Yum! There is nothing in the world more sweet or more delicious than chocolate. The ultimate comfort food, and a sure-fire-way to brighten anyone’s bad day. It is renowned as one of the best natural mood enhancers, and has been used ever since its discovery as an aphrodisiac. Among all its benefits, it is also worth knowing that chocolate is a healthy ingredient, that improves your body, and (this is the best part) can also help you lose weight. This does not mean you should shift towards an all-chocolate diet, but eating chocolate on a regular and moderate basis will definitely show results, and here’s how.
The Way to Use It No. 1
Due to the brain boosting properties (it stimulates neurotransmitters and hormones), chocolate has both a psychological and physiological positive affect on the body. But like any food that has weight-losing abilities, chocolate needs to be used in a specific way, for maximum effect. Take a cube of dark chocolate before each meal (approx. 30 minutes), and melt it in your mouth. This releases endorphins from the chocolate and triggers a chemical response in the brain telling it that you are full. It also boosts your metabolism during your meal, while a chunk afterwards can stop you from munching in-between on unnecessary food during the day.
The Way to Use It No. 2
So, because of the previously mentioned effects on the brain and metabolism, you can incorporate chocolate into meals as well to start losing weight. Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, go for a chocolaty one. Melting two chocolate cubes into your morning coffee, or pouring melted dark delights over some fruit is the perfect way to start your day, or use other great and healthy chocolate recipes during other meals. Chocolate will energize you and keep you full and fit until lunch.
Go for Smaller Portions
As with all weight-losing ingredients, you need to restrain the chocolate-lover in you, and always go for smaller portions. Eating too much of anything cannot be good for you, and the same goes for chocolate. If you want reach your weight goal, you need to have a balanced diet, and be disciplined. Incorporate chocolate regularly, but in small quantities. It also might be good to consult a nutritionist and do a nutritional response test to see how positively chocolate can influence your body. In any way, if you retain a balanced diet, and intelligently implement chocolate, slowly but surely you will start seeing results.
Choose Your Chocolate Wisely
To get the most out of chocolate, you need to go dark. The darker the chocolate the better it is for you. Dark chocolate contains more coco, and therefore has less milk content. This means that the chocolate bar retains all the health benefits of the cocoa beans, as opposed to the unnecessary dairy fats and sugars found in regular chocolate bars that would add weight to your body. The people at Chocolab suggest that luxurious dark chocolate can even become your very own personalised chocolate bar. These healthy personalized chocolate delights are made to suite your taste palate, but also boost the health benefits you desire out of chocolate.
Improving Overall Health
Choosing chocolate, and incorporating it into your diet will not only keep you fit, but it will also help you stay healthy in the long run. Due to the natural chemical ingredients found in chocolate (from potassium zinc to selenium), it can prevent deadly illnesses such as strokes and heart attacks, but also improves your cardiovascular system and skin. Chocolate also improves your mood, and makes you happy because it stimulates serotonin production – the hormone associated with happiness.
There you have it, at the end of the day eating chocolate can really help you and your body stay in shape. Not only great for the soul, but satisfying your chocolate urges will make you look and feel great, and provide you with a cool bill of health. Now, how chocolaty-cool is that?
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