help with an addiction

[Ellibam]

Please dont dismiss this as a silly post.....

i have always been a chocoholic, but now its out of control
i really need help but not sure what to do.
i often eat a pack of timtams or a family block of chocolate in one sitting (almost every night) and i need to stop...
simply not buying chocolate isnt the answer becuase at the moment its worse then smoking(im not a smoker any more)
please help me

[JoMarie]

Ellissa - I know what you mean! I have the same addiction! I find that after dinner, if I brush my teeth, that sometimes helps. Something to do with the mint flavour making chocolate taste yuck.

[Nadine216]

I can relate!! I am on a diet and have just finished a whole slab of Lindt Dark Chocolate!! I got it as a gift and just could not resist.
I find that rather drinking a Lite Hot Chocolate (made with water and sweetner) after dinner and when the craving stricks helps met not to really crave the choccie. But it also takes a hell of a lot of willpower, something that with a new baby is almost impossible to achieve! I KNOW!!!!

[Jodie259]

Maybe you should consider hypnosis....

A sweet tooth is very hard to break. I imagine harder then smoking!

[Captain]

I have this problem to. The worst thing for me is that DH help each other in this addiction. One of us will drive to the shops and by tim tams or block of chocy (or both).
I've taken up knitting as I find this helps take my mind off food, gives me something to do.
But don't give up chocolate completely. Allow yourself to have a piece when you really, really want it. Sometimes by completely cutting something out can make you want it more.
Like JoMarie, brushing your teeth after dinner helps, even chewing on some gum.

Don't kick yourself if you fall down, just pick yourself back up and try again.

[Phteven]

This is from pyschcentral

Tips to Curb Chocolate Craving
If you can satisfy a chocolate craving with only two chocolate peanuts, then go for it. If you’re not so lucky:

Discover if the craving is emotional - there are all sorts of reasons why people crave foods. It can often be related to feelings of low self-esteem or depression. If you can identify your reasons, then try another approach to tackling the problem.
Incorporate small portions of chocolate into your usual diet, rather than restrict yourself. Moderation is the key. A research trial found that people who limited eating chocolate to within half an hour of eating a meal gradually weaned themselves off their craving.
If you are feeling bored and craving chocolate, go for a walk, run errands, call a friend or read a book. If you can take your mind off food for a short time, the craving may pass.
Make sure you always have healthy food nearby, so you can replace chocolate with fruit a few times a day. Eat an overall balanced diet, eat regularly to avoid hunger, and eat more slowly. When your blood sugar levels are stable, cravings are less likely to occur.
If you think it’s necessary, do not allow chocolate in the house. Ask friends and family not to buy you chocolate, or even not to eat it in front of you!
Finally, it is a good idea to increase your level of exercise, to burn off excess calories and increase your metabolic rate. Exercise also releases endorphins, which counteracts stress, anxiety and depression.

and this is from the beating addictions site

The subject of chocolate addiction is a topic that raises a smile to most people’s lips and is often thought of as a harmless bit of fun that is really to be enjoyed. For confessed chocoholics however, this can be an expensive and dangerous addiction due to the affects excessive chocolate consumption can have on their health.


How Is Chocolate Addictive?
People can become addicted to chocolate in a number of ways. For some it may start as a love of the taste and texture of certain brands, for others it may be the sweetness and sugar rush it provides. There are legitimate grounds as to why and how people become addicted to chocolate.
It is now commonly believed that eating chocolate can cause an increase in the production of endorphins. These are chemicals that make us feel happy and are found naturally in our bodies, therefore if we eat chocolate we have an increase in these ‘feel good’ chemicals.

Some experts also believe that due to the chemicals contained in chocolate and their effects on the brain a cycle of ‘the more you have, the more you want to have’ begins, thus developing a physical dependency.


Beating Your Addiction to Chocolate
Most importantly is making the choice of wanting to give it up. Without an inner need and want, it will be very difficult for the addict to abstain from chocolate consumption.

Determination and willpower are essential for succeeding in your goal. Reading books, listening to specially created CD’s or DVD’s will help you build your determination.

Joining a support group will help you find out how previous addicts overcame their addiction; many of these can be found online and can be quite useful.

Hypnosis is another way managing your addiction. This will aim to increase your concentration, change behavioural patterns by making suggestions and increase motivation and determination.

There is increasing evidence of a link between depression and excessive chocolate consumption. If you feel you have undiagnosed depression, please discuss this with your GP and discover if you can seek treatment for this using other methods. Identify when cravings are most likely, what the initial feelings are leading up to a strong craving and develop alternative coping strategies.

