Something to be social with...

...CHOCOLATE!!!

I'm going to show you a picture of 2 items.  Then we're going to talk about why one is for sharing and the other one is not. 

Lindt 70% Cocoa Bar and Snickers Almond

The first item is a Lindt 70% Cocoa Bar.  I picked it up at a local grocery store because I thought "Gee.  This is probably lower in sugar, fat, and unnecessary junk.  I'll give it a try."  I got back to work, I flipped it over, and then I almost fell off of my desk chair. 

550 calories  Gasp!
42.5 grams of fat  Eeek! 
27.5 grams of sugar  Oh no! 
6 grams of fiber  What the...

That's it.  I'm done.  I'm supposed to consume a portion of this bar (40 grams of it) and be satisfied?  How about, no.  If you're a weight watcher, then you would consume those 40 grams of 70% cocoa and you would write down 5 points in your tracker.  That's a lot of points for a very little return in my opinion.  If I ate the whole thing, I'd have to journal in 12.5 points for that sucker!  No way Jose! 

So then, I pulled out of my desk drawer a Snickers Almond bar.  The serving size is the whole bar and that in itself is satisfying.  You see, I suffer from what's called "Bottom of the Bag Syndrome" which means I like to finish a bag or a container of something.  I try to portion things out in bags or containers so that I avoid this problem.  I put snacks on a plate or in a bowl to avoid eating a whole back of potato chips or an entire container of chocolate chip cookies. 

So then I start reading the nutritional information for the Snickers Almond Bar. 

230 calories
11 grams of fat
26 grams of sugar
2 grams of fiber

I can eat this whole entire thing for just about the same consequences as eating just one little portion of that other bar.  The bar I thought was healthy?  Pshhh...Snickers Almond wins.  That's just wrong.  It goes against everything you read in magazines and hear from tv doctors.  That's right folks, I can eat an entire Snickers Almond bar for 5 Weight Watchers points, or an entire Lindt 70% cocoa bar for 12.5 Weight Watchers points. 

Well, needless to say:  My advice for you this week is to share a Lindt 70% cocoa bar with a friend (or an enemy!) and try to avoid eating the entire thing.  I think I'm going to walk over and hand the bar to my boss and write the whole thing off as a learning experience. 

Eat happy,

Kipp