Part 1

Chocolate has long been known as one of the world sweetest, and best selling aphrodisiac. There are only a few temptation in the world that can surpass the sweetness of chocolates. Now, chocolates need not be a temptation that we need need to turn our back on, because we can have a diet out of it.

There are a number of us who will readily confess to be choco-loco’s and we are not alone in this tooth-aching addiction. The Aztec's and their well-respected Emperor Montezuma, drank lots of it, as well as eternal lover Casanova. Truly, nothing else in the known universe can beat the name and taste of cocoa. This marks up the chocolate diet as the tastiest of the fad diets ever on the scene. In these kind of diets, the chocolate acts as the replacement to vitamin. The chocolate is a complex food source, so complex that it has only been until recently that scientists were able to unlock it's secret content. Among it's many other benefits, Chocolate has been proven to contain substances called the Phenylethylamine and Serotonin, which are simply put, mood lifting agents. These substances can be found in our human brain and are released by the brain into our nervous system whenever we are happy. It seems that the substances that work at our nervous system when we are happy are also the same ones that when work in other feelings of elation. Chocolate thus help us feel good. Apart from that, science has also proven that chocolate has its fair amount of health benefits such as fighting high blood pressure and preventing heart disease. In fact, new studies have shown that chocolate contains anti-oxidants which help prevent arteries from clogging.

The chocolate diet comes with chocolate liquids or a powder supplement that you can blend with your milk or water. There may also be pills in capsule form, but knowing how yummy chocolate is, we know we don’t have to capsulate chocolate.
The chocolate powder shakes are not meant to replace meals, but they can be ideal healthy snacks. The chocolate pills are said to provide various nutritional benefits which include increasing your metabolism. These, add up to a healthy diet, are reputed to stimulate the fat-burning process which paves the way towards a gradual weight loss.

THE DIETS

Since chocolate has become a fad, a lot of chocolate diets have been popularized. Two of the most reliable are the Pasta-Chocolate Diet and the Chocla-Slim by Slim Delices.

The Chocla-Slim Diet

One of the chocolate diet found its secret to keep the pounds off right in the ingredients of its chocolate. That's right, and its called the ultimate diet chocolate, bearing the name of Chocla-Slim by Slim Delices.

According to the company of Chocla-Slim, their chocolate-eaters claim to lose up to four pounds a month just munching on those goodies. In fact, Helen Krasovic who is the director of sales for Slim Delices, says that “It's the only chocolate in the world that makes you lose weight.” And here’s the secret to its formula, some exotic ingredients which are sweetened to a chocolaty taste: Chicory inulin (a root), Artichoke extract (a leaf), Green tea extract (a leaf), and Guarana extract (a fruit). Right in this squares you can find the yummy solutions to your pangs of cravings. The Chicory root that is found in the squares are supposed to trap fat while the Artichoke extract gives the feeling of fullness so you don’t have to eat much longer. To

complement these effects, the Green tea is an antioxidant while the Guarana extract stimulates metabolism in our body. Krasovic says that “Its four natural plant extracts that were used in combination, helps you lose to lose weight.”

One of the product’s living testament is KJ-103's "Janet from Another Planet". To attest to this one-of-a-kind confection, Janet says, “I can't eat chocolate on a diet. It's totally forbidden.” However, in this diet she was allowed for a week, three pieces of the chocolate for a day. “Every after breakfast, lunch and dinner, I would eat one chocolate,” says Janet. “I thought it was good. I thought it tasted like how chocolate would taste.” According to KJ-103’s Janet, how three squares of chocolate a day might keep the pounds away was because, “You're eating the chocolate and the chocolate is the craving so you're not digging for something else to look for.”

However, inspite this claim, a registered, licensed dietitian, Carrie Melrose, simply don’t buy it. She believes and tells her clients that it is healthy food choices and exercise which holds the answer to losing weight and not just chocolate. Ms. Melrose relates that, “I'd love to be able to tell ladies [that] we've got this great new magic from chocolate, but it's just not the case.” Apart from that, one other setback of this kind of diet is that the chocolate diet is not cheap. If the plan is three pieces per day, then a month’s of this chocolate supply will run up to a cost of about $80.

