Who doesn’t love indulging in a delicious piece of chocolate? But for many of us, that guilty feeling soon follows. We worry about the calories, sugar content, and how it might impact our health goals. But what if we told you that you can enjoy chocolate guilt-free and even experience a sense of freedom while doing so?
In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of Eating Chocolate With a Side Serve of Freedom – Not Guilt. We’ll also discuss the potential benefits of consuming chocolate in moderation, such as improved mood and heart health. So go ahead and grab your favorite bar of chocolate – let’s embrace a new way of enjoying this heavenly treat.
It’s nearly Easter time. A religious period for millions of people around the world that holds great significance.
And usually where there are special holidays, celebrations and times of togetherness there is food. A lot of it. Bringing people together to share and enjoy and even feast.
And for Easter we all know the food that most signifies this time of year is…chocolate. (I almost feel like going ‘Ta Da!’)
Eating Chocolate With a Side Serve of Freedom – Not Guilt
Something I have noticed is that as much as chocolate is a well loved food, it’s also a food that for many, carries a lot of emotional weight, pull and baggage. It’s not always a love love relationship. It can be a love mixed feelings relationship. Or even a love hate relationship.
And I think a great deal of that is due to the fact that over time, chocolate has been thrown in the ‘bad’ sin bin category within the unnecessary and dangerous argument of good vs bad food. I’m not going to get into the argument of whether or not some foods have a higher nutritional content and life giving properties than others. That’s an absolute given. Some do. But the labelling of foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ triggers in many people an emotional response that does not help them create a positive and balance relationship with food. Even the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has stated “Classification of certain foods as good or bad is overly simplistic and can foster unhealthy eating behaviours” and “Nutrition messages are more effective when focused on ways to make healthy food choices over time, rather than individual foods to be strictly avoided.” Note the word healthy there (which means different things for different people) rather than ‘good.’ The difference is significant for many reasons, but here’s the one I think most important.
Time and time again I see women equating the eating of so-called ‘bad’ food as quickly translating into them being a ‘bad’ person. I just ate ….. I’m such a pig. The other night I had some ….. and I felt so guilty. I really felt like ….. but then I beat myself up because I know it’s so bad.
It’s a slippery slope that can end up in a tangled mess of guilt induced eating, emotional eating and a wretched and heartbreaking relationship with food. The way back for people who have slid down the slope is varied, but one of the first ways I know is is stopping giving food emotional labels like good or bad and even calling things ‘guilt-free.’ Because let’s get something straight. Guilt is a useless and draining emotion and feeling state that serves little purpose other than to make someone feel bad about themselves. If someone chooses to eat something – anything – they should be able to do so without feeling ANY guilt. It should not be a matter of eat this and feel guilty, or choose THIS because it’s ‘guilt-free’ and that of course means you can be guilt-free too.
So this Easter beautiful you…give yourself full permission to celebrate, come together and enjoy whatever food you like. YOU like. Not what someone else tells you is ok to eat. Hot cross buns with melting butter? Go for it. Spelt hot cross buns with a drizzle of activated honey? Go for it. A Lindt chocolate bunny with a tinkly bell? Go for it. Raw, cacao, vegan easter eggs? Go for it.
Go for it and eat what intuitively feels right for you and your body. And if you listen in to your body and love it hard, it will tell you what feels right. Every single time. And that just might be any of the Easter foods I just mentioned – or something entirely different. For me it means some super dark high antioxidant chocolate that will likely make me more high on life than I usually am. Watch out and Happy Easter.
Indulging in chocolate doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure. By embracing the freedom to enjoy your favorite treat without judgment, you can savor every bite and truly appreciate its rich flavor and texture. It’s important to remember that moderation is key, but there’s no need to feel guilty about treating yourself from time to time. So go ahead, grab a piece of chocolate and enjoy it with a side serve of freedom! If you found this blog helpful, let us know in the comments below how you plan Eating Chocolate With a Side Serve of Freedom – Not Guilt into your life.
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