It’s your very own stash, a hidden treasure trove of delightful, sinfully sweet morsels of chocolate that satisfy the sweetest of sweet tooths (or should I say sweet teeth?). For a while now, you haven’t pilfered through that decadent bag of goodies, but due to increased stress at home and an above-average workload, the once overflowing chocolate bonanza is now down to a few fun size Mr. Goodbars and a handful of holiday-themed Hershey’s Kisses leftover from last year’s office Christmas party.

How does one control their chocolate cravings?

Well, besides the most obvious of options – dispensing with the chocolate cache so as to avoid the tasty temptations when they arise – a new study suggests that walking for as little as 15 minutes can do a lot to cast off “choco-challenges.”

To test this, 25 self-admitted chocoholics were given their own “choco-challenge” by a group of British researchers from the University of Exeter – going cold turkey on their favorite sweet treat for an extended period of time so as to induce cravings. They were then asked to do one of two things: take a brisk walk for 15 minutes or to sit and rest.

The participants were then given what they’d long desired as large chocolate bars were laid before them, a tin-foiled wrapper the only thing between them and heavenly chocolate decadence.

The researchers report that those who exercised were far less tempted to indulge immediately after their 15-minute jaunt, and that these feelings began for the participants during their respective walks. The researchers say this is the first time exercise and diminished chocolate cravings have been linked. Up to now, the only thing linked to exercise with respect to diminished cravings was nicotine. Now, researchers have a better idea of what parts of the brain are satisfied through exercise, potentially paving the way for people to overcome their chocolate cravings when they arise.

The study is published in the journal – appropriately enough – Appetite.

Simply put, walking – or any kind of exercise – takes the mind off of the craving and focuses the mind on the task at hand. Indulging a chocolate craving every once in a while is not going to hurt you, but the problem with cravings is that they become a slippery slope from an every-once-in-a-while occurrence to a regular, everyday indulgence that isn’t satisfied with one Hershey’s Kiss or one peanut M&M.

I’ve written a lot about chocolate in the past, about how it improves the mood and has a host of antioxidants. But those articles have been in reference to dark chocolate, not the kind of chocolate one typically finds at the bottom of their stockings on Christmas morning. And those articles are about supplementing one’s diet with chocolate, so long as said chocolate is not eaten in great amounts.

Food cravings can be caved into now and then, so long as they’re controlled and can be limited. But if you feel as though cravings are taking control, get out of the house, get out of the office and onto a treadmill or sidewalk…it may be just the trick to beating those chocolate cravings once and for all.