Everyday Systems

I've read on several check-ins that people have had hot cocoa during the week and termed it a success. Is that a mod or is it allowed on vanilla No S?

I'm a major chocoholic, so that would definately be nice!! However, knowing me, I would end up following the hot chocolate with another chocolate treat......and then another....,so maybe not the best idea for me.....

Personally, I consider it a sweet. But its really up to the individual to figure out what's best for them and how these things will work out for them. If it might lead you to other treats, I'd strongly suggest staying away from it during the week.

Julie

I consider hot chocolate to be vanilla No S. It's wonderful for knocking out my hunger pangs, and thereby significantly reduces my overall intake of calories during the day. It's helped me to effortlessly lose about 15 pounds over the past three months. But do whatever works for you.

As a side note, I have noticed that my need for hot chocolate between meals is tapering off - the digestion process appears to be slowly adapting to my new eating habits. Whereas for the first month or so I always had a hot chocolate between breakfast and lunch, nowadays I often have no desire for anything between meals.

To me, it's a sweet. Now a spoonful of hot cocoa mix in a cup of coffee is not since that is just sweetened.

I'd call it a sweet, absolutely. I wouldn't consider having it on an N-day.

But... I drink cafe au lait (CaL), which is coffee with hot milk and (for me) a teaspoon of sugar. Not all that different, really.

What I do is apply "glass ceiling" rules to my CaL. Only two per day, with an optional 3rd IF there are extenuating circumstances (cold in winter, tired, etc.). If I have the 3rd, then I usually don't have a glass of wine in the evening - it's either/or.

You can see from the responses that everyone has to figure out what their own rules are, with unflinching honesty, and then keep those rules strictly. The decision process has to address not just "how bad is this one particular item" but "how will this affect my habits?" Bottom line: Your Mileage May Vary on any given item.

If hot choc is a "trigger" for you, or something you'd drink tons of, then I'd advise treating it as an S. If it's something you can have once a day and it will keep you from going nuts, go for it.

Technically, if you want to go by the No S book -- pages 76-77 -- hot chocolate is a sweet ... Although drinking unsweetened Aztec cocoa is fine.

I know that some folks drink hot chocolate on N Days with success and ultimately each individual has to decide what works for themselves ... Personally, chocolate is my major weakness and I know from trial and error that it would be a slippery slope for me. Plus, hot chocolate --unless it is the really good stuff -- doesn't make the top list of my favorite treats anyway. So I wait until the weekend and indulge in chocolate-- the stuff I really want -- then.

I don't consider hot chocolate a sweet for me (I'll occasionally have some on an N day), but I do consider juice a sweet (it's S day only).

Backwards? Maybe. But I will not have more than 1 mug of hot chocolate a day. Not because I made a rule about it. Just because I've never (even pre-NoS) felt the need to have more than 1 mug. Juice on the other hand, I can easily down an entire 64oz bottle in an afternoon.

I also know that I struggle a bit to get enough dairy/calcium in my diet. I'm not a fan of plain milk, so chocolate milk or hot chocolate is a good compromise for me.

That said, I started NoS in the summer - so the hot chocolate issue didn't even arise for me until I was several months into the plan. I felt secure enough in the rest of my habits that I wasn't worried about it becoming a slippery slope. But, when I made the decision on whether or not to allow it, I waited until the weekend. It was an N day (Wednesday, I think) and I was thinking how nice hot chocolate would be - but wasn't sure whether to call it a sweet. So I said, "no for now, and I'll think about it over the weekend where I'll be less likely to rationalize about it".

So I did. And ultimately decided that it was no worse than coffee with cream and sugar (which is allowed) in terms of calorie load. And that for me it had several benefits (calcium, warm beverage to enjoy during the occasional coffee break with co-workers since I don't drink coffee) that made it worth it. Plus I was confident enough in myself and knew myself well enough to not worry about a slippery slope on this particular issue.

If I may take the liberty of quoting Reinhard:

Note that it's "no sweets," not "no sugar." This is an important distinction. By sweets I mean something where the PRINCIPAL SOURCE of calories is added sugar: cookies, pop tarts, soft drinks, candy bars, etc.

http://everydaysystems.com/podcast/episode.php?id=3

My hot chocolate has 125 kcal per serving, about 48 of which are from sugar. That's about 38% of to the total - substantial, but by no means the principal source. So while it's sweet-ish, it's not a sweet, at least according to Reinhard's definition.

He goes on to say:

By just targeting the really egregious offenders you'll be cutting out a shocking amount of calories. By not making yourself crazy over borderline cases you'll be that much more likely to stick with the plan.

So if hot chocolate doesn't activate your sweet tooth (which it doesn't for me, I drink it primarily because it cures hunger pangs) go ahead and enjoy a small glass if you're really tempted to snack between meals. It's really helped me to 'stick with the plan'.

I've had hot chocolate the last day or two in the mid-afternoon lull between lunch and dinner that I find quite difficult, and it really stops the hunger pangs. However, the hot chocolate is less than 40 calories per serving so for me it's a viable alternative, calorie wise, to a piece of fruit or something (not as nutritionally beneficial, granted!), and doesn't seem to kick off sugar cravings.

Having a full fat hot chocolate made with real chocolate with a bunch of whipped cream on top I would definitely consider a sweet though!!

Thanks for your replies everyone!

I guess on second thought, I will consider that an S Day treat for me. In the past I have gotten into trouble with bingeing on diet stuff with the mentality that "it's lower calorie and I can", so even the low sugar/cal stuff would probably get me into trouble.

Milky coffee with two teaspoons of cocoa and some stevia has been a nice alternative for 17 months.

If you make hot chocolate such as milk/coca powder and use a little sugar as I think sugar is allowed in coffee so when not in milk...but I'm new an can be wrong. heat up the milk add in the coca and sugar. If I'm wrong sorry.