Chocolate cravings worse then cigarette cravings!

Beetlebum

Hi Guys,

Was just wondering if ye would critique my general daily diet as you all seem very clued up on your nutrition and food values etc.

I'm not overweight but I'm curious to see if my diet is healthy enough and to figure out why I crave choclate to the point where my hands shake sometime until I get some. I think about it all the time and need to eat a bar or some biscuits after both lunch and dinner. I should be the size of a balloon cause of this and will be if I keep it up. I think I eat quite well but i could be sorely mistaken..

Here Goes and thank you in advance -

Breakfast
Banana, kiwi, and apple topped with 2-3 tablespoons of natural yogurt. Fruit varies but I always have a bananna.

Mid Morning
Either Weetabix with low fat milk topped with dried cranberries or porridge topped with sunflower seeds. Or at weekends eggs on toast.

Lunch
Beans on wholemeal toast or a chicken and cheese sandwich on brown bread or homemade soup and sometimes a brown bread sandwich and crisps/chips.

A bar of chocolate, usually a galaxy or a twirl.

Dinner
Whoelmeal pasta with onion, garlic, peppers, spinach and a tin of tomatoes topped with grated cheese or a stew with potatoes, veg, and a tomatoe sauce. Dinner is usually some kind of veg with brown rice or whole meal pasta. I am bad though and have burgers, pizza, chips, battered fish etc every weekend.

A bar of chocolate or about 4-5 biscuits.

Often I drink a mug of hot chocloate at bedtime.

I also drink tons of water during the day and 3 cups of coffee (no sugar).

Any idea why I am craving so much chocolate? I sometimes eat fruit when I feel like chocolate but it doesn't help.

Also is this diet healthy overall??


Thanks a million for taking time to advise..

El_Dangeroso

Wean yourself onto the hard stuff. Start with 70% Green and Black's and work up to 85% Lindt and then 99% Hotel chocolat if you dare!

You get used to the taste and need so much less to satisfy cravings.

corkcomp

aside from a few little things then yeah your diet is pretty good IMO .. obviously the chocolate and load of bisuits are crap but if your not over weight then allow yourself a bar a few days a week (that doesnt mean two bars a day followed by biscuits) - as mentioned above try the 70% but go right to the 80% to be sure you dont pig out on it (you wont!)

Beetlebum

corkcomp wrote: »

aside from a few little things then yeah your diet is pretty good IMO .. obviously the chocolate and load of bisuits are crap but if your not over weight then allow yourself a bar a few days a week (that doesnt mean two bars a day followed by biscuits) - as mentioned above try the 70% but go right to the 80% to be sure you dont pig out on it (you wont!)

Thank you guys. The thing is, I have tried this. I adore Lindt 70% dark chocolate but I can easily eat up to 3 lines of a big bar after my lunch. The fact that it's bitter doesn't deter me at all!!

I'll try moving up to 90% though, that might do the trick.

I'm not overweight at all. I only weigh 8st but I literally shake sometimes i need chocolate so bad. Yesterday evening for example I literally ran out of work and straight into the shop. I didn't care if I fell on the ice. I grabbed a toffee crisp and devoured it within seconds. Then my shakiness is gone.
It's just a bit weird and I'm concerned that I will balloon one of these days and that all that fat and sugar is damaging me.

I just LOVE choclolate. I would eat it for every meal if it wasn't so bad for me.

Thanks though for your help

El_Dangeroso

Beetlebum wrote: »

Thank you guys. The thing is, I have tried this. I adore Lindt 70% dark chocolate but I can easily eat up to 3 lines of a big bar after my lunch. The fact that it's bitter doesn't deter me at all!!

I'll try moving up to 90% though, that might do the trick.

I'm not overweight at all. I only weigh 8st but I literally shake sometimes i need chocolate so bad. Yesterday evening for example I literally ran out of work and straight into the shop. I didn't care if I fell on the ice. I grabbed a toffee crisp and devoured it within seconds. Then my shakiness is gone.
It's just a bit weird and I'm concerned that I will balloon one of these days and that all that fat and sugar is damaging me.

I just LOVE choclolate. I would eat it for every meal if it wasn't so bad for me.