Simple measures such as not buying any chocolate for other members of the household will help to take temptation out of the way, as will avoiding unnecessary trips to the local shop, petrol station or other chocolate retailers.

Avoid the confectionary aisles at the supermarket, or ask someone else to do the shopping for you whilst you are coping with the initial period of withdrawal.

Find more time for sex and exercise as these both increase endorphin production, and will help burn off the calories and body fat gained from eating too much chocolate.

Visit the dentist and treat yourself to a good whitening or polish, this will help deter you putting them at risk from the dangers of sweet confectionary.

Find alternatives and natural sweet produce, such as fruit, and eat this when a craving is beginning.

To overcome your addiction to chocolate, it is most likely that a combination of these techniques is used.

Being a chocoholic is not the end of the world, but overcoming the addiction will increase your confidence, improve your overall health and will probably carry a financial reward also.

I hope you find something usefull in all that. I think that the bit I bolded is the key to beating any addiction. Once the desire to give up is stronger than the desire to continue you've got the habit beaten even if you lapse occasionally.

[paradise lost]

I'm addicted too, but to keep it under control i only buy VERY expensive cocolate (which i can hardly ever afford) and i savour it and eat it very slowly. DP and I both love our chocolate supplier (online, they only have 1 shop in the UK) and are very picky about it. LOL. I can afford to eat a reasonable amount about once a month.

Once i decided i'd only eat the best i could afford my consumption dropped significantly.

Bx

[*EmJa*]

My weight watchers leader is a chocoholic, so she buys a block of chocolate and gets her husband to break each row off and put it in the freezer, takes longer to eat and its harder...she finds that helps for her!

[westy]

Luckily for me i'm not a huge chocolate fan.

Blanchie's suggestion is a good idea too, a friend of mine has done this.

[sonya1]

i heard acupuncture is good for addictions. i have heard people using it to stop smoking, i guess a food addiction would work too. if all else fails i will PM you my address and when you buy choccies just post them to me....ha ha ...I PROMISE TO TAKE GOOOOOD CARE OF THEM....... he!he!

[MrsFabuloso]

Hi my name is Kellie and I'm a chocoholic....

Most importantly is making the choice of wanting to give it up. Without an inner need and want, it will be very difficult for the addict to abstain from chocolate consumption....I think that the bit I bolded is the key to beating any addiction. Once the desire to give up is stronger than the desire to continue you've got the habit beaten even if you lapse occasionally.

How true Bathsheba! I can't seem to convince myself that too much chocolate is really bad for me

LOL Sonya!! I'd take good care of them too, hehe!

Elissa, there is another thread where I read that chromium tablets are good for sugar cravings, and that there are other natural remedies for sugar cravings. Maybe if you don't crave the sugar then you won't crave the chocky sooo much?

[Artechim]

A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to give up my daily intake of chocolate and biscuits. I was eating a rather large amount of Milky Bar. I found the first couple of weeks are definately the hardest and it does take a lot of will power to get through. After that it isn't so bad. Milo is good for helping to get through the sweet craving. You can also get choc mousse desserts next to the yoghurts in the supermarket that are reasonably low in fat. Or a low fat choc ice-cream. Some kids lunch box bars are good - LCM's are quite sweet. Try to buy the little single serve novelty bars rather than a whole block of chocolate - it is more expensive and if there is less sitting around you can't eat as much of it but still have enough to satisfy the craving.

Since I haven't been eating much sweet stuff, I have been eating far more fruit because it is about as close to something sweet as I can get. If you are prone to snacking at night, get some grapes or open a can of fruit salad. I know it isn't the same (and is hard at first) but it doesn't take too long to get used to.

Re-reading my post, I guess I am just suggesting finding slightly less satisfying but healthier alternatives.

Good luck

[Pandora]

a chromium or sugar balancing supplement may help you if its a sugar craving thats behind the chocolate cravings, I know it has helped with mine, to the point where they are non-existent. Want to eat it yes, but definitely not craving it anymore.

[Ellibam]

ok well what i have done is banned chocolate from our house once its all gone(still have a large jar of nutella to go)
my trigger is boredomwhen im bored i need to eat and its chocolate that covers what i am requiring!
im eating more fruit any way but its not the sugar that im craving

I am treating this like when i gave up smoking cut down dramatically then wean off the last little bit
since i posted i have had a large milo and a few choc tiny teddys and 2 nutella sandwiches and some choc sprinkles on bread
although right now i could go some timtams...HAHA

thanks for all your resonces and suggestions!!