Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Chatter > Ladies Lounge


View Poll Results: How often do you eat chocolate?
EVERY DAY! Can't live without my chocolate fix! 12 25.53%
Two or more times a week- eating it when I want something sweet 13 27.66%
Two or more times a month- I like it, but like other things as well 17 36.17%
Two or three times a year- I'm just not that big into chocolate 4 8.51%
Never- I hate the stuff/ am allergic to it 1 2.13%
Voters: 47. You may not vote on this poll

 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 05-05-2006, 08:24 PM   #1 (permalink)
hoarding all the big girl panties since 2005
 
Sage's Avatar
 
Location: North side
Chocolate

Martel and I had a discussion a month ago today about chocolate and its effects on people in general, especially women's tendiency to go batshit over anything chocolate related. Chocolate has a psychoactive substance in it, several actually, that affect mood, attitude, etc (www.chocolate.org). So we had this big long disucssion over dinner about chocolate's effects on people in general, how there were lots of people out there who might even be "addicted to chocolate" in the same way one can be "addicted to caffeine." So, we did an expirement- I was to not eat chocolate for a month.

My first response when he suggested this was "OMG no way!" at which point he said "well, If someone said 'OK, you can't eat corn for a month' you probably wouldn't care, so why care about eating chocolate?" Point taken. So, I have not eaten chocolate for a month, and you know what? I don't miss it at all. I mean, sure, chocolate tastes good, but a month ago I was all "OMG CHOCOLATE GIMME GIMME GIMME" and now I really would rather expand my tastebuds by eating something else.

So why, if I now am so impartial to chocolate, was I so wound up about it? Was it because of the substances in chocolate? Or perhaps because all chocolate anything is marketed to women, wrapped up in a little package of "chocolate makes you feel good, chocolate is what you should eat because you're PMSing, etc etc"? I, for one, think that marketing had a LOT to do with my attitude towards eating chocolate, especially with my insistance on having chocolate every day around my period. Do any of y'all have a major chocolate bone? Have you ever thought about *why* you have it? Perhaps tried to do without chocolate for a while? Why, as women, are we so fixated on chocolate?
__________________
Sage knows our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's
She answers hard acrostics, has a pretty taste for paradox
She quotes in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus
In conics she can floor peculiarities parabolous
-C'hi
Sage is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 01:59 AM   #2 (permalink)
Leaning against the -Sun-
 
little_tippler's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: on the other side
When I was in my pre-teens, I had chocolate every day. I loved it. Then I developed into loving other things also and didn't eat it as much. I have phases now. Sometimes I just have to have chocolate, every day. It tastes so yummy, I don't see why not. It's not like I eat tons of it each time. But if there's chocolate in the house I'll be going through it slowly but surely till it's gone. Then when it runs out, often I won't go and buy more straight away. So then I'll have a phase without chocolate. I don't think it's an addiction...because I can go without for extended periods of time. I don't go for the marketing of it - I know which chocolates I like and taste best and I choose those.

Some of my favourites:

Leone Gianduiotti - this is a heavenly hazelnut chocolate from an excellent old fashioned chocolatier - and when I mean heavenly, I'm not kidding!

Droste milk chocolate pastilles - melt in your mouth

Ferrero Rocher - they're fun to eat in layers (i.e. coating, biscuit then centre)

Raffaello - from Ferrero also and yummy if you like coconut and almonds mixed - very light and delicate but also heavenly

Lindt milk chocolate bar - also great chocolate brand

Maltesers - these are fun and tasty

Twix - love to eat the chocolate and caramel part then nibble on the biscuit!

So, can you tell I like my chocolate?
__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.


Fernando Pessoa, 1918
little_tippler is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 07:14 AM   #3 (permalink)
Addict
 
I never eat chocolate bars and usually only eat chocolate (chunks of chocolate) at Christmas and Easter. But ice cream? Everyday and every flavor.
percy is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 07:25 AM   #4 (permalink)
...is a comical chap
 
Grasshopper Green's Avatar
 
Location: Where morons reign supreme
I go through chocolate phases. I might eat some several times a week, and then go several weeks without eating any. I *do* tend to crave it more during my PMS/cycle though. I like sweets, but I've always like fruity sweets (starburst jellybeans are one of my favorites) more than chocolate.
__________________
"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa
Grasshopper Green is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 07:27 AM   #5 (permalink)
Une petite chou
 
noodle's Avatar
 
Location: With All Your Base
Chocolate really doesn't do much for me. I really dislike the overly smooth expensive stuff and the cheapie, grainy crap. Give me a plain or almond Hershey's or an Almond Joy and that's about it. Maybe some Kisses or M&Ms if they're already around. I don't reach for it when I'm stressed or anything and, truth be told--yes, I only eat it during or around my cycle. So there might be something there, but I only end up grabbing it in the supermarket checkout line, I don't seek it out. And that's only four times a year, anyway. But I do have friends that literally have withdrawal symptoms from chocolate if they don't get it daily.
__________________
Here's how life works: you either get to ask for an apology or you get to shoot people. Not both. House