The Pasta-Chocolate Diet

One of the latest, the Pasta-Chocolate Diet is principally focused on Pastas and Chocolate. A day of this diet would be filled with spaghetti, elbow noodles, shells, linguini, rigatoni, fettuccine and other pastas. Complementing these are pasta sauces which must be low in fat, low in sodium, non-meat but can contain occasional skinless white meat pieces. There can also be Salads with low-calorie, fat-free dressings. Fresh vegetables and fruits are a must as well as at least 2 quarts of water per day. Popcorn is also suggested as long as it is air-popped, and served with no butter or salt. The alternate toppings for popcorn would have to include non-fat butter substitutes such as vegetable seasonings, garlic powder, soy sauce, cayenne, vinegar, or a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. And then, the most awaited an ounce of chocolate to top all meals.

If you’re on the Pasta-Chocolate Diet you can swap items for meals as needed while you are also allowed to snack between meals. The variety of options per meal allows you to adjust the diet according to your whims. For one morning you can have fresh fruit, fruit salad for the next day and shredded wheat on the next. The diet operates on the fact that total abstinence can be counter-productive to weight loss. That is why the diet includes snacking and the satisfaction of your craving especially for chocolate. However, limit also your craving to an ounce of chocolate serving. An ounce of chocolate is equal to 1/4 cup chocolate chips, one square of semi-sweet baking chocolate or 2/3 of the regular Hershey bar.

A typical daily schedule for a Pasta-Chocolate Diet would have fresh fruit, fruit salad or shredded wheat with non-fat milk and strawberries for Breakfast and popcorn or some helpings of fruit for morning snack. Lunch would then be some salad or pasta salad with low-calorie dressings or a heap of spaghetti while the afternoon snack consists of popcorn, vegetable sticks, or a fruit smoothie. A Fruit Smoothie is a Blended combination of 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen peaches or any other fruit of choice mixed with 1 cup non-fat skim milk.

As for dinner, it comes with a plate of fettuccini with garlic tomato sauce, a whole wheat pasta primavera, salad or some steamed vegetables. There is an extension for evening snacks which consist of popcorn and up to 1 oz. of pure, undiluted chocolate. For the entire day, you can take water, either carbonated water or mineral water. For the succeeding days, take heed to of the items hat must be avoided while on the Pasta-Chocolate Diet. They are the following:

• Sugars (artificial sweeteners are okay)
• Oils
• Oily fruits (avocados, olives, coconuts)
• High sugar/cal fruits (raisins, figs, dates)
• Fried foods
• Alcoholic beverages
• Salt/sodium
• Coffee/caffeine
• Carbonated soft drinks
• Dairy products
• Red meats
• Nuts and seeds
• Unauthorized snacks (chips, junk food, candies, cakes, pies, etc.)

The Real Score

Ever since the breaking news that chocolate is beneficial to our health especially with its unique components, a lot of Chocolate Fad Diets started sprouting. However, you must be careful in what kind of diet you are adopting to. Sometimes, we want chocolates so much that we’re willing to believe just about anything to compromise our diet and our desires. Don't get me wrong I'm a totally huge chocolate fan and I would never say a word against chocolates. In fact I am one of those believers that chocolate deserves to be named one of the basic food groups. Unfortunately, no matter how benefits it can produce in our bodies, chocolates are simply not the end all and be all of all our nutritional needs. The sad thing about any Chocolate Diet is that it is sometimes taken as a vitamin replacement. One more thing is that it's true end result is still questionable up to now. It really isn’t as established yet as the other diets and the claims as to how the actual diet will help you achieve the desired results are still like castles in the air. It’s still not clear how strong the truth is on how it supposedly can fight against heart disease, high blood pressure, as well as to how it can replenish necessary nutrients. It's not also still not that clear how it can stimulate the metabolism or help the fat burning process of our system. Generally, though chocolate does have its own share of reliable health benefits, c’mon, nothing as good as chocolate could be that bad, still a diet with an emphasis in chocolate may not exactly be the best way to having a diet, especially if the aim is to lose weight.

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