The Last Chocolate on Earth

There you have it. Sitting there on the table in front of you. The last chocolate on earth. A rare disease has wiped out the cocoa plant, there's been panic buying of chocolate the world over, shelves are empty. And you, you own the very last chocolate on earth. And you're just about to eat it.

Now given it is the last chocolate on earth, the question is not if you're going to eat it, it's how are you going to eat it? Are you going to whoof it down, texting with one hand, flicking through a magazine with the other, barely registering that it's passed your lips, is now in your mouth, now swallowed. Gone forever. Or are you going to savour every moment, the taste, the texture, the smell, the emotions it induces, the sugar rush, the endorphin high? Will you allow your senses to revel and luxuriate in this amazing thing that is chocolate or are you going to let the opportunity pass you by, your mind too distracted to fully appreciate that after your last swallow, chocolate is history.

Why I'm hypothesising about the extinction of chocolate will be made clear in just a moment.  Because how we eat has a lot to do with our weight, much more than we realise. It's arguably as important as what we eat.

If you're trying to lose weight, you'll no doubt be very conscious of cutting out so-called "bad foods". That means avoiding sugary snacks and fatty foods and sticking to a low-fat, low-sugar diet. But the reason so many diets fail is because we create that list of forbidden food in the first place. We're human. And that means, generally speaking, if something is forbidden we want it even more.

But just look at the dietary make-up of an average block of milk chocolate. One square has 27 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. One row has 132 calories and 7.5 grams of fat. Neither of those are going to do too much damage to your diet. However, if you're going to eat the whole block - that's 1,320 calories and 75 grams of fat. Now that's diet-busting stuff.

So, if the key to a successful weight-loss programme means eating healthily, cutting down on fat and sugar and allowing ourselves little treats here and there, how do we draw the line under what starts out as a little treat and ends up as a major chocolate blow-out? Well, let's go back to how we eat.

If you eat without really tasting or appreciating your food, you are robbing your senses of real and necessary pleasure. Your stomach may be full but your senses are starving. So you'll keep on eating. You won't stop at just that one square of chocolate, you'll keep going until it's all gone. And even then you won't feel satisfied. You'll keep eating to fill a black hole without ever realising the black hole exists.

It's not just about eating and losing weight, either. Being fully conscious, with no distractions, whatever you're doing, gives your senses a chance to be fully satisfied, to feel fully alive.

So - some tips to help you fully appreciate your food if you're currently trying to lose weight and struggling:

1. Sit down to eat. 


2. Don't have any other distractions - don't watch TV, read a newspaper, talk on the phone, work at your computer.


3. Eat slowly. If you eat a sandwich in 3 minutes flat you won't give your brain a chance to register whether you're full or not. Give your body and your brain time to catch up with your mouth!


4. Fully taste and experience the texture and sensation of every bite of your food.


5. If you're going to eat chocolate, enjoy it!


Best wishes,


Dawn