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plan9
Just realize that you're armed with smart but heavily outnumbered.
The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand
noodle is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 08:12 AM   #6 (permalink)
peekaboo
 
ngdawg's Avatar
 
Location: on the back, bitch
Kitkats
Hershey milk Chocolate bars-king size of course
Hershey kisses
M&M's at work
Chocolate creme Oreos
Entenmann's chocolate frosted donuts
Edy's Cherry Chocolate Chip ice cream-with Hershey's syrup
Turkey Hill fudge ripple ice cream-with Hershey's syrup
Any chocolate covered caramels
Any chocolate covered cherries
Godiva truffles
Fudge brownies

CVS had their easter candy at 90% off and had a lot of it left, including Russell Stover solid milk chocolate bunnies....you can guess how many I bought at 9c, 13c and 25c sizes.
Chocolate is a major food group and I will beat anyone who says otherwise!
__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.
ngdawg is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 08:17 AM   #7 (permalink)
Kick Ass Kunoichi
 
snowy's Avatar
 
Location: Oregon
I think I'd probably die without chocolate.

I eat it in so many different ways. My favorite way is probably in truffle form. A good ganache makes me weak in the knees.

You better believe I always keep good chocolate on hand for my purposes, be it eating it plain or making it into candy, cookies, or cakes. I'll settle for something like a Hersheys bar when I'm desperate for a fix, but I generally prefer these gourmet chocolate bars sold with varying cacao percentages that I can find at my local grocery store.

This is going to be my Christmas present to myself next year: http://www.scharffenberger.com/products.asp?dept=5
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
snowy is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 08:38 AM   #8 (permalink)
Cosmically Curious
 
onodrim's Avatar
 
Location: Chicago, IL
I think it's all about the marketing personally. In junior high and early high school I definently had that attitude of "I need chocolate now, I'm having my period, etc," because that's what I was suppsoed to think right? Once I hit college and had to pay for my own food, most extra things like chocolate were out of the budget. Honestly, I really don't miss it at all. Yes, chocolate is delicious and when I can have it it's great. But there are plenty of other things to eat, and I don't feel like I can't get through the month without a required chocolate dose.
__________________
"The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides"
-Carl Sagan
onodrim is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 12:56 PM   #9 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Location: LI,NY
The title of this thread alone is making we want some. I am a chocoholic, and there is no denying it. I have chocolate in some form every day, whether it is my Weight Watchers 1 point cake or a real piece of candy. Some days are worse than others, at least the cravings are worse.
__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras
Meditrina is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 05:17 PM   #10 (permalink)
peekaboo
 
ngdawg's Avatar
 
Location: on the back, bitch
Cupcakes
Crunch-covered Good Humor bars
Pudding
Girl Scouts thin mints
Mousse
Layer cakes
Liquer

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.
ngdawg is offline  
Old 05-06-2006, 05:22 PM   #11 (permalink)
Filling the Void.
 
la petite moi's Avatar
 
Location: California
I must say, dark chocolate with a cup of tea is delicious. I also love the chocolate mousse recipe I've come up with while working at Starbucks.
la petite moi is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 06:34 AM   #12 (permalink)
I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot!
 
raeanna74's Avatar
 
Location: Upper Michigan
I must clarify exactly what KIND of chocolate that I eat probably every other day.

I DON'T eat Milk chocolate often. In fact I usually eat it as a last resort when I'm in dire need of a chocolate fix and there is no other chocolate available. I eat dark or unsweetened chocolate regularly. I would rather eat unsweetened baking chocolate than eat Milk chocolate. I actually LIKE baking chocolate.
My daughter is the same way. When she was two she snuck into my cupboard with all the candy sprinkles and junk in there and what did she get to eat? The baking chocolate not the sprinkles, or hard candies.
__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.
raeanna74 is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 10:19 AM   #13 (permalink)
hoarding all the big girl panties since 2005
 
Sage's Avatar
 
Location: North side
This is a good start, but I was really interested in WHY people say they're "in love with chocolate." I mean, there's no other food that I can think of that people go crazy over the way some people do with chocolate. "I have to eat it every day" "It'd heavenly" and using words like sinful, decadent, etc to describe chocolate... well, it's wierd. Why do people react that way to chocolate? Is it because they really, truly NEED chocolate in some form, or is it because of marketing?
__________________
Sage knows our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's
She answers hard acrostics, has a pretty taste for paradox
She quotes in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus
In conics she can floor peculiarities parabolous
-C'hi
Sage is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 10:37 AM   #14 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Moderator Emeritus
Location: Chicago
Don't like chocolate... way too sweet for me...


