Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

I feel so silly for this post, but I have a real addiction to chocolate and I am concerned that it is harmful to the baby and myself. The doctor recently found glucose in my urine, so I really should cut down, but I can't. I had this problem before I was pregnant, but now in my last trimester, it is worse. I eat healthy food, but I also eat chocolate every single day and know I need to stop. And sometimes I eat A LOT! Although I passed my GD test, I don't want to develop other issues.

And its so hard b/c chocolate is EVERYWHERE (drug store, supermarket, ice cream stores at every corner) and it really alters my mood. And people always offer stuff too - MIL brought over 2 boxes of girl scout cookies. I am so so grumpy when I can't have it. I am so embarrassed b/c i feel like this sounds so ridiculous, but I really really really want to stay healthy.

Any tips or tricks to breaking this addiction? I am not looking to diet or even cut it out completely, just eat it in moderation (maybe once a week). But I am like a tiger who has tasted blood - once I get a taste I am on a warpath until I get my fill.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

whatever you do, don't keep it in the house.

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

okay, first of all - do NOT feel silly!

if i were you - i'd try cutting down to one thing of chocolate a day. By thing - i mean, one candy bar, 3 cookies, something like that. Try to BREAK the habit of chocolate all day long.

for me - with the GD - my weakness - ESPECIALLY NOW is cadbury cream eggs. I allow myself ONE a day - and that's normally my after dinner snack (if i've had a good sugar day).

if you try to stop eating it entirely, you're going to want it more and wind up binging...so try the once a day thing...see if that helps!!!!

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

Try not to keep it in the house but if it's any help studies show that eating chocolate in the third trimester can lower your risk of pre-term labor and pre-eclampsia by over 50%

ALso, the glucose in your urine is not because you are eating a lot of sugar but how your body is processing it.

Try to stick to dark chocolate which has lower sugar contents and increase teh health benefits!

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

You could switch to sugar free chocolate...more than 2 and you'll be in the bathroom for a while! "May have a laxative effect."

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

don't try to stop completely...you won't be able to.

what I suggest is start eating BETTER chocolate.

I've found that eating a small wedge of a sinfully good dark chocolate beats eating and entire candy bar...and ounce for ounce. it's much better for you.

the stronger, more intense the flavor, the less you need.

not sure if you have a chocolatier near you...but if not, I would get a brick of GOOD chocolate (Scharffenberger, Lindt or Ghiradelli 70% should be fairly easy to find)

the cocoa isn't the problem. it's the extra sugar that most milk chocolate brands throw in there.

maybe melt some of the chocolate and put in on fresh strawberries and bananas.

putting more effort will also help lessen your urge.

stay away from candy bars!!!!

ETA: turn yourself into a chocolate snob, and chocolate connoisseur, and you'll be able to turn down those sugar laden, minimal cocoa havin sweets more easily!

Message edited 4/2/2009 2:12:20 PM.

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

What about finding healthy chocolate alternatives like sugar free hot chocolate or chocolate chip granola bars?

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

Posted by Ophelia

don't try to stop completely...you won't be able to.

what I suggest is start eating BETTER chocolate.

I've found that eating a small wedge of a sinfully good dark chocolate beats eating and entire candy bar...and ounce for ounce. it's much better for you.

the stronger, more intense the flavor, the less you need.

not sure if you have a chocolatier near you...but if not, I would get a brick of GOOD chocolate (Scharffenberger, Lindt or Ghiradelli 70% should be fairly easy to find)

the cocoa isn't the problem. it's the extra sugar that most milk chocolate brands throw in there.

maybe melt some of the chocolate and put in on fresh strawberries and bananas.

putting more effort will also help lessen your urge.

stay away from candy bars!!!!

ETA: turn yourself into a chocolate snob, and chocolate connoisseur, and you'll be able to turn down those sugar laden, minimal cocoa havin sweets more easily!

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the advice. I actually do often eat dark and "better" chocolate, I figure if I am eating the sugar, I might as well stay away from the garbage, preservatives, coloring, etc. But I just can't stop at a little. Like I said, I am a tiger that has tasted blood. I don't usually keep the chocolate in the house, but sometimes I do b/c the "better" chocolate is not as easily accessible as the "inferior" chocolate, so I need to have the better stuff around when I am ready to pounce. But this usually leads to more binging, so I try to avoid this.

I guess I need to just accept that I am not quitting now, and try to limit myself. I will stick to the "good stuff", though.

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

I am right there with you. Like Ophelia said stick to the good stuff. The others are not even made with real coco butter but rather vegtable oil wich is not good in large quantities. I break things into smaller packages and zip lock them. This way if I want more I have to get up and go to the pantry to get more. Don't make it easily accessible. Skip those trips to the drug store and make DH grocery shop so that it is not in the house. HTH

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

wish I could help, I'm the same way!!!

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

I have no advice. I didn't even like chocolate before I got PG.. now I MUST have some everyday.

you could try dark chocolate. At least that has health benifits and it is harder to OD on Darck Chocolate than milk chocolate.

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

I was told to eat dark too, but its not my favorite so that was a little hard. Luckily my chocolate craving has passed.. but I was eating a lot of it about a month or 2 ago.

Im really no help.. maybe try to not keep it in the house?

Re: Advice or tips please - I eat too much chocolate and need to stop!

I love chocolate too!

I tend to automatically go for sweets when i want a snack.

What I try to do if I am going for chocolate is go for something else like an apple or something else healthy to snack on. I tell myself, " have the apple, if you still want the chocoate you can have it after." I usually dont want it.


I passed a krispy kreme yesterday and wanted it sooo bad. But I went back to my desk and had a grapefruit. After that I didnt want the krispy kreme.