The chocolate conundrum

My friend Linda, who runs Passionate Blog, has recently left a comment after my post 'The thick and thin of it wondering why do I have a Thornton's chocolate advert on the top of the site?

I think I may need to explain things a little more.

What I'm hoping to do is ditch the diet, and live a life free of 'rules' about what I can or can't eat (i.e. no food is 'forbidden', 'good' or 'bad'). By trying to follow certain principles such as tuning in to my eating, having food only when I'm hungry, stopping when I'm satisfied, eating what I want, and putting it on a plate (to name a small few), my aim is to allow my body to adjust to what it needs and hopefully, I'll never consider dieting again.

It says on the website for Beyond Chocolate that:

"Beyond Chocolate encourages women to consider their physical and emotional well-being from various angles including what they eat, why they eat, when they eat, how they eat, exercise, body image, self esteem and more. And you won't just lose weight, you will enjoy eating the foods you like and never have to deprive yourself again!"

To be honest, I probably don't need to lose weight (well, not much - I'm in my normal weight range for my height but like many women, I wish I was "just half a stone less"), so that's not really my aim, but I definitely need to stop worrying about it.

I'm hoping that I can have my cupboards stashed with yummy foods like chocolate (but only the nicest kind), cake, crisps and greek yogurt and honey (okay, that needs to go in the fridge or it will go off) and not feel that just because they're there, I have to eat them all at once (because while they're there, they're just going to keep tempting me until I give in anyway, right? And then I'll go on a diet after I've eaten them all, right? See how it develops?).

The point is that with a mentality that tells me I can eat anything I like whenever I'M HUNGRY for it, rather than one that says some foods are out and some foods are in, I can concentrate on the rest of my life, not just what I'm putting in my mouth. And that is why I want a life 'beyond chocolate' - there is no refusal to include it in my diet, because I enjoy it, but it's not the be all and end all, either (which 'diet mentality' leads us to believe').

So bring on the chocolate - I don't need to pig out on it and then feel horrendously guilty, because it's allowed.

See Sophie Boss and Audrey Boss eating chocolate here!

Comments

[Linda]

Hi Andrea,
Fantastic explanation and exactly how I would like to be! I was also wondering how you have got these advertisers on board. I am hatching plans for a new blog with a specific theme and will need to look into advertising, despite some worries about it!
Take care,
Linda
x

[Andrea Wren]

Glad that has explained it Linda! Re: advertisers, I'll email you, but it's simply from using services like TradeDoubler.

[Carole]

This sounds remarkably like the Paul McKenna ideology: http://www.skyone.co.uk/mckenna/ that was on TV earlier in the year. It struck me as perfect common sense then - no it didn't radically alter my weight, but then my problem is lack of exercise . . . not food! Best of luck.

[Andrea Wren]

I shall have to check that out Carole, thanks. I do need to get more active as well, freelancing takes its tollas i'm so often sat at the PC!

[LindaB]

This all sounds very wonderful and I too would love to live without rules, but we have to consider obenfuhrer Blair and the queen bee. They are dictating what our children should eat, so one day they will dictate what we can eat and chocolate will be banned. We will have to have secret meetings in the dark to eat chocolate, in fear of being given one of his fixed penalty tickets or get an ASBO slapped on for unsociable behaviour.

Did you read about the delegates walking out of the party conference when he started to speak. I dare say they went off to eat some choclate as its probably banned the same as smoking is in his presence. Its not stopping the queen bee from stacking on the pounds and looking more like Mrs Ceaucescu by the moment.

Call me a cynic if you like - I,m used to it!

[Andrea Wren]

LindaB, I do hope chocolate will not be banned! I've only just started getting to grips with it again! But the interesting point you make is about being dictated to in terms of what we should eat, which I suppose is what diets are about. So the more you're told you can't have something, the more you want it!

[Who me?]

Whatever LindaB's on, I'll have a pint.

[Keris]

Carole's right - this is like Paul McKenna's plan and I recommend the book and CD. You will laugh at first (it's very Little Britain) but I'm convinced they work.

(Not that the weight loss one has worked for me yet, but I definitely credit the Change Your Life in 7 Days one for helping me with my new career.)