This made me do a real LOL!Scottie said:I am a confessed Chocolate Monster. Just imagine Cookie Monster, but purple, and he eats chocolate instead of cookies.
I have found only one thing that reduces my desire for choco.
First, some background... Apparently, domesticated dogs have 2 Most Important Things in the World:
1. Eating
2. Lovies from their humans
In that order.
This makes sense, since if they don't eat, dogs die. As for Lovies, well, that should be kind of obvious. If it's not, get a dog, pet it every day while looking into its eyes, and if both you and the dog do not feel better, I'll eat both my shoes. It's a mutual antidepressant, boosts oxytocin levels, blah blah blah.
Let us now consider humans. I would say it works out about the same:
1. Eating
2. Lovies
3. Sex
Of course, the sex drive seems rather powerful, but ultimately we humans generally tend to use sex to bury or express emotional needs, so I would rate Lovies as higher than Sex. And of course, #1 is food.
Without food, we die. It's the basic biological need. Our brains are wired to reward us in all kinds of fabulous ways when we eat something. Food is more important than Lovies, but naturally emotions play a large role in food.
Recently, I dramatically reduced my chocolate consumption. Note I didn't say "eliminated". I'm taking things step by step because the entire concept of "quitting cold turkey" sounds great on paper, but is nearly impossible given how we're wired in most cases. Plus, a purely biological machine would not have nearly as much difficulty quitting some food as most of us do. But most of us are not purely biological machines... we also feel.
We also know that addiction is rooted in emotion, and emotions are also inextricably linked to our physical machines.
So, how did I reduce my chocolate consumption? Easy! I felt better.
How? Well, I started dealing more effectively with several long-standing emotional issues. After that, the change just sort of happened on its own. Well, it also didn't occur in a vacuum. After all, I've been doing various health stuff, including the iodine protocol now. So, it's a multi-pronged approach.
Being a multi-pronged approach, you can't neglect one or the other prong. If you solely/primarily try to deal with the emotional side, you'll have a hard time of it. If you solely/primarily try to deal with the physical side, you'll have a hard time of it. You must go Full Putin on yourself, keeping in mind that he doesn't seem to be the totalitarian monster that he is portrayed to be in the Western media.
IOW, do the Work! That means less shame, guilt, beating yourself over the head, etc. It also means less shaming of others, guilt-tripping others, and beating others over the head. There again, it's a multi-pronged approach.
And when you do eat chocolate, here's a fun thing to try: enjoy it. I know, right?! That's crazy!!!
If you find that difficult, ask yourself one simple question: "Will anyone die if I eat this chocolate?" The answer is probably NO. Well, there you have it. Note the self-drama inherent in that question, especially the satisfaction you derive from answering it and how you're kind of gently making fun of yourself.
Consider the insanity involved in eating something that gives you a "feel good high", while simultaneously bashing yourself over the head because you're a bad boy/girl, it's bad for you, you shouldn't need it, etc. That's like self-inflicted cognitive dissonance.Who needs psychos when you drive yourself crazy over something as basic as what you munch??
This does not mean you should always just do whatever you feel like doing... That's waaaaay too much on the "emotion only" side, and it total neglects the whole concept of working on yourself.
Well, it's like fighting terrorism...
You can do it the Obama way, or you can do it the Putin way. But even Putin said they don't blame the Turkish people for the death of their soldiers - they blame certain people in the Turkish government. It's not black and white. And of course, there WILL be consequences!
So, ya know... Do it gently. Do it multi-prongedly. Do it Workily.
:D <--- note lack of chocolate smeared on face
It's true though. I used to beat myself up about "failing" at being the queen of the ketogenic diet. You know what worked the best for dropping the bad habits? Giving up. I just gave up giving myself a hard time about eating food that was "wrong" and it actually made it easier to not eat them. I allowed myself the option of having it and decided I didn't really want it that bad anyway.
If I think about a real big carby meal it just doesn't have the same appeal to me any more.
Now bacon, avocado and egg yolk all smooshed together......