1fatgirlthin

Part of loving yourself more this month is finding those things that you enjoy and that are also good for you. Two loves of my life, not withstanding my husband and children, involve chocolate. That is, our chocolate labrador retriever, Ginny and dark chocolate. They both make me happy and they are good for me. There is nothing better in my book.

Ginny is our nine year old chocolate lab and is one of the loves of my life. It is a known fact that pets garner many health benefits. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) pets offer the following benefits.

Pets can decrease your: Blood pressure, Cholesterol levels, Triglyceride levels, and Feelings of loneliness

Pets can increase your: Opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities and Opportunities for socialization.

Ginny has many friends in the neighborhood so there is always a walk to go on, a play date at the local forest preserve or a doggy birthday party to attend. If there is not something scheduled I get the evil eye from her in the afternoon until we go out for our daily walk. She is always there to greet me with a friendly wag of the tail and lick on the hand or face if she can catch me distracted which she likes to do on occasion.Her favorite things to do are swim, fish and play. I spoil her quite often but this month I have made a conscious effort to plan more play dates, take her on more walks, and dole out a few more special treats. If you don’t have a pet, go visit a friend that has one or call your local shelter and see if they need volunteers. Here is a picture of my first chocolate love. 

Ginny at the lake

My other chocolate love is dark chocolate and one of my favorite purveyors right now is Taza chocolates  (http://www.tazachocolate.com/).  My favorites are the Mi Corazon(rose and vanilla), the dark chocolate covered cacao nibs, dark chocolate with cinnamon, and dark chocolate with ginger. I realized with this new lifestyle of mine that I still wanted to have some special treats and a lot of times that involves chocolate. However, if I am going to have a treat I am going to make sure it is something really good. A friend of ours sent us a sampler pack from Taza Chocolates over the holidays and we have never looked back. Their story begins at the Taza Chocolate Factory in Somerville, Mass, where they craft stone ground chocolate from bean to bar (get the rest of the story at their website). You can definitely taste the love. Not only is it delicious but there are many health benefits as well. It acts as an antioxidant and can help lower blood pressure, improve heart health, and make us a little happier. The thing I like too about good dark chocolate is I don’t get the triggers that I get with a lot of candy. One small piece and I feel satisfied. Moderation is definitely the key. So tomorrow is Valentine’s Day which is a good excuse to go out and get yourself a nice “healthy” chocolate treat. I’m not sure if you can find the Taza chocolate near you(you can always order it on line which is what I do) but check out your local candy shop and buy a small amount of your favorite “dark” chocolate and Enjoy! No guilt. I know I will.

Current Weight: 131.6  I stayed exactly the same last week. Maybe I am getting the hang of this maintenance thing. Thanks to all for your support.