Can I eat chocolate during weight loss?

Hands up who’s been in this situation: you’re aiming to lose a bit of excess fat but you're already banned yourself from chocolate. Then the cravings come and you binge on chocolate and end up googling 'why is chocolate bad for you' and 'what can I eat on a diet'.

Can you eat chocolate on a diet?

It's your lucky day. You can eat chocolate on a diet and yes, it is okay to eat chocolate every day.

Surprised? Let us explain. First things first, the term diet refers to the 'kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats,' according to the OED. So stop thinking of a diet as daily deprivation and instead see it in its true form: a way to talk about all the foods you eat.

Next up, let's tackle why chocolate isn't "bad".

Is chocolate good for weight loss?

According to research by Louisiana State University and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, women who allow themselves the occasional chocolate cookie have lower BMI, reduced anxiety, better moods and less risk of disordered eating. Good, huh?

And it gets better. They’re also more likely to sustain a healthy weight – and, ultimately, be less prone to illness and disease in the long-run.

Registered Nutritionist and Founder of Rhitrition, Rhiannon Lambert explains that it's all about balance so you don't have to believe in the myth that chocolate is bad for you. 'Everything in moderation can work when looking at body fat loss, the overall quality and quantity of diet plays a large role alongside energy expended and energy eaten throughout the day.'

The author of ReNourish goes on to explain that 'you can most definitely eat chocolate when you’re trying to look after your body and reach a goal, it’s all about the quantity and quality of diet, a good nights sleep, movement each day and not eating to excess'.

Re-Nourish: A Simple Way to Eat Well

Hodder & Stoughton General Division amazon.co.uk

Instead of thinking 'I'm want chocolate but I'm on a diet', take a leaf out of @thobrandt’s book by switching your mindset from rigid to flexible.

'The way I would approach fat-loss would be to restrict myself from all ‘bad foods’ and only eat ‘clean foods’,' he says. 'As soon as I ‘cheated’, I would think ‘I’ve blown my diet’ so I would binge. This became a cycle of eating extremely clean for a couple of days and then bingeing. Over and over. I never lost any weight - actually at one point, I was gaining.'

Switching his mindset helped him to focus more on the nutritional benefits of what he was eating. 'I didn’t restrict myself from anything but at the same time knew that a cookie would take up more calories than a salad would. So more often than not I would eat the salad because it would fill me up for less calories.'

Tips for a healthy diet where you can still eat chocolate

Enjoy and savour chocolate

Instead of questioning if it's 'right' to eat a little chocolate every day, Nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert suggests following her crib sheet on healthy eating.

This can help you avoid bingeing on chocolate and creating distress.

Coconut Merchant Organic Coconut Jam with Organic Cacao

Coconut Merchant amazon.co.uk

£7.79

Change your chocolate habit

'If you end up reaching for a bar in the evening that’s ok,' says Lambert. 'But if it’s a daily occurrence that isn’t helping you feel great about yourself then try and move this to lunch time, this changes the association with chocolate that you have.'

How to eat chocolate mindfully on a diet

'I would also recommend mindful eating techniques that enable you to savour and appreciate the food in a different manner' says Lambert. So no more hiding your snack draw and funnelling down that chocolate.

Avocado 70% Organic Dark Chocolate Bar (vegan)

Eat chocolate while on a diet? Surely not, I hear you say!!!

What about the calories, all that sugar, the sweet, sweet taste. There is no way you can be enjoying your food and seeing results, right?

Wrong!!

Albeit this restrictive mindset towards body composition goals is rife, especially in the world of fad diets, that does not really empower or educate you on how to make informed decisions around your nutrition while still making headway toward your goals. But what if I told you, you could have your cake (or chocolate) and eat it while still seeing excellent results.

Weight loss begins with energy balance; put simply- calories in versus calories out. This is the principle EVERY successful diet adheres to, whether low carb, low fat, keto, paleo, or the magic beans diet. These, in essence, are just methods that, if done successfully, will obey the principle above. The trick is finding one that works for you that you can adhere to consistently.

Of course, removing more calorie-dense foods like takeaways, chocolate, biscuits etc., are going to allow you to manage your calorie intake more efficiently. However, it’s important to note; this doesn’t make them BAD. They are just easier to overconsume because they taste delicious!!!

So why is this important for understanding if you can enjoy a few squares of chocolate on a diet? The reason is that it might help with your adherence to your goal while maintaining a positive relationship with food. I have found over the years that a lot of fad diets or diets that demonise foods leave lasting scars on people’s perceptions of food. So as long as you are managing calories, you can eat chocolate on a diet and still lose weight. Once this sinks in, it’s pretty liberating.

Believe it or not, eating chocolate on a diet might be good for you if it helps with adherence.

You can only stick to a diet that eliminates the foods you love for so long. Following a restrictive diet is a ticking time bomb even for the most adherent and is only a matter of time before we crack.

Restrict-Binge-Restrict-Binge-Repeat! Sound familiar?

Including more of the foods, you generally crave on a diet can sometimes remove the power of cravings, and as long as you’re managing calories, you can still achieve your goals.

At the same time, we also need to focus on the overall quality of our diet. As much as it would be great to survive on a diet of Cadbury’s chocolate and Toblerones, consideration needs to be given to health, nutrients, and overall goals you have. Energy balance and adherence should be your number one priorities for weight loss, but don’t neglect everything else like protein, fats and carbohydrates, and areas like vitamins, minerals, and fibre, which play a big part in your overall health markers.  

You can eat chocolate on a diet and still lose weight. Perhaps don’t make chocolate the basis of your diet, but don’t fear it either. For some people, it might even help.  

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