- Weight loss
- Benefits and risks
- Contraindications
- How to choose
- Recommendations
- Options
Many people are surprised to learn that dietitians offer a chocolate fasting day as a way to lose weight quickly and вкусно. Can such a high-calorie, sugary product really help you shed extra pounds? It turns out that such miracles do happen – our bodies are still full of mysteries. If you’re daunted by the prospect of fasting, this option might be a real lifesaver.
Weight loss
Dieticians have long developed a chocolate fasting day, and have thoroughly researched its effects on the body. Cocoa beans make weight loss possible, because they:
- prevent the development of insulin resistance (the most common cause of obesity) and improve the regulation of glucose utilization;
- support healthy intestinal microflora, which speeds up digestion;
- eliminate inflammation in the body, which can contribute to weight gain;
- reduce depression, eliminating the need to “stress-eat”;
- speed up metabolism;
- effectively break down fats, removing them from the body (although this is a relatively long process that can’t be completed in a single day, at least you’ll make a start).
Therefore, it turns out that, despite its high calorie content (more than 500 kcal per 100 g), chocolate is just as useful for weight loss as many other diet foods. And the results of such fasting days are proof of this. If you follow the instructions carefully, you can lose up to 1.5 kg.
Etymology. The word “chocolate” comes from the Mayan language, where “xocolatl” means “bitter water”.
Benefits and risks
When choosing to lose weight with this sweet treat, you need to understand what benefits it can bring and where to expect a catch.
Benefits:
- prevents cardiovascular diseases;
- reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks by preventing blood clots;
- prevents diabetes, as it controls the body’s absorption of glucose;
- normalizes blood pressure;
- improves vascular elasticity;
- alleviates autoimmune diseases;
- stimulates intellectual activity, improves memory, and activates thought processes;
- antioxidants prevent the development of tumors;
- polyunsaturated acids remove harmful cholesterol.
Risks:
- damages tooth enamel;
- causes food addiction;
- high-calorie;
- the minimum daily portion causes hunger – which can be very hard to endure;
- monotony of the diet;
- nausea and dizziness are common side effects;
- fainting is possible;
- often triggers gastrointestinal disorders;
- contributes to skin rashes.
Significant harm from such fasting days can only be experienced in extreme cases: when you ignore contraindications or increase the recommended dosage.
Additional information. Chocolate improves heart function, strengthens, and removes cholesterol plaques from blood vessels.
Contraindications
You should not consider fasting days on chocolate if you have the following contraindications:
- cocoa bean allergy;
- pregnancy;
- diabetes mellitus;
- obesity;
- hypotension;
- gout;
- urolithiasis;
- joint disease;
- insomnia;
- metabolic disorders.
Of course, 100 g of chocolate bar a day will not trigger an exacerbation of gout or osteochondrosis, but unpleasant side effects are quite possible.
Did you know that… chocolate contains “theobromine”, a substance that makes this product toxic to animals?
How to choose
Today’s chocolate variety is so diverse that the problem of choice arises involuntarily.. Porous, dessert, vegan, diabetic, powdered, liquid… Which type will promote maximum weight loss during a fasting day? After all, if you make a mistake, you may gain weight instead of losing it.
- Black / dark / bitter
Dieticians recommend dark chocolate as the best option for losing weight on chocolate. It contains the highest percentage of cocoa beans, which are responsible for weight loss: above 55%. It is better to choose from the 75% mark and up—the benefits will be greater. Such a product is marked “bitter”. If the numbers are lower, the packaging will indicate “dark” or “black”.
- Milk
Of course, losing weight on milk chocolate is much more enjoyable, as it has a very soft and delicate taste that literally melts in your mouth. However, it contains a minimum amount of cocoa beans, which means that all the hardships of the fasting day may go completely unnoticed. Moreover, dry milk or cream with a fat content of 2.5% in its composition are not dietary products and bring practically no benefit. Dieticians do not recommend this type.
- White
You can find anything on the Internet. Even such a paradox as a white chocolate fasting day. Although this treat does not contain a gram of cocoa beans, which trigger all body processes that lead to weight loss. Thus, nothing could be more useless for fighting extra pounds.
Other varieties are also of no value for weight loss and can be safely passed by.
Interesting fact. The most expensive chocolate is “Chocopologie by Knipschildt”. 453 g of this treat will cost $2,600.
Recommendations
To achieve results, learn how to hold a fasting day correctly and get out of it without harming your health.
Preparation
A chocolate hunger strike is a real stress for the body, and it may not react at all as you would like. That is why it is so important to prepare it for this event in advance. To do this, take the following measures 2-3 days before the fasting day.
- Start drinking plenty of water.
- Gradually exclude alcohol, carbonated drinks, fried, pickled, smoked, fatty, salty foods, and fast food from your diet.
- Switch to five meals a day.
- Eat 20-30 g of a bitter bar daily.
- Get enough sleep.
- Exercise.
- On the eve of the hunger strike, your dinner should be as light as possible, and it is better to drink a glass of low-fat kefir before going to bed.
Hunger strike
- Recommended daily volume – 100 g of dark chocolate.
- Divide into 5 equal portions and eat at regular intervals.
- You can drink the treat with green tea (possibly with various fat-burning additives like cinnamon or lemon) and herbal teas. Kefir and milk do not quite fit into the plan, but as an exception, they are allowed if they are low-fat. Everything listed should be unsweetened.
- It is imperative to maintain a drinking regimen – at least 2 liters of water.
- Physical activity is contraindicated on this day. Only a short walk and a 10-minute morning workout are possible.
- As soon as you feel dizzy or nauseous, drink sugary tea