Thanks though for your help

The shaking sounds a bit like a hypoglycemic episode tbh so you might want to try cutting down on sugar, such as switching to berries for fruit to see if you can get the sugar crashes under control.

Also, don't be afraid of fat, despite government recommendations it's good for you. Many people don't realise that most of the vitamins in vegetables are unabsorbable without fat.

corkcomp

Beetlebum wrote: »

Thank you guys. The thing is, I have tried this. I adore Lindt 70% dark chocolate but I can easily eat up to 3 lines of a big bar after my lunch. The fact that it's bitter doesn't deter me at all!!

I'll try moving up to 90% though, that might do the trick.

I'm not overweight at all. I only weigh 8st but I literally shake sometimes i need chocolate so bad. Yesterday evening for example I literally ran out of work and straight into the shop. I didn't care if I fell on the ice. I grabbed a toffee crisp and devoured it within seconds. Then my shakiness is gone.
It's just a bit weird and I'm concerned that I will balloon one of these days and that all that fat and sugar is damaging me.

I just LOVE choclolate. I would eat it for every meal if it wasn't so bad for me.

Thanks though for your help

well you can get away with a little chocolate but aside from sugar crashes those type of cravings could be caused by eating too few calories or letting too long between meals .. try having an apple and a little peanut butter next time? it will keep you feeling full for much longer

sold

Chocalate as Caffeine, so like any drug you will have withdrawl symptons

Sapsorrow

You sound like a sugar addict to me (join the club theres loads of us in here! ) You could do with cutting down on your sugar intake and make sure all your carbs are complex.
Maybe even cutting down on flour products like all breads, crackers etc (even wholemeal ones) and very sweet fruits (tropical fruits, tinned fruits and dried fruits) along with cutting out the munchies would help you overcome the addiction. I've heard tell that a chromium supplement helps with sugar cravings but have no idea if it's true or not.
I think a lot of addictions are the body's attempt to cry out for nutrients it needs, usually these things are resolved by eating a nutrient dense diet with lots of good sources of micronutrients (ie LOADS of veg esp green leafys which you don;t seem to eat too much of at the min)
Healthy sources of fat and protein are very helpful for regulating blood sugar levels and cravings and keeping you fuller for longer, a good one is a handfull of nuts and an apple if you're out an about and having a crash.
I've also heard the flax seed oil is very useful for sugar cravings, it could be you're craving healthy fats (as chocolate is very high in fat) and people on other nutrition forums swear by flax for curbing sugar cravings.
You are probably a very sensitive person to stimulants (like me) and may be sensitive to the caffeine in the chocolate. How do you fare after tea or coffee?
Either way you are gonna have one hell of a struggle if you're a sugar junkie, believe me it is not easy esp if you're an emotional eater. It really requires improving your diet overall and switching to a wholefoods diet with very controlled sources of sugars and fairly strict eating routines.
It's a hard one but if you're getting the shakes then I think you really should address this asap as you're not doing your nervous system any favours. You need to figure out if it's the caffeine or sugar first though (or it could always be a bit of both) before you can start to solve the problem. If you''re caffeine sensitive moving onto darker chocolate may not be a very good idea if thats what's giving you the shakes.
You can PM me if you want to chat about coming off the sugar, I've 5 years of a struggle behind me (plenty of ups and downs) so have a fair bit of experience in trying to overcome my own addiction and have plenty of healthy sugar free munchi ideas to help satisfy the cravings.

El_Dangeroso

What was that sugar craving supplement EileenG recommended again? I can't find the thread.

corkcomp

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

What was that sugar craving supplement EileenG recommended again? I can't find the thread.

was it stevia? and as mentioned chromium helps also. both assuming that the sugar craving isnt a result of too few calories or letting huge periods of time between meals..

Sapsorrow

corkcomp wrote: »

was it stevia?

It's a herb that has really sweet leaves that doesn't feck with your blood sugar levels or rot your teeth, conveniently for the sweetner and refined sugar industries it was banned from sale in Europe. Me and my mum buy ours online from the states.

El_Dangeroso

corkcomp wrote: »

was it stevia? and as mentioned chromium helps also. both assuming that the sugar craving isnt a result of too few calories or letting huge periods of time between meals..

