Well tonight I am battling some crazy chocolate cravings so thought I’d google ‘how to stop chocolate cravings’. I found this article helpful because it goes into detail about the cause of the cravings!

Do you also battle with chocolate cravings? I’m counting down the days until Saturday (cheat day). It helps to have a cheat day, only two days to go! Well technically today is almost over a its 11:22pm..so only one day to go!

Help me stop chocolate cravings from taking over my body is a statement we hear often. Chocolate is very addictive but find out which chocolate can actually benefit your health.

Definition
Choc-o-late (noun)
1. Fermented, roasted, shelled, and ground cacao seeds, often combined with a sweetener or flavoring agent.
2. A beverage made by mixing water or milk with chocolate.
3. A small, chocolate-covered candy with a hard or soft center.
4. A grayish to deep reddish brown to deep grayish brown.
Source: Dictionary.com

Why Do I Crave Chocolate?
Chocolate is packed with antioxidants and certain nutrients including iron, copper, magnesium and potassium. Your body may need more of these nutrients and crave chocolate as a response.
In addition to this, chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which controls oxytocin and endorphins, both of which will give you a feeling of wellbeing and even euphoria.

Chocolate also contains anandamide, a chemical that acts like THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. This, in addition to the increased endorphins in your brain, when you eat chocolate explains why you crave chocolate.

Craving chocolate during your period can be explained by the fact that chocolate contains a large amount of iron (more than in beef liver). Your body needs extra iron during this time, thus the craving.

Is Chocolate Really Dangerous Or Addictive?
Yes, chocolate does seem to be mildly addictive due to the brain stimulants mentioned above. I wouldn’t really call it dangerous, but you do have to watch out for your chocolate consumption, and make good choices in the type of chocolate you eat.

Darker chocolate is more beneficial to your health. Stick with quality dark, bitter sweet chocolate that uses cocoa beans that are as unprocessed as possible. The process used to make milk chocolate destroys many of the beneficial flavanols. White chocolate contains all the fat and calories of the sweet treat, without any of the flavanols and antioxidants. Take a look at the type of fat that is used in making the chocolate. Good quality chocolate uses cocoa butter. The main fat in cocoa butter, stearic acid, is a saturated fat that doesn’t seem to raise your cholesterol.

Also remember that chocolate contains caffeine, which may keep you up at night. Excess caffeine does have some negative side effects. You should avoid caffeine as much as possible if you are pregnant. Learn more about caffeine (link to caffeine page).

What Can I Do To Curb My Chocolate Cravings?
The best way to curb chocolate cravings is to enjoy it in moderation and to stick to the healthier dark chocolate that also contains lots of antioxidants.

Craving chocolate is also often an indication of a lack of certain nutrients such as iron, copper, magnesium and potassium. Let’s see what other foods you should be eating to make sure you get enough of these nutrients.

Iron – eat brown rice, whole wheat, liver, dates and beets

Copper – eat nuts (especially cashew), sunflower seeds, chickpeas, liver and oysters

Magnesium – eat peanuts, tofu, broccoli, spinach and soybeans

Potassium– eat apricots, bran wheat, raisins, figs, and baked potato with skin
I understand that sometimes you just have to have chocolate and the idea of eating some tofu or a slice of whole-wheat toast just won’t work. Grab a small piece of quality dark chocolate and savor it. Take your time, really taste the chocolate melting in your mouth and enjoy it without feeling guilty. This should take care of your craving and keep you from binging on a box of Hershey’s bars.

Source

I think its safe to say we’ve all had a binge at one point in our lives. Some more often than others. When I used to live at home I’ll admit that I was a frequent binge eater. I was alot heavier and spent many a night at the local 7/11 stocking up on icecream and chocolate.
Since moving out of home I have now taken control of my diet. Sure I still have the times when I go a little bit too crazy with the junk food but I don’t beat myself up about it anymore. Here are some of my personal tips & then an article taken from shape.com which I think will be really helpful for anybody who suffers from binge eating or may have a binge eating disorder.

