My No Chocolate Challenge

I have a friend that does these personal fitness challenges, like she'll run at least a mile everyday from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve.  I admire her so much, not only for her ability to acheive her goal, but because she has the determination to do it.  Her most recent fitness challenge really motivated me to challenge myself.  I considered a fitness challenge, but with my family's schedule, I didn't think I would be able to commit to such a thing without making some serious changes in our routine.  So I thought of something else to challenge myself with.  I really want the feeling of knowing I accomplished a goal, and that I challenged myself to get it.

It recently occurred to me that perhaps I am eating more chocolate than perhaps the normal person eats.  I won't embarrass myself by confessing to how much I was eating, I realize now, that it was perhaps shocking how much I was eating. 

Chocolate is what my goal was.  The rule is: No Chocolate for 30 days.  None.  No chocolate in my granola bars.  No chocolate milk.  No licking the Nutella off my finger when I fix Andrew a snack.  No chocolate donuts that my crew ate this morning.  No pilfering through the kids Easter baskets.  No more after dark treats when Doug goes to the store after dinner.  No more buying 50% off bags of Easter candy.  No chocolate in my ice cream. No chocolate. 

I am 7 days in.  (I broke this afternoon to sample 2 truffles that my mother brought back with her from Belgium).  After 7 days, I lost . . . 2.8 pounds.  I am not lying, exaggerating, or embellishing.  I lost almost 3 pounds- by not eating chocolate.  I didn't follow some rigid food diet.  I didn't drink more water, I didn't even exercise except for I walked twice.  All I did was not eat chocolate.  And I lost 2.8 pounds.  How's that for embarrassing?!  That's how much chocolate I ate.  That when I cut it out- I lose almost 3 pounds.

The first 4 days were so easy.  I didn't miss it.  I wasn't miserable.  And believe me, I still have bags of chocolates around.  There are 2 bags of Dove Dark Chocolates in my freezer right now.  There's still quite a bit of authentic Belgium chocolates on top of the tv cabinet, but I am not dying for it.  The past 2 nights I have had dreams of psychotic binging on bags of miniature Hershey chocolates.  And as soon as I finished my chocolate binge- I screamed at myself, "That's why you had to give it up!!!!" 

Everyone I've told that I am doing this has laughed at me.  They don't think there's anyway I'll be able to go 30 days without chocolate.  (Technically I didn't, since I did just eat 2 truffles).  Honestly I don't know that I'll be able to go 30 days.  I think the next week and a half is going to be hard.  The novely has worn off and I have a stressful week coming up.  But it's a challenge.  If it was easy, the glory of knowing I did it- wouldn't feel as good.  So . . . we'll see how it goess.  Doug just might come home one day to find I forgot to pick up my children, and I am sitting in the garage in front of the open freezer with Dove foil wrappers surrounding me and chocolate all over my face.  I hope that doesn't happen though.