Many people enjoy chocolate, but for some it is a real addiction that is difficult to overcome. If you are also addicted to chocolate, you can learn to do without it by trying to fully understand the causes of the problem and recognize the triggers. A better understanding of the mechanisms of your addiction will allow you to leave it behind and return to eating chocolate only occasionally and in moderation or, if necessary, eliminate it completely from the diet.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Understanding the Mechanisms of Addiction
Step 1. Determine when your addiction to chocolate started
To be able to better understand what are the mechanisms that trigger it and leave it behind, you must try to determine when you started relying on chocolate to feel better and to eat more than normal. You may have always liked chocolate, but maybe something specific happened in your life around the time you started showing the first signs of an addiction and you started craving chocolate, only to continue eating it out of control. the negative consequences experienced.
Addictions are often the side effect or consequence of another problem. For example, you may find that you started eating chocolate until you were sick immediately after losing your job. Starting to understand what was the drive that led you to develop addiction means taking an important step to be able to overcome it
Step 2. Find out why you rely on chocolate
If you don't eat it because it makes you happy, maybe you use it to compensate for another feeling. There are many reasons why people develop addiction to food, many of which can be traced back to negative feelings. If you can identify the reasons why you are overdoing it when eating chocolate, you can take a number of actions that will help you overcome the problem.
- To be able to understand why you entrust your happiness to chocolate, the next time you feel the urge to eat it, take a break and reflect on the emotions you are feeling at that moment. Ask yourself if the desire to eat chocolate comes from the desire to savor its taste for a few moments or if it depends on an altered psychological state, for example from feeling sad, angry, anxious or upset in some other way.
- In other words, try to be aware when you eat chocolate to better understand your addiction and what kind of help you need to be able to overcome it.
Step 3. Record in a journal when you eat chocolate and how much you eat each day
Sometimes, you may have a hard time identifying when the urge to eat it has come and why the craving persists. Therefore, keeping a daily journal can help. Record when and how the desire to eat chocolate develops, on what occasions you let yourself go beyond the limits and how much you eat each time. Keeping a journal will help you both be more honest with yourself about your addiction and bring to light the mental and behavioral patterns that run through each episode.
- For example, after tracking addiction for several months, you may find that craving for chocolate, followed by the inability to eat it in a controlled manner, is much more common at certain times of the year. If so, chocolate addiction could be a side effect of seasonal depressive disorder.
- For example, you may find that chocolate addiction becomes worse when you are menstruating or during periods of intense emotional, physical, or psychological stress.
Step 4. Talk to your doctor to better understand your addiction
Whatever the cause, the effects can affect your physical, mental and emotional health considerably. Your doctor can help you better understand what causes your addiction and create a strategy that will help you overcome it effectively.
- Your doctor may suggest that you consult a mental health professional to better analyze and resolve the situations that have caused your addiction.
- Your doctor or nutritionist can help you understand how chocolate addiction has impacted and is impacting your physical health. By following a targeted diet and exercise program you will be able to both keep the craving for chocolate under control and undo the negative effects that addiction has had on your body.
Method 2 of 3: Eat Chocolate in Moderation
Step 1. Set a limit on chocolate consumption
To be able to overcome addiction and eat chocolate in moderation, you need to set a limit on your daily or weekly consumption. Once you have established the maximum amount you can allow yourself, you can organize your shopping list so that only the agreed dose is available, so as not to be tempted to overdo it.
For example, you might decide to eat a maximum of 50g per day
Step 2. Choose dark chocolate instead of white or milk chocolate
If you want to try to manage your addiction without completely giving up on chocolate, set aside the white or milk one and eat the dark one in the programmed quantity. Dark chocolate has more health benefits than white or milk chocolate, making it a healthier choice.
- The health benefits of chocolate come from the cocoa content. The white and milk ones contain less than the dark ones because they have a high percentage of sugar, milk and other ingredients.
- Cocoa is rich in flavonoids with antioxidant action that counteract heart disease, improve vascular functions and reduce blood pressure.
- Also, and since dark chocolate is richer and less sweet, you will be less likely to eat it over the top.
Step 3. Accompany the chocolate with fresh fruit or nuts
To keep your consumption under control and eat less, you can opt for fresh or dried fruit covered in chocolate or create a compound dish. This way, you will eat less chocolate and provide the body with a wide variety of nutrients.
Step 4. Increase your magnesium intake to lessen your craving for chocolate
When the urge to eat chocolate occurs, try replacing it with another food rich in magnesium, such as seeds, nuts, whole grains or leafy vegetables. The fact that your body needs a dose of magnesium it could affect your chocolate addiction. By supplying him with the amount of magnesium he needs through another food that has a high content of magnesium, you may find that the desire to eat chocolate decreases.
- Magnesium is an essential nutrient that helps the body regulate the functioning of muscles and nerves, blood glucose levels and blood pressure.
- Eating a food rich in magnesium can be a valid choice, especially during the period of menstruation.
Step 5. Fill up with something healthy
If you're trying to cut down on your chocolate intake to overcome your addiction, try increasing your serving size of healthy foods. In many cases, people with a chocolate addiction deliberately eat little at mealtimes to "make room" for the object of their desire. If you satiate your stomach with large portions of healthy food, after getting up from the table you may feel too full to eat large amounts of chocolate or you may not even feel like it.
Step 6. Limit your consumption even during holidays or special occasions
To be able to overcome your addiction to chocolate, you must avoid using holidays or special occasions as an excuse to let yourself go beyond the limits. While for some, overdoing it from time to time isn't dangerous, for those with an addiction it can mean relapse or never being able to get over it.
When you find yourself in front of chocolate on special occasions, try to be aware of how much you eat and use the same approach with which you manage addiction in everyday life
Method 3 of 3: Eliminate Chocolate from Your Diet
Step 1. Get rid of all the chocolate you keep in your home and workplace
Throw away or give away any remaining chocolate and, in the future, avoid buying it back. If you know that you have an addiction to chocolate and that you need to stop eating it for physical or mental health reasons, one of the first steps to take is to physically eliminate it from your life. If you can have easy access to chocolate, getting over your addiction will become a lot more complicated.
Step 2. Create a mantra to remind yourself that you need to stop eating chocolate for your own good
When you have an addiction, it is easy to convince yourself that on particular occasions you really need that particular food or that it will be the last time you eat it. Creating a personal mantra can help you overcome opposing obstacles from the mind by reminding yourself why you have to overcome your addiction and that you are able to do so.
- When the desire to eat chocolate arises or if it is offered to you, repeat to yourself "I don't need chocolate to be happy".
- It may also be helpful to have a short mantra that you can say aloud, such as "I don't eat this." By rejecting it out loud you will make yourself responsible to everyone present as well as to yourself.
Step 3. Find a sweet snack to replace the chocolate with
In many cases, chocolate addiction is the manifestation of an addiction to sugar. Therefore, if you want to eliminate chocolate from your diet to leave your addiction behind, you can try replacing it with a naturally sweet food to satisfy the craving for sugar.
Fresh fruit, for example, is a great alternative. Although it is high in sugar and very sweet, it is more satiating and nutritional value than chocolate, so it is more satisfying and healthier
Step 4. Go for a walk when the craving for chocolate arises
As you work to overcome your addiction, it can be helpful to have something to do that will distract you until the craving passes. For example, brisk walking for 20-30 minutes is useful both to distract you from the feeling of needing chocolate, and to stimulate the release of endorphins in the body, which will help to lessen the desire to give in to temptation.
Step 5. Do something that makes you happy when you feel you are about to give up
For those suffering from a chocolate addiction, cravings often crop up in stressful, sad, or frustrating situations. This is why it can help to resist engaging in an activity that makes you happy. Once you are in a good mood, you will be able to address the cause or factor that triggers the desire to eat chocolate, which will then gradually tend to decrease.
- For example, if you're having a bad day and feel a strong urge to give in to the temptation to eat chocolate, try calling a friend who can cheer you up rather than let you down. By chatting you will find a good mood and, at the end of the phone call, you will feel better and you will have less need to eat chocolate.
- Even pursuing a hobby that you enjoy, such as painting, embroidery, or music, can make you feel happy and help you avoid temptation.
Step 6. Reward yourself for not eating chocolate
From time to time, after you've proven yourself strong, give yourself a treat to keep up the motivation that drives you to overcome addiction. Even a small weekly reward can help you stay in control of the situation.
