Will Eating Chocolate Help You Lose Weight?

09_06_10---Chocolate_web

Have my dreams come true? According to a new study, we can eat chocolate every day and lose weight. I am a chocoholic so this news is very appealing! So now I all have to do is to dispense chocolate to my clients looking to lose weight instead of meal plans? But, before you start to unwrap that chocolate bar, read on …  

If you have any interest in chocolate at all (hello?), you’re probably perked up in the past few days upon hearing that chocolate may help you lose weight. I know my dad will is probably jumping for joy! We’ve been hearing about the cholesterol and blood pressure lowering effects of dark chocolate for years, but this is a new health effect. (pic: blogbasics.com)

The study
Approximately 1000 middle aged adults took part in the study. Researchers looked at data including how often they exercised, the amount and type of calories they ate, how their health and weight related to their chocolate intake … and of course, how much chocolate they ate (it did not look at what kind of chocolate they ate – dark, white or milk). On average, the subjects exercised about three times a week and ate chocolate about twice a week. The lead author was Dr. Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego. The study was published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

The results: The people who ate chocolate the most frequently, despite eating more calories and exercising no differently from those who ate the least chocolate, tended to have lower B.M.I.’s. There was a difference of roughly five to seven pounds between subjects who ate five servings of chocolate a week versus those who ate none.

Possible, but unlikely explanations …
I can’t quite explain the results, but here are some suggestions:
1. People who “allow” themselves to eat chocolate daily might just enjoy food and be more careful at other meals/snacks. Examples:
– I actually have a client who followed a low calorie diet (supposedly) but never allowed herself any treats. She is now eating chocolate daily (~ 150 calories), but is carefully counting calories by using an weight loss app, where she did not do that before. So she is now more careful at other meals/snacks.
– My stepmother has a small piece of dark chocolate each day but avoids other desserts, whereas my dad tends to eat lots of cookies, but not necessarily chocolate (because my stepmother hides in from him! Pic is of my dad sneaking a Snickers bar)

2. Chocolate contains fat, which can make you feel satiated and less likely to eat more later (this doesn’t happen to me … I just want more!)

3. Chocolate contains caffeine which may have a slight effect of speeding the metabolism (but this the effect would not be more that the 100+ calories that were consumed in the chocolate)

4. Chocolate contains polyphenols which may ? help speed the metabolism (I tend to doubt it!)

5. I think somehow the study was flawed – see below

My thoughts:
I am skeptical that eating chocolate actually has “negative” calories or will speed the metabolism so much that weight loss will occur. I question the accuracy of this study. As many of you probably know, it can be really difficult to accurately asses caloric intake. Can you remember everything you ate yesterday? In order for me to be convinced that chocolate promotes weight loss, I would want to see more controlled studies done in an environment where the researchers would know 100% how many calories the participants were consuming each day, what kind of foods they are eating and what how many calories they are burning off each day. In addition, you would need to set the study up so that some participants really ate chocolate whereas others ate a placebo (is this even possible?)

The bottom line
Chocolate is no longer the villain we once thought it was! In addition to lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, it MAY play a role in helping us control our weight … however more research (a lot more) is needed. If you enjoy chocolate, I see no problem with including it in your diet. In terms of heart health, I would recommend dark chocolate (70% or higher) to get the greatest amount of antioxidants and least amount of sugar.  Until research PROVES chocolate contains “negative” calories, you will still need to account for the calories if you are watching your weight. My suggestion is no more than one ounce a day (this is 150 calories) – ideally under 100 calories worth.  Example:  3 Dove Dark Promises Lastly pay attention to how chocolate makes you feel. If a few bites triggers a cascade of sugar cravings, stay away! For all of my chocoholic clients out there trying to lose weight, this blog post is not encouraging you to eat chocolate 🙂

 

main pic photo credit  sojo1049.com

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I especially love problem-solving, whether it’s helping women defeat issues plaguing them for years, helping a busy executive find practical ways to get heart healthy, or providing tips to help you reverse diabetes. That’s why I’m on a constant quest to expand my knowledge by staying on top of the latest research.

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