• If you feel like something sweet have fruit instead of junk food
• If you must have some bad food then try having only a few bites. Sometimes I think I eat junk food just to remind myself that I have the option. After I have a few bites I realize that I didn’t really want the junk food to begin with
• If I’m out at a cafe with a friend I will order a skinny cappuccino with 1 raw sugar. I used to be a fan of equal and splenda until I learned the dangers of aspartame. I find that having a sweet coffee with curb any cravings I may have and stop me from ordering a piece of the delicious looking cakes in the window display
• Drink lots of water before you feel a binge coming on. Sometimes your body is just thirsty! Sounds weird but its true!
• Never allow yourself to get too hungry. I eat at regular intervals because once my blood sugar drops I become a hungry/angry demon. I will demolish everything in my path and disregard the nutritional content. I may even eat you if you are in the way

Here is the article I was telling you about!




Don’t sabotage your workout routines with unhealthy binge eating. Instead, find out what you need to do to stop the binging.

Eating so you’re full and satisfied, rather than giving in to emotional overeating to fill a void or simply because the food is there, takes some planning—and a few good strategies. Here they are:

Healthy eating tips # 1. Identify high-risk situations.

Few people overeat in every situation, so determine the circumstances that are likely to trigger a binge. Once you’ve identified which situations are most likely to spark emotional overeating, come up with a game plan for each one. For example, if eating at relatives’ always involves plentiful gooey desserts, plan to make or buy a low-fat dessert, and bring it with you for everyone to share. If you can’t go to the movies without snacking on something, sneak in your own bag of air-popped popcorn or some low-cal candy.

Healthy eating tips # 2. Keep a record of what you put in your mouth in a food diary.

In a study at the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Chicago, researchers asked 38 people who were trying to lose weight to keep a food diary; doing so not only helped them control their weight during high-risk holidays, but even helped them peel off unwanted pounds. Keep it simple—it doesn’t have to include total calories or fat grams—but don’t forget to jot down snacks or drinks, which can add up. You need to maintain a record at least 75 percent of the time for a food diary to be effective.

Healthy eating tips # 3. Explore food-free ways to socialize.

In social situations, everybody eats more if they see everybody else doing so. If this sounds familiar, get in the habit of bonding with friends over activities that don’t center around food: a walk at the park, an afternoon at a paint-your-own-pottery shop, a long bike ride or hike, or trying a new class at the gym.

Use these healthy eating tips to fill you up without binging: maintain portion control, choose low calorie foods and avoid temptation.

Healthy eating tips # 4. Dine smart and use portion control.

Research—and common sense—tells us we eat much more when we dine out. Do damage control at restaurants by speed-reading the menu: Skip past “appetizers” and head straight for “salads” for a safe starter, and look for any mention of plate-sharing charges, a sure sign that the restaurant’s meals are enormous and that you and your dining companion may want to split one. (Note some restaurants will honor requests for half-size portion control, or if it’s a low-key establishment, ask the waiter to serve just half and box the rest for you to take home.) Once you pick a healthy option from the menu, order before anyone else at the table. That way, you make the commitment and you won’t be persuaded by other people’s orders.

Healthy eating tips # 5. Eat thin before fat, choosing low calorie foods – or at least lower – first.

People tend to overeat the more-delicious, more-palatable foods, which have a higher fat content. The solution: Fill up on low calorie foods first—fruits, vegetables and grains—and you’ll be less likely to overindulge in the high-calorie stuff.

Healthy eating tips # 6. Keep temptation out of your path.

Get rid of junk food and replace it with better choices—rice cakes or pretzels for your pantry; low-fat frozen yogurt, pre-made fruit salad and baby carrots for your fridge; and reduced-fat popcorn or dried fruit for your desk drawer. It’s going to be easier for you to avoid overeating if you control your external environment.

Article Source

If you think you may be suffering from binge eating disorder, here are a list of websites that can offer you further help
http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/binge-eating-disorder
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/binge-eating-disorder/DS00608
http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eating-disorders/types-of-eating-disorders/binge-eating-disorder-2/what-is-binge-eating-disorder.html

While we’re on the subject of eating disorders I want to bring to light another disorder called binge eating disorder. I think a lot of us at times may turn to food for comfort. Here’s an article I find on the Australian website www.reachout.com.au

Binge Eating Disorder