awful cravings and headaches. But I’m just over two weeks in and can honestly say I feel so much better.

My skin has cleared up a lot, I’ve got more energy and am sleeping better. My mood swings have completely gone and I feel on a much more even keel.

You need to plan your meals so you never get hungry enough to want to eat a chocolate bar that instant. It is doable but you have to really want to do it.

Following because I'm the same

Watching with interest because I am exactly the same. No idea how big a 100g bar is but I eat a family sized / sharing bar of milkybar every single day, sometimes 2, have done for the last 15 years. I do eat reasonably healthily otherwise but I could do with losing about 2/3 stone and I know my chocolate addiction is part of it all. It’s my one thing I really enjoy though. 🤷‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ I am disabled and there’s not a lot of other things left ….! I know people just wouldn’t believe me in real life if I say how much chocolate I actually eat.

Order all your groceries online, don't order chocolate. Freeze your bank and credit cards in a block of water in the freezer and don't have any cash so you can't pop out and get any.
Cold turkey. Buy yourself something else as a treat so you don't feel deprived and make sure you have some caffeine as your body is probably addicted to that as well.

You're not living on chocolate if you're having a decent evening meal and plenty of people have worse diets. So don't hate yourself. But you do have to give it up.

How much is this costing you? If you ate a proper breakfast would you still want the chocolate? What about mixing some chocolate in with porridge? Or chocolate spread on toast?

This is me too, I never used to put on weight either, now at menopause age, despite bring on HRT, have put on half a stone in January alone. I justify it by the fact I exercise regularly. But same as you, have a healthy meal in the evening (aa my other half cooks for me) but the rest of the day just eat chocolate/cake. I've tried fasting diets 5:2 16:8, but then just eat more chocolate in my non fasting times. I know how sugar increases your risk of cancer etc. Over the years I've stopped for a few weeks/months here and there, but then I just fall off the wagon again. I feel permanently guilty, but can't stop myself. I've tried food diaries and I'm honest in them, but it doesn't stop me eating it.

I think a gradual approach might work. Rather than cutting it out, can you add something healthy in? Say, a small bunch of grapes or an orange with your chocolate? Once you are OK with that, maybe increase the fruit and drop a small bit of chocolate - just leave it for later if you want it. And then maybe add some toast with peanut butter for a healthier but still sweet breakfast etc. At some point, you might find the chocolate is mostly for later. Then experiment with different foods.

What about having a bowl of porridge for breakfast with some chunks of chocolate in it and some sliced banana? Could be a delicious step in the right direction.

When I want to change my diet or weight, it's always helpful to add to add some healthy habits in, rather than trying to cut out the bad ones. In my case, this means drinking water, exercising and eating healthy, appetising meals while still consuming the junk food and vast amounts of sugar. Could you try that ? Don't cut out the chocolate (yet), just add nutritious food

Could you try replace the Cadbury with a bar of 90% (or similar) chocolate? As it’s so bitter, you may feel like you get a chocolate hit without wanting much more

I agree with PP that a gradual change could work. Maybe try some chocolate flavored yoghurt for breakfast or cocoa pops then try to keep it savoury for lunch eg toast and avo or marmite. Slowly try to up the savoury stuff until it becomes a habit.

I think cutting it out won’t work. I think you should try and force yourself to have a proper breakfast like porridge, followed by two squares of chocolate. Then a proper lunch followed by two squares. Same Again at dinner followed by two squares.
Knowing that you can have it with every meal should stop cravings.
then over time try to cut it down to one square after each meal.
you really have to force yourself to think about your overall health.. your body must be crying out for vitamins etc

How about some Nutella on a bagel or wholemeal toast with a banana as a starting point?

Firstly before you start to think about how to get off the substance (!), think about how you can add things in to your diet before taking that away

So, you have a bar for breakfast, is there a reason you dont have anything else in the morning as well, or mid morning, is it because you're not hungry at that time?

Same for lunch, can you add in a soup or stew, somethhing that would contain a mixture of nutrients but be soothing to eat?

What about supplements are you on anything?

I think its worth trying to get nutrients into you in addition to chocolate before you look to cut down on the chocolate, you'll have more energy and resilience to deal with cutting it down/out

This is often (not always) me too. I'm not overweight, I'm very fit (I go to the gym/ run) and manage to fit it my five portions of fresh fruit and veg every day. My only difference is that I mainline it in the evening - and skip breakfast (and often lunch) so I have a healthy evening meal followed by 200g of chocolate. I can't work out if it actually is a problem or not - seeing as I'm otherwise healthy and fit... (and I like the chocolate. I would MUCH rather have choir than lunch. Or breakfast. Or a glass of wine.)

Chocolate not choir, obvs. Can anyone tell us (me) why it's so bad to replace meals with chocolate. Also, I've been doing it since I was 17 and I'm 44 now.

I didnt read the thread, I see we are all saying the same thing!

Add in, dont try to cut out yet. Later when you're healthier cut down

I think I would ask what there is in your life that brings you joy? And if its just plodding along, is there anything you could add that would make life more fun or more meaningful? Maybe a choir? A hobby group of some kind? What are you hungry for?

I suppose I'm saying that a bit more joy might make it easier to find the energy to make changes

i’ve just finished ultra processed people - read that or listen to the audiobook

@Nowanextraone - read this:

https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/dr-mark-hyman/blood-sugar-solution/9780316127370

Also watch some of Dr Becky Gillaspy's short talks on YouTube, e.g.:

Just do it. If you won't, you WILL live (die?!!) to regret it.

Going cold Turkey will be hard. I would reduce it down. Start cutting out the breakfast one. Plan a breakfast you would enjoy eating and start with that. Once the breakfast chocolate is not being eaten, move onto cutting out the lunch one.