Can I be on a diet and eat my chocolate too??

There are foods that I can not have within my reach.  Specifically I am talking about Yodels and Mallomars (there are probably a couple of others not mentioned).  If I have a box of either of these "foods" in my house, I will eat the entire box.  It may take me an hour, it may take me a couple of hours but if I have a box of Yodels in my house, that box will be empty within 24 hours.  I am not kidding.  These foods are called "Red Light Foods".  They are dangerous.  I know which ones they are for me and you know which ones they are for you.

Then there are the other foods, like my peanut butter and fluff (not together but separate).  I can either use peanut butter for a quick breakfast on a light english muffin (and I can Spin on that) or I can have a little fluff on a graham cracker as dessert (very satisfying - remember that word - Satisfying).  However, if the wind changes direction, then I am eating peanut butter and fluff sandwiches - not good.

When I was in Italy this summer, I discovered dark chocolate made with hot pepper or chilis (Perugina and Lindt both have a version).  You get the same taste that you would with any high quality dark chocolate but at the end there is a little heat.  I found the same product here in the States (by Lindt) and I have two bars in the freezer.  This is a big bar of chocolate.  It has 10 squares.  The entire bar is 500 calories, 30 grams of fat and 8 grams of fiber.  One square is 50 calories and it is packed with flavor!

Satisfying? . . . VERY.  This time, I am trying to eat until I am satisfied, not full and certainly not STUFFED.  But that is a quantity issue.  My Lindt chocolate is a Quality issue.  Many times I have wanted to eat something (keep it clean) . . . like an ice cream sundae.  But since I was "on program" I couldn't.  So instead of just eating the damn sundae (small one please), I would eat other stuff which technically was ok - like a Weight Watcher's 2 point bar, but I would eat the entire box of bars.  The bars were not a red light food.  I ate them because I wasn't satisfied.  My stomach was "satisfied" or full (those bars have a lot of fiber).  But my taste buds were not because I really wanted an ice cream sundae.  To add insult to injury - chances were that I ended up eating that ice cream sometime during the week anyway.  Like the Rolling Stones said . . . . . I can't get no Satisfaction . . .

This time I am going to implement the idea from French Women Don't Get Fat.  Eat everything, but make sure it is high quality and eat only a little so that you are satisfied.  I am going to eat that chocolate if I want it.  It is going to be a high quality delicious chocolate.  I am going to eat one square and I am going to sit down and savor every bit of it.  While doing all of this . . . I AM GOING TO LOSE WEIGHT!

The proof will be in the scale . . .