Chocolate is the one thing I am also struggling to give up. The problem is that chocolate releases endorphins associated with being happy, so the effects of not having it are twofold. The only other causes of this release of chemicals in your brain is being in love, and exercise.
Having recently researched habits, it would seem that the most successful way to give up a vice, is to replace it with something else. At the moment, your brain will know that, after eating your main meal, something lovely and sweet will follow. It gets very excited at knowing how wonderful that taste is going to be, and releases the chemical, sometimes before you even have a treat; making the disappointment worse.
I personally cannot give up chocolate altogether. I have just had to cut down. I have replaced a pudding after lunch with peppermint tea. I have to say to begin with, it was horrible, but I am used to it now and look forward to having it.
Another alternative is to have very dark chocolate such a 70% cocoa or upwards as this are low in saturated fat and has actually been proven to be good for you! There are several health benefits to eating dark chocolate.
- It lowers blood pressure
- Is full of vitamins and minerals, including iron and magnesium
- Dark chocolate has flavonoids in it, which mean it helps to guard against spikes in blood sugar, meaning it reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes.
As a side note, many people think that fruit makes a much better pudding than something with chocolate in, and it tends to be sweet so it would make sense as a pudding. However, it takes the body a lot of effort to digest fruit and could lead to stomach ache and inefficent digestion of your meal, so always leave about an hour between eating your main meal and eating fruit as a pudding.
