Feed Your Chocolate Addiction!

A few years ago, I read a study that was done on the importance of breakfast.  There were two groups of morbidly obese people.  One group ate a huge breakfast (1260 calories, if I remember correctly) and the other group ate a normal breakfast (~1000 calories, again, if I remember correctly, which I think I do, because I remember thinking 1000 calories was a lot for a normal breakfast).  One other important fact: the group with the larger breakfast also included a piece of dark chocolate with breakfast.  To make a long story short, the group that ate the huge breakfast lost significantly more weight over a three month period.  As it turns out, they were less hungry the rest of the day and ate far fewer calories than the smaller breakfast group.  Also, by eating chocolate first thing in the morning (when serotonin levels are high), the people didn't crave it later in the day (when serotonin levels are low and you get a lot of pleasure and a rise in serotonin from eating it).

Well, after reading this, I decided I needed to put the early morning chocolate theory to the test.  I decided to get the same chocolate used in the study, which happened to be the chocolate we discovered when we were in Germany a few years ago--Ritter Sport Bars.

Someone's been nibbling on my chocolate!

This chocolate is incredible.  Not only is it smooth and delightful, it brings back memories of our wunderhubsch trip.

Sitting at an outdoor cafe in Bacharach, Germany

The only problem is that I have to hide this from my husband or it will be gone before I can say auf wiedersehen.  (I have a secret spot in the pantry he has yet to discover.)  The candy bar has lasted two weeks and I have to say, it really does work.  I LOVE chocolate, but in the morning, it really doesn't sound all that good.  I have to choke it down.  The best thing is, I don't have the cravings for it later in the day.  Try it and let me know if it works for you.  Worst case scenario, you'll get to eat chocolate for breakfast.