Cheese however, I would have every day in pretty much any form... the creaminess and the richness of it... oOOOOOH it's good... Cheese (and Imean good cheese, not grocery store waxy cheddar, or mozarella that bounces like a rubber ball) is decadent, and sinful and incredibly good... Gimme that over chocolate any day...
__________________
Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.
maleficent is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 10:55 AM   #15 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Location: LI,NY
Why do I eat chocolate? Because it calms my nerves, soothes my soul and just tastes good. There are studies out there on the internet that show that chocolate contains chemicals that can improve your mood. Here is one link that I found, I am sure there are much more.

Chocolate Cravings

Quote:
Substances found in chocolate, such as phenylethylamine, theobromine, anandamide and tryptophan trigger mood enhancing chemicals and neurotransmitters to be released in the brain. Phenylethylamine is a chemical found in the body that is similar to amphetamine. It helps mediate feelings of giddiness, attraction, euphoria and excitement. Researchers believe phenylethylamine causes the brain to release mesolimbic dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain, which peaks during an orgasm. This may be why women report to prefer chocolate to sex. However, tests have shown that most of the phenylethylamine in chocolate is broken down before it reaches the brain. So, the amount of phenylethylamine that actually reaches the brain is unknown
Quote:
chocolate also contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid, which plays a role in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is a calming neurotransmitter that makes people feel relaxed and satisfied and is essential for a well-balanced mood. Many people eat chocolate to relieve anxiety, but is unlikely that tryptophan is solely responsible for chocolate cravings or a chocolate addiction because it can be obtained from other food sources, such as carbohydrates, as well
__________________
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." ~Alex Karras
Meditrina is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 11:29 AM   #16 (permalink)
Falling Angel
 
Sultana's Avatar
 
Location: L.A. L.A. land
I like dark chocolate best, followed by milk. Do Not like white chocolate at all.

I love to indulge in a deep red wine with a dark choc. bite/chaser. Don't do that real often though. Like snowy, I adore the truffle.

Used to work at See's Candies. It's a good, mid-level chocolate, and it's there that I learned it's better to have 1-2 bites of quality choc. rather than an entire bar of not quality.

Oh yeah--choc *does* make me feel better nearly instantly during "that time." I know it's not logical (I feel better way before I can possibly have digested it), but I'll take whatever help I can get, don't argue with it!
__________________
"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening


My goal? To fulfill my potential.

Last edited by Sultana; 05-07-2006 at 11:33 AM..
Sultana is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 12:31 PM   #17 (permalink)
I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot!
 
raeanna74's Avatar
 
Location: Upper Michigan
Dark chocolate has actually helped me a little when I'm in the middle of a migrane.
__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.
raeanna74 is offline  
Old 05-07-2006, 02:51 PM   #18 (permalink)
Upright
 
oh i would definately die without chocolate, i did give it up for lent though, that was tough

my absolute favorite are the "mint chocolate meltaways" by worldsfinestchocolate.com

mm absolutely to die for
__________________
this is me, i'm lil fle
lilfle is offline  
Old 05-08-2006, 05:43 PM   #19 (permalink)
Upright
 
Location: northern cal
I consider chocolate to be a food, its not a treat its just part of a good, healthy diet.
lazygirl is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 02:51 AM   #20 (permalink)
Addict
 
Heh,..so much for Christmas and Easter. A girlfriend of mine just got back from England and gave me a little box of Leonidas Belgian chocolates. Never heard of them before but they were good,...all of 'em.
percy is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 04:51 AM   #21 (permalink)
Leaning against the -Sun-
 
little_tippler's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: on the other side
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sage
This is a good start, but I was really interested in WHY people say they're "in love with chocolate." I mean, there's no other food that I can think of that people go crazy over the way some people do with chocolate. "I have to eat it every day" "It'd heavenly" and using words like sinful, decadent, etc to describe chocolate... well, it's wierd. Why do people react that way to chocolate? Is it because they really, truly NEED chocolate in some form, or is it because of marketing?

