A few years ago, a diet author named Sally Ann Voak came up with a book entitled “The Chocolate Diet”. Voak’s book promises that her diet program, if religiously followed, can shed excess pounds off the body in less than two weeks. The Chocolate Diet points out that people cannot really get rid of eating chocolates and other sweets, so instead of completely eliminating these foods from our diet, it is much better to focus on how to control, regulate, and schedule our intake of chocolates. The book warns that efforts to stop the intake of chocolates can just lead to severe chocolate addiction. When people restrict themselves from chocolates, the desire to much on them ironically increases, and once they submit to their temptation, they will tend to overeat, and throw the plan to reduce weight out the window.
Voak’s chocolate diet program clusters people into six groups, and these are the comfort eaters, the premenstrual cravers, the romantics, the secret bingers, the sugar addicts, and the weekend indulgers. The comfort eaters are people who indulge in chocolates when they are sad, tired, and down. The premenstrual cravers, taking it from the word itself, are women who eat chocolates during or before their menstrual period. The romantics are people who yearn for emotional, especially erotic, satisfaction and conveniently use chocolates as an alternative route to feel that satisfaction. Sugar addicts are people who have compulsive tendencies to eat huge amounts of chocolates everyday. Secret bingers are sugar addicts who indulge in chocolates in private places. Weekend indulgers are people who use parties, vacations, and celebrations as a justification to overeat chocolates.
The Chocolate Diet starts with complete elimination of chocolates for one week, and this is followed by a strict diet program designed with daily allowance of chocolates that ranges from 30 to 300 calories. The diet program basically recommends 4 meals everyday, which consists of a 250 calorie breakfast, two 300 calorie snacks, and a 400 calorie heavy meal. Foods that the Chocolate Diet recommends basically include low fat and low calorie vegetables. Aside from a detailed food program, the diet also designed different exercise routines for different types of chocolate addicts.
One of the criticisms on the chocolate diet however is the very little daily calorie allowances that it suggests to diet practitioners. Because the program is also devised with an exercise matrix, people certainly will experience hunger in conducting Voak’s diet plan.
The Chocolate Diet is one of the ways to alleviate the addiction of people towards eating chocolates. While this program tolerates chocolate intake everyday, such eating pleasure is offset by the very low calorie plan that it wants to implement, and the consequent hungry feeling that such plan entails. The Chocolate Diet admittedly can and does work for a lot of people, but this kind of program, gives a short term solution. People can lose weight through following the prescribed directions, but Chocolate Diet cannot stand as a good program to be adapted in people’s daily, long term lifestyle.