Moderation? What's That?
There’s a gourmet candy shop right down the street from my office that taunts me every night when I leave work. In the morning, my resolve is strong and I waltz right by w/out drooling in the window (it helps that the shop isn’t open that early). But on my evening walk to the train, I’m tempted every single time to stop in for a massive homemade peanut butter cup. Or a Twinkie drizzled w/ chocolate and sprinkles. Or -my absolute favorite- a chocolate covered Oreo stuffed w/ peanut butter.
On Monday there was a sign tacked on the folding board out front that read “Candy, buy 1 get 2 FREE!” I held out, consoling myself w/ the promise of my (shrinking) supply of Easter candy at home. But Tuesday was my sister’s birthday and she loves chocolate even more than I do (and my Easter candy was gone by then). So it wasn’t a question of if I would buy anything; it was a matter of narrowing it down to three items. I was ready to order and I asked the clerk to confirm that all the candy was buy-one-get-two-free. His next words will haunt me forever: “No, just the Easter candy on that shelf,” with a dismissive point to the shelving unit forlornly to the side with a few pastel colored candies and a lone chocolate bunny. I marched outside to grab the hastily-made sign and prove to the man that he was clearly mistaken. But it wasn’t the sign I had read yesterday. The “Candy, buy 1 get 2 FREE!” was still there in some Times-New Roman print-out, but the words “Easter only” had been scrawled at the bottom.
Instead of being upset (which I am…still), I’m going to try and use this as a wake-up call. My Easter candy was gone w/in two days (and B’s mom had stuffed it full of sweets, so it’s not like I had a measly Cadbury egg and was calling it a happy Easter). The box of Girl-scout cookies I opened over the weekend has three or four cookies left rattling around the bottom of the package. It’s like all the sugar I missed out on over Lent, I inhaled in a three-day free-for-all that (shockingly) didn’t result in diabetes.
I’m fueling properly during the day and getting my training runs in at night. My body should be strong and lean. Instead, I’ve maintained my weight with this ramped-up training plan b/c every time I add to my route and take a step forward, I get home from my run and take three steps back by eating literally everything in the house (and then running across the street to 7-11 for a pint of Phish Food).
I have the worst mentality; I told Beth that I needed to eat all my Easter candy so then I could start eating healthy again. She asked me why I couldn’t eat healthy and incorporate the candy in small amounts.
Hmm. Moderation. What a novel concept.
On Monday there was a sign tacked on the folding board