I think in my first post I answered your question, but let me expand on that.

Like I said, marketing of the product is not what sways me, I know what I like and I go for that regardless of the packaging or advertising to go with it.

Why do we use such powerful adjectives to describe what is essencially food? Well I can describe other foods as heavenly and sinful etc. I think partly the decadent and sinful bit relate to it's high calorie content, or richness. It's full of flavour and possibly fat (depending on the chocolate). This can apply to other foods also.

If you love food like me, you'd regularly be using strong adjective to describe food that tastes particularly good. I think in the case of these particularly yummy foods, the element of heavenly and sinful also can mean that they bring us pleasure. Ok it's not sex but it's obviously triggering similar things in our bodies or brains - and chocolate is probably hitting the spot better than most foods (pun intended )

I think there is probably a relation between eating and sex and other pleasing things like this because they are the basic "needs" or "wants" for most people. You know, if we talk cave man times, lots of sex meant lots of offspring, lots of rich high calorie food meant better survival and better ability to survive long periods of time with no food, yadda yadda.

Hope this better answers your question. All of the above is why I feel that it is appropriate to say I love chocolate.

I do agree though that many people are swayed by marketing, but it's not my case - at least as far as I can tell.
__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.


Fernando Pessoa, 1918
little_tippler is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 05:17 AM   #22 (permalink)
Submit to me, you know you want to
 
ShaniFaye's Avatar
 
Location: Lilburn, Ga
I can take it or leave it, during my period I do "crave" reeses peanutbutter cups though lol, its got dave going to the convenience store about 11 at nite sometimes cause I REALLY crave them, but other than that one day once a month, if its around great, if its not thats ok too
__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!
ShaniFaye is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 05:18 AM   #23 (permalink)
I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot!
 
raeanna74's Avatar
 
Location: Upper Michigan
To attempt answer the why I love chocolate question...
Good dark chocolate has this smooth, slightly bitter, warm taste. It slides on your tounge and simply melts. It has caffeine and so gives me a small pick-up and helps me deal with migranes. Dark chocolate is lower in sugar so I don't end up crashing a few hours later after the sugar drains my energy.

It goes good with some wine, It's great with milk, I love hot chocolate, it goes on cake, you can make it into a pie, it goes good with almost any fruit or nut. For me, just one bite of chocolate can satisfy a sweet tooth craving that would take a whole bag of spice drops to satisfy.

As for the chemistry that causes people to love it so much - I think it's more a mental taste for it than a physical need. I could drink coffee, or tea and get the antioxidents and caffeine that I can get in chocolate. There are other chemical ingredients that affect hormones in your body but just one bite of chocolate shouldn't in theory have that large of an effect. For me it's just a food that I love the taste of and that I mentally see as an indulgence for me that isn't bad for me. How much better can you make it?
__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.
raeanna74 is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 06:26 AM   #24 (permalink)
My future is coming on
 
lurkette's Avatar
 
Moderator Emeritus
Location: east of the sun and west of the moon
There are times when I could do without chocolate, but in general I have just a little every day. I used to be a milk chocolate fan, but now I've gone over to the dark side. It's better for you, it tastes heavenly, and I find that just a little does the trick. There was a time when I was addicted - the cravings were so serious that I would cry if I couldn't find chocolate. Turns out there was an actual hormonal reason, and once I changed my bc and my diet, chocolate became more of a recreational drug and not a fix I loooooove some good dark chocolate with almonds, or the Green and Black currant one.
__________________
"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France
lurkette is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 08:24 AM   #25 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Omaha, NE
I go through stages when I crave something chocolate. Usually Godiva, a Symphony bar, or those little Italian chocolate mint sticks... It doesn't happen monthly and doesn't seem to be related to hormones at all for me. It's more like every three months or so. I'm not sure why I want it when I do, but I've found that I actually consume LESS calories and make healthier choices if I give in (in small amounts) to my cravings when I have them. Which means a bag of hot fries every 4-6 months, and chocolate a little more frequently.
__________________
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.
--Douglas Adams
ClostGoth is offline  
Old 05-09-2006, 11:01 AM   #26 (permalink)
Kick Ass Kunoichi
 
snowy's Avatar
 
Location: Oregon
Oh, another favorite chocolate fix: chocolate-dipped biscotti.

Mmm, biscotti.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
snowy is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 05:21 AM   #27 (permalink)
Crazy
 
i need my chocolate fix every afternoon!
i'm trying to break the habit and replace my cravings with fruits, but it's hard...!
taboo is offline  
 

Tags
chocolate

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:33 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360