Nope it was something like G____ S______. Dang my memory, stupid fish oil capsules aren't working!

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Dang my memory, stupid fish oil capsules aren't working!

:D:D That made me laugh, I love the way ye share my nutrition nerd humour!

eclectichoney

Chromium, Fenugreek and Gymnema 'reportedly' help with sugar cravings.

El_Dangeroso

eclectichoney wrote: »

Chromium, Fenugreek and Gymnema 'reportedly' help with sugar cravings.

That was it! Gymnema Sylvestre, although I don't know if not being able to taste something sweet would stop me from trying if I had a bad craving.

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

That was it! Gymnema Sylvestre, although I don't know if not being able to taste something sweet would stop me from trying if I had a bad craving.

Eh what exactly does that stuff do to ya?

eclectichoney

i think it works by supposedly helping to lower your blood sugar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnema_sylvestre

probably not a good idea to take without checking with your Dr first to be on the safe side.

El_Dangeroso

It also takes the taste of sugar away for a few hours when you put the tablet on your tongue.

Beetlebum

Thank you guy so much for your thoughts, opinions and advice.
That's what I love about Boards, people really take their time to give you informed helpful responses.

I don't react to coffee at all. I drink about 3 cups a day with no sugar added and I feel fine afterwards. I don't crave coffee and I don't think I'd miss it if I had to give it up. I enjoy it but it's not a patch on my beloved chocolate!

I think i need to cut back sugar as was suggested and Kyhrstina (sorry I know I spelt tahtw rong) I'll PM you fo rsome recipes if that's okay.

Cheers guys

Normster

Have you ever had your thyroid tested by your GP?

susanroth

I get awful sugar cravings sometimes, like i need to have a packet of skittles. its so annoying, then i know when i've overdone it cause its as if theres sugar seeping out of my pores..
i am scared i'm gonna end up with diabetes or something:eek:
i was bad with choc as well, but like another poster said, i tried the 70% choc and find it does satisfy my craving faster and i don't need as much;)

Bottle_of_Smoke

Well first of all chocolate's really nice. There's no getting away from that. You might be craving the tast more than you think. And anything other than milk chocolate wouldn't cut it for me!

Could you maybe point out in your diet where you tend to get the cravings?

Beetlebum wrote: »

Breakfast
Banana, kiwi, and apple topped with 2-3 tablespoons of natural yogurt. Fruit varies but I always have a bananna.

Don't have the banana, replace with an orange or strawberries, have a lower glycaemic index, so sugar released slower and doesn't cause a massive need for insulin

Mid Morning
Either Weetabix with low fat milk topped with dried cranberries or porridge topped with sunflower seeds. Or at weekends eggs on toast.

don't have the toast or weetabix for same reason as previous. Porridge, eggs and other stuff very good

Lunch
Beans on wholemeal toast or a chicken and cheese sandwich on brown bread or homemade soup and sometimes a brown bread sandwich and crisps/chips.

Try and get rid of the bread. Often brown bread is white bread in disguise, (same flour used)even pita is better.

A bar of chocolate, usually a galaxy or a twirl.

Dinner
Whoelmeal pasta with onion, garlic, peppers, spinach and a tin of tomatoes topped with grated cheese or a stew with potatoes, veg, and a tomatoe sauce. Dinner is usually some kind of veg with brown rice or whole meal pasta. I am bad though and have burgers, pizza, chips, battered fish etc every weekend.

Only high GI stuff here is potatoes, and out of your junk the pizza(especially bad) and chips. Try having large portions of protein foods and reduce the carbs

A bar of chocolate or about 4-5 biscuits.

Often I drink a mug of hot chocloate at bedtime.

I also drink tons of water during the day and 3 cups of coffee (no sugar).

Any idea why I am craving so much chocolate? I sometimes eat fruit when I feel like chocolate but it doesn't help.

Also is this diet healthy overall??


Thanks a million for taking time to advise..

Seems reasonable diet to me overall. I think its possible it could be just that you really like chocolate. However cut out the things I siad and see if it makes any difference
Take a look at this site for GI ratings:

http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/