Is chomping on chocolate a healthy option for weight loss? Surprisingly, the answer is yes! Eating chocolate could actually help you stay in shape, especially if you have been struggling in keeping yourself away from it. But here's a catch - your chocolate should have higher percentage of cocoa (>70%) and less amount of sugar, and only then it is fit to be added to your weight loss diet. If you add more sugar and milk to your chocolate and reduce the percentage of cocoa - like the one we usually eat when we crave for chocolates - then you are definitely getting more calories than you asked for.
Out of all the healthy snack food options, dark chocolate stands at the top of our list. However, we usually mix up with the ideal cocoa ratio of dark chocolate, or even if we maintain the right cocoa ratio, we end up adding more sugar to it, in order to overcome its bitterness.
(Also Read: Top 6 Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate)
Hundred grams of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) contains around 9 grams of fibre.
Dark chocolate is known to decrease body fat. If findings of a study, published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, are to be believed then eating dark chocolate helps lower blood sugar level, improve fat metabolism and increase energy. Moreover, dark chocolate contains good amount of fibre, which keeps us full for long and controls our appetite. Hundred grams of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) contains around 9 grams of fibre. Of course, there are other foods like spinach, guava and oats that will always top the list when it comes to high fibre content. However, when we talk about sweets, picking a dark chocolate over donuts, macarons or pie is always a better option.
(Also Read: Chocolate Therapy: 6 Ways to Use Chocolate For Good Skin)
Treating yourself with sweet delights occasionally could help keep those cravings in check and allow you to follow your weight loss diet more effectively.
Eating between your meals is not a bad thing. Snacking fuels us until we eat our next meal; moreover, it is an ideal way to include other food groups to our diet that we miss out in our other meals. Indulging in your cravings is not as bad as we think, if it is done thoughtfully and in moderation, of course. Treating yourself with sweet delights occasionally could help keep those cravings in check and allow you to follow your weight loss diet more effectively. With most weight loss plans, we usually cut down on sweets and sugary foods, but chomping on dark chocolate each day may help prevent us from reaching for something higher in sugar and with zero nutritional value.
But, this does not mean that you can eat an entire chocolate in one go; eat a few chocolate pieces, or sip on a chocolate protein shake. Better still, make your own homemade chocolate hazelnut protein shake. Having a little taste of something sweet in a healthy way will keep you satisfied.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
About Shubham BhatnagarYou can often find Shubham at a small authentic Chinese or Italian restaurant sampling exotic foods and sipping a glass of wine, but he will wolf down a plate of piping hot samosas with equal gusto. However, his love for homemade food trumps all.