You should have heard the poignant remarks today of a chocoholic, who had the courage to confess her problems on national TV today.
She publicly admitted on the Dr. Keith Ablow Show today, as part of a show devoted to "Secret Addictions Disrupting Lives," about how her all-consuming interest in chocolate makes her just want to cancel plans and drop out of life.
The woman — whose name I didn’t catch — was quite brave and articulate when owning up to the fact that her chocolate dependence eventually leads to wacked-out brain chemistry, plummeting moods, and even suicidal feelings. She even stated that she uses the gooey brown stuff the way an alcoholic relies on booze.
Ah, yes, that all sounds way too familiar! Her story has a been-there-feeling! She could have been me back in 1998! She could have been the sugar addicts I interviewed for my upcoming book SUGAR SHOCK! She could have been the people I coach.
This lady, along with millions of other people out there, are suffering from a state of SUGAR SHOCK! But there is hope, and owning up to your problem and educating yourself are great first steps.
Briefly, it’s helpful to know that chocolate is like no other sweet. It has a number of properties, which can hook you. In fact, in my book, I wrote a section called, "Chocolate, the Most Addictive Sweet of All." One expert — Dr. Neal Barnard (author of Breaking the Food Seduction) — even told me, "Chocolate isn’t a drug. It’s the whole drug store."
Dr. Barnard was referring to the fact that chocolate not only contains sugar and fat, but also psychoactive substances such as theobromine (a stimulant); phenylethylamine (an amphetamine-like compound that’s similar to the street drug "ecstasy"); anandamide (a chemical related to marijuana’s active ingredient). and caffeine.
Take heart, you chocolate addicts out there. And you brave woman who appeared on Dr. Keith’s show (wish I knew your name!), you CAN break away from your chocolate obsession! Honest!
I’m here to help you, chocolate addicts! Join my free, online KickSugar support group. Start doing what I call Sugary Soul Searching. Attend my free, online chat tonight on WeightLossBuddy.com.
Maybe you’d also like to get my book SUGAR SHOCK! (You can even pre-order it now on Amazon. (I daresay SUGAR SHOCK! is quite engaging and mind-boggling. But, hey, I do have a vested interest!)
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Connie’s Confession: Look, I have my own confession to make, but not about chocolate. During "The Keith Ablow Show" today, I jottted down some great notes on Typepad (where I keep this blog). I even typed some incredible quotes from the chocolate-addict guest, and then lo and behold, when I saved the entry, I lost the entire blog item and ALL of the notes I took while watching the show. So needless to say, I’m more than a little frustrated right now. My feeling can be summed up thusly, "Aargh! Darn!" OK, I need to go exercise to healthfully vent! Besides, today’s the day I pick up my organic veggies from the CSA (community-supported agriculture) group to which I belong.