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A diet plan built on dark chocolate

Carin Lan, Times Union
Published 2:37 pm, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
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Are those Valentine's chocolates calling your name?

Don't be shy, go ahead and have a piece. Really.

Eating them before and after meals comes highly recommended by Will Clower, author of "Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight."

Clower's book outlines an eight-week plan that will help you lose up to 20 pounds in eight weeks, reduce food cravings, increase your metabolism, improve your dental health and blood pressure by eating chocolate. The more consistently you eat it, the better your results.

What's the catch?

You have to eat the "weight loss" chocolate, meaning a solid, dark chocolate, 70 percent cocoa or higher, while avoiding the "weight gain" chocolate, which is lower in cocoa and higher in sugar, says Cower.

Q: Most people blame chocolate for their weight gain, diabetes, acne, mood swings and cavities. You say it can help all of these things. How?

A: The data shows that it is not the volume of chocolate that is associated with weight loss, but consistent consumption. This is true for weight loss, for reduction in anxiety, improvement of mood, of skin health, of heart health, of insulin sensitivity for diabetics, for blood pressure control, and for increased energy. By having a little every day, in association with your meals, you can expect to control your calorie consumption, reduce cravings for between-meal snacks, and even solve the clean-your-plate-problem.

Q: You call it getting your "Vitamin CH." How much, and how often, should we be eating chocolate?

A: The amount you should have is a function of the amount of cocoa in the chocolate. The more cocoa there is in your chocolate (as you move from 60 percent cocoa chocolate, to 70, to 85, etc.), the more of it you get to have. We have a schedule listing of what these values are in the book.

As for how often, the best way is to eat it with your meals. We have something called "the ender," which is a couple of pieces of high-cocoa chocolate 5 minutes after your meal, and "the starter" is a piece about 30 minutes prior to ... lunch or dinner.

Q: What types, brands of dark chocolate are you suggesting we eat to get these results? What should we look for on the labels?

A: If the label does not list the percentage of cocoa it contains, get something else, because you don't know how much, if any, of the good stuff that product contains. If you read the ingredients label and see lecithin that's okay, but "artificial" anything, get something else.

Q: Do you eat dark chocolate as you suggest in your book? What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy it?

A: I don't have a sweet tooth, so I'm not attracted to super sweetened chocolate candies. I love to make my own chocolate peanut butter pieces. I take a thumb-bite-sized piece of my 85 percent cocoa and dip it into my all natural peanut butter. Those two tastes truly do taste great together. I love my chocolate pudding and I like to flavor it with whatever I have a whim for at the time: baileys, vanilla, coffee, chambourd — there's no end to the possibilities!

clane@timesunion.com 518-454-5436 @tiredorinspired http://blog.timesunion.com/healthylife http://facebook.com/carinlane.healthylife

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