Why am I so apprehensive about eating one of these?

#1

So I’m 2.5 months in and have been very strict with carb intake and relatively strict with the other macros.

Yesterday I was in a cold place, but now I’m back in FL where I belong. At any rate just to get out of my hotel room I walked(and nearly froze my ears off) to a mall a couple of blocks away. I had a meal and continued walking around the mall just to move around a little. I came across a Ghiradelli store and went in to see what they had. I must have seen it subliminally before because for the first time since KETO I was really craving a little chocolate.

(Un)fortunately they only had really big bars of chocolate of all different varieties. If they had the little squares, I probably would have bought one and ate it. I left empty handed.

So I get back to FL this afternoon and have to do some grocery shopping and wind up on the candy isle. I find a package of the small squares of 92% chocolate figuring I’d rather have the small squares on hand to curb the occasional craving.

At any rate I just finished an awesome keto meal and I’m here looking at this bag of chocolate. I can easily eat one and not continue, but for some reason I’m really apprehensive to eat it. I haven’t had a single thing desert-like since I started keto and I guess I’m not sure if its a good idea.

Anyone with words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Nutritional Info

Carbs3 g Dietary Fiber1 g

Sugar0 g Fat6 g

Saturated4 g Polyunsaturated0 g

Monounsaturated0 g

Trans0 g Protein0 g

Sodium0 mg Potassium0 mg

Cholesterol0 mg Vitamin A0 %

Vitamin C0 % Calcium0 %

Iron0 %

Percentages are based on a diet of 2000 calories a day.

#2

Are you apprehensive because you’re worried that it’s “all or nothing,” that if you eat one square you’re “not Keto”? Are you worried if you eat one, you’ll eat the whole bag because of a sugar addiction? Are you worried because you remember blood sugar crashes from the pre-Keto days?

Those could possibly be reasons.

#3

Sounds like you know exactly what you are thinking and doing.

(Carl Keller) #4

I’m not the type who can just have one when I know there’s more around, so I won’t even try to win that battle. It’s not worth the risk of unbottling hormones I now have control over.

Eating chocolate increases endorphin levels so it’s not just digestive hormones we need to worry about. Just the idea of eating it can remind our brains of the pleasure chocolate once gave us.

Ghirardelli translates to “Delicious Diabetes”. (not to offend those of you who eat low sugar chocolate :stuck_out_tongue: )

#5

I hope you weren’t hungry when you went into the store?

Otherwise I have 85% cocoa chocolate in my possession. Once a blue moon I’ll have a small piece about 14g of which 2.6g carbs.

And I also sprinkle a bit of chocolate, less than 1g, on coffee (as we do in Australia, not sure if they do that in the US or elsewhere).

My point is yes I do it - but I make sure it is in very small quantities. AND I make sure it doesn’t trigger desires for “just one more treat”.

(less is more, more or less) #6

As @anon13588705 says, you may already know why you’re apprehensive. Bully on you for stopping yourself. I’d advise that you not give in, not at 2.5 months into low carb. Your fat-adaption may not be complete. Try to understand why having this chocolate is so important to you. Sugar addiction is a real problem for many but not one for all people.

(Karen) #7

The super dark 92–95% chocolate does the trick as chocolate. You feel those mood changes that you get from chocolate, but it’s not really what I want, so I can eat just one, and I don’t usually bother.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #8

I get this. I looked at the same product and choose not to. I’ve been buying 100% unsweetened chocolate for the times I think I want chocolate but it requires doctoring up to be palatable for me (though I have tried and tried without). This lets me have chocolate when I think I need it but keeps me from overdoing it, for sure.

#9

I also have a ‘can’t eat just one’ addiction when it comes to chocolate (or any sweet), but I ‘can’ eat just one square of dark chocolate while in ketosis. I know that I am making progress with my sugar addiction when a bar of chocolate is nearby and I can go for days without even thinking about it.

(John) #10

I find that the 90%+ chocolate doesn’t trigger overeating for me. I have settled on Montezuma’s 100% Absolute Black as my chocolate of choice, no sugar added, nothing but cocoa. I bought four 3.5 oz bars of it in late October and just finished up the last one this week, so that was a 2 month supply.

They provide pure non-sweet chocolate flavor, smooth but not bitter. I’ll have a small square or two along with coffee, chopped or grated with whipped cream, berries, and walnuts, or with a glass of bourbon or red wine as a treat.

Regarding the OP’s Ghirardelli squares - try one, when you don’t have the whole bag nearby, and see what it does. I find that chocolate in the absence of sugar is safe.

#11

Thanks for the replies. On one hand, how bad can it be with zero sugars and 3 carbs? and as far as sugar addiction goes with zero sugars would this still be a trigger.

In reality I don’t think my carb cravings were from sugar. I was more of a wheat eater. Pizza, pasta, bagels, etc. were an issue.

On the other hand if this could be bad for me and ketosis then I’d rather just stay away.

#12

Cacao, which is what chocolate is derived from, is actually a nutrient dense, healthy fat. It’s the extra additives (sugar, inflammatory oils, etc) which are used to create chocolate that makes it less healthy.

We make fat bombs on a regular basis using 100% cacao, coconut oil, nuts, and stevia. They taste great, but they are calorie dense, so moderation is in order if weight loss is a goal.

Eliminating foods that I like makes me feel deprived, which makes a diet unsustainable for me. When I have a sustained craving, I listen to it. Sometimes it can be addressed by eating a small amount (ie. a spoonful or a bite). Sometimes it’s a whole dish. I get results by keeping a tighter reign on WHEN I eat more than WHAT I eat. A ketogenic diet can be achieved either way, pick the method that works best for you.

(Bird) #13

Yes for me I crave doughy sweetness. Ugh.

(Consensus is Politics) #14

I think you are just coming to grips with the reality of it all. You KNOW you can have one. You KNOW it’s not going to derail you. But you don’t KNOW if you really want to.

This past week the wife, not doing keto, just bought a bunch of sugary treats and keeps them on the kitchen table. These things were dirt cheap, so she bought a lot of them. Basically just colored sugar. Cookies made from sugar. And some packaged cakes, think snowballs, cupcake with a marshmallow jacket.

I’ve been eyeballing this stuff every time I walk past them. I KNOW I could eat one package. Total carbs in one package is 25 grams. A one day slip won’t hurt me. Probably won’t even effect my ketosis. But I know my weakness. I know if I had one, I could very easily make the connection that ‘just one more couldn’t hurt’. Next thing I know I’m back to eating entire cases of Little Debbie’s cakes again. Yes, I said again. I don’t want to go back to that, so I go through the same internal dialogue, “do I REALLY want to do it?”

[as I sit down at the table and have a staring contest with the pink snowball, as I have a cup of bone broth. In your face sugar!]:cowboy_hat_face:

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #15

I heard someone on the board refer to sugary junk as decoration for real food. I like that and it has helped me look at it differently. It’s your table decoration, a bowl full of ornaments!

#16

Well I guess that is part of the question, the label on this shows zero sugars. What is the risk then?