24 February 2009

40 Days and 40 Nights

I don't see many movies that I give a score of under 6/10 on IMDb, although of those rated 5/10 or under, a high proportion of them are films I saw on a plane or on TV late at night when I had insomnia and a TV. Even taking into consideration the fact that Josh Hartnett (an erstwhile crush of mine) was in it, 40 Days and 40 Nights only got 5/10; I should add that his presence in the film gave it an extra point only because I thought he was hot then, not because I thought he was a good actor.

Perhaps, then, if I really wanted to practise the art of self-discipline, I should give up watching films I know I will enjoy, for Lent, and torture myself with Josh Hartnett's back catalogue (OK, Sin City was great but not because of him). Instead, I am going to deny myself chocolate from tomorrow morning until April 12th for no reason other than the fact that I felt like a challenge, given that it's been about a year since I successfully went cold turkey on nail biting. Posting on here makes my renunciation of all things cacao more official, of course, no matter how few people actually read this. The only exception will be chocolate powder on the top of a cappuccino if I've forgotten to tell the barista not to add any, firstly because I don't like having chocolate on my caps anyway (there is to be no mixing of chocolate and coffee in the Bex canon) and secondly, because I refuse to waste a good cappuccino simply because it has been tarnished by the incompetence of the barista. However, the ban will include (although is not limited to): chocolate cakes, chocolate brownies, chocolate ice-cream, chocolate milkshakes, those yummy little M&S chocolate-flavoured mini meringues with chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, pains au chocolat, chocolate mousse, Nutella, weird savoury Mexican dishes that involve chocolate, and the gorgeous pralinĂ© macaroons from Paul, which aren't, as I first assumed, just hazelnut but chocolate-and-hazelnut.

Of course, most of the time I don't consume any of the above. For me, a small chocolate bar a day keeps the doctor--and my sweet tooth--at bay and on the rare occasions that I go out for a nice meal, I will usually have a pudding and it will usually be chocolate-based. I can't really remember when I acquired my chocolate-craving tendencies. 

Now, though, I have removed all chocolate from the house, including the Green & Black dark chocolate bar (which is probably a waste as I don't really like dark chocolate very much; I definitely don't crave it) and provided myself with a few sweet, non-chocolate alternatives, like Wine Gums and a flapjack (I'm so tempted to order a Meg Rivers traybake). At the moment, though, I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to make it until April 12th; 4 p.m. is usually my flagging time (especially as it's really too late to brew another pot of coffee) but I've stashed some blueberry flavoured Nutrigrains in my desk at work so that I can raid it should I need to.

Maybe I'll even find that I don't miss chocolate at all or that I no longer crave it in the same way post-Lent. I seriously doubt it though.

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