What happens when you stop eating chocolate?

You may feel distraught - like your favorite teddy bear has been taken from you. Or you may feel extreme anger when there just isn't enough sugar to keep you happy throughout the day.

But WHY? Why would you ever give up this beautiful piece of deliciousness? For some, it's a choice. For others, it's a health reason. Whatever your reason is, I stand by you sista.

Giving up chocolate is a major roller coaster. You experience some of the world's biggest thrills when you get tempted, and you hit the lowest of lows when you have that midnight craving but know you can't. In my experience, four stages happen when you stop eating chocolate.

The first week: You got this. You have this air of confidence that you can get through this difficult time and adapt to the world of no chocolate. See that chocolate milkshake on the menu? No problem, you can ignore it order the vanilla instead. One week without chocolate so far isn't so bad!

The third week: You miss it. You crave it. You want it. You feel the urge to sneak even just a tiny piece of that 80% dark chocolate bar after a long night of studying. Something sweet to nibble on will definitely get you blood pumping and stay up for another three hours. Your mind is telling you no, but your body is telling you yes. So you sneak to the pantry to chip off that small piece of chocolate. Right when you put it in your mouth, you sense an uncontrollable force holding you back. Congratulations, you have just experienced self-control.

Two months: You're still alive. Making it to two months means that you have the endurance and the perseverance to resist temptation. At this point, you may feel a rush of adrenaline when chocolate is dangled in front of you, but you quickly say no. The strength in you has trampled over all temptations.

Three months: At this point in time, you've gotten used to life without chocolate. You start losing the memory of what chocolate tastes like; thus, you don't have the desire anymore. Sure, you see the chocolate cookies at the bakery or Ben & Jerry's snickerdoodle ice-cream on aisle 12 at Ralphs - but you're able to easily walk past all that without feeling any kind of longing. Your desire for chocolate is gone.

** Personal Experience **

I stopped eating chocolate five months ago and the results were extremely clear. Chocolate was the root of my acne. The four stages I just described clearly depicted my experience trying to void myself of chocolate. I have been struggling with acne since middle school and when my dermatologist first told me that chocolate was one of the main reasons causing the breakouts, I dropped to the ground. Literally. I enjoyed eating brownies, cookie dough ice-cream, chocolate cookies, so much that I thought I would suffer from depression without it. However, for my acne and self-confidence, I made the ultimatum to never eating chocolate again, not even one chocolate chip.

The first physical result I saw over the course of two months was that my skin really did clear up. Sure, I would get the typical hormonal acne but two weeks after that, it's clear skin. To sum it up, having clear skin is the main driver of why I decided to quit chocolate. You can for sure have other reasons to quit, but just remember, it is a long term commitment.