Reflecting on my chocolate detox (Is lent over yet?)

2 days away and it’s ‘Holy Saturday’ and thank goodness the day is nearly here! I have made it guys, 40 days and 40 nights without my beautiful and desirable obsession, chocolate. The extent of this challenge has left me completely ravenous for a creamy hot chocolate or maybe a packet of choccy raisins or let’s go all out…  a Double Decker, ah even thinking about one of these luxuries is leaving me famished. My sister’s not helping either by making a huge Nutella cake for us all this Easter weekend, the smell is wafting through the house. Yes, you’ve guessed it -  I really am 100%, head over heels in love with chocolate, totally and utterly devoted. Just imagining its delicate texture along with its rich and delicious aroma is causing my taste buds to tingle, they’re currently crying out for me to feed them on Saturday, yes Saturday, I will!

 Do you think I’m crazy yet? If not this will do it… I once babbled that chocolate could potentially be my one and only love! My friend, astounded at what I had just said, looked at me with disgust but obviously at the time I was very engrossed with my Dairy Milk Caramel to even think about it. This is of course not true but I do have to admit it is certainly a deep passion of mine which I will take to the grave! You may ask then how on earth I did this and I will tell you now it certainly was not easy, but when I set my self a challenge I feel it’s my duty to achieve it, no matter how hard it is. After all, what is the point? No one likes to be a failure.

So I started off, on the 21^st February (know this date off by heart now- sad) not really knowing what I had let myself in for. The first couple of days were okay, easy enough. Until the cravings kicked in, big time, around the first weekend when I went out with my boyfriend’s family, choosing a biscuit desert is not really in my nature! It then became a daily annoyance from then on, by not being able to satisfy my undying needs which became extremely frustrating with having to exclude myself from group treats at home. And don’t even get me started on my birthday!! It was the first time in 20 years when I haven’t had a chocolate birthday cake, how upsetting.

My Tweets during lent... 10 in 6 weeks... was 
tweeting about chocolate more than 
twice a week!

As Lent continued I found myself choosing foods that I’d never of dreamed of eating before like yoghurt raisins, lattes, cappuccinos and even developed a sweet tooth for jelly sweets.  Thus, even though I had abolished a large calorific intake of my diet I was, without really knowing, substituting chocolate for new (VERY sugary) snacks and we all know these foods are just as bad maybe even worse!

Hence, I did not lose any weight. Not even sure if this was my main purpose of the challenge or just to see if I could do it.  Just 2 days away, I’m nearly there and powering down the home straight so I ask myself would I do this again? Absolutely not! If I had to describe the experience in one word it would be torturous. However, having reflected on my detox, I have learnt a lot from this experience and it has been extremely insightful indeed.  

I now believe chocolate is an essential item of a person’s diet for a sugar fix, indulgence and treat for all ages. Whether, you’re eating coco pops for breakfast or relaxing with a hot chocolate on your lunch break don’t feel guilty! Recent studies by ELLEUK (1) suggest that eating chocolate can actually help you lose weight due to: “balance and what we always knew - having a little of what you fancy - is key.” This article is really interesting (see link at bottom of page) little and often is going to be my new motto and it should be yours too. So the moral to this story is to eat chocolate in moderation, after the Easter Weekend maybe? Hahaha! Make sure you all enjoy yourself this Easter, tweet @thedishondiets so we can share chocolate stories - HOORAY chocolate is no longer the enemy!

LauraKM. 

(1)-  http://www.elleuk.com/beauty/news/chocolate-could-make-you-thinner