Curbed Cravings

 

My eyes bulged out of my head last night when I read about the launch of fork that monitors how fast you eat and vibrates when it thinks you need to slow down.

Ok, I would break that in a heart beat.

As the youngest and only girl of two brothers, I learned about the power of fast fork movement at a young age. There are only so many cheese tortellinis in that bowl and I’m going to get seconds if I have to shovel eight of them into my 7 year-old mouth at the same time.

Now, while this RFM (Rapid Fork Movement) paid off as my bones were still growing, it’s not a skill I boast about at my current age. There’s nothing quite like being out on a date and finishing your burger and fries well before he’s conquered the first half of his plate.

But I think what’s worse is that it takes your stomach a solid 20-30 minutes to realize that it’s full. So, if you’re finishing your first helping within 5-7 minutes, you still have another 10-15 to stuff in two or three more servings before your button bursts.

While I usually prefer a second round of mashed potatoes over a piece of pie, there’s a certain time of the month (hey ladies!) when nothing  sounds better than shoveling a jumbo size Snickers bar into my mouth. But with each bite of that gooey chocolatey caramel crunch, so too comes the guilt. Your ovaries may be moaning over your candy bar but your brain is counting the calories, promising to take your body to two spinning classes tomorrow.

I really try to avoid this mental menstrual breakdown as I realize that it not only makes me feel like crap but it also makes me sound like a total psycho. So, what do I do when that sweet craving springs up? I snack on a handful of organic 85% cacao chips, which I store in the freezer for an extra bit of crunch. While cacao is the foundation of chocolate, it’s all the extra sugar and milk that makes chocolate so fattening and zit-inducing. Sweets with a higher percentage of cacao are still very rich but less caloric so you don’t feel like a total slob after you’ve had a few shovels nibbles. Just make sure you don’t reach for the treat when you’re starving because that’s when portion control goes out the window.