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Chocolate

Chocolate - Breaking The Habit

In this article we're going to give some tips on how to break the chocolate eating habit if it's taken control of your life.

Let's face it. Everybody loves chocolate. Okay, well, almost everybody. And for some people that love becomes an obsession. There have been accounts of people eating a whole bag of Oreo cookies in one sitting while talking on the telephone. Other accounts tell of all night eating binges of chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce. In spite of the stomach ache most of these people go to bed with, the next day comes and it starts all over. Why?

Well, the problem is that chocolate is just as addictive as coffee. Why? Not because of the chocolate itself but because of the caffeine that's in it. So breaking the chocolate eating habit is not easy but it can be done. There are a number of things that chocoholics can do to help break the chocolate habit.

For starters, the easiest thing to do is eat more for your meals. A larger breakfast, lunch and dinner leaves less room for snacks in general. This doesn't mean eat junk for your meals. An extra slice of bread at lunch with your cottage cheese, maybe an extra vegetable with dinner or a couple of dinner rolls. Have a salad before you eat if it's not something you normally do. The truth is, most chocoholics simply don't eat regular meals. By simply going on a sensible diet this alone should reduce your chocolate intake.

Another good thing to do is to have snacks in the house for when you feel the urge to binge that are healthy for you, or at least healthier. Fruit is always a great thing to have around. It has lots of vitamins and the natural sugar will give you the energy you need so that you don't have to rely on the chocolate for it.

What also helps is keeping busy. If you're active at work or at hobbies that you enjoy you'll have less time to sit around the kitchen munching on Oreo cookies. One thing you absolutely must do is stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. Don't engage in long phone calls at home where you can just sit around and pig out.

While this may be hard, especially at first, simply don't buy any chocolate. Don't allow it into the house. If you find that you can't do this cold turkey they you might want to try limiting yourself to a certain amount of chocolate per day to start. Break it up into several meals if you need to in order to spread it across your day.

If all else fails, there are always support groups. Look in your phone book or newspaper for a local Chocoholics Anonymous chapter. Yes, they do exist. They have their own program for dealing with your chocolate obsession.

It's important to remember that you are not alone with this problem. Millions of people are addicted to chocolate and don't even know it. This is a battle that you're not going to win in a day, but you can win it by taking it one day at a time.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Chocolates

Michael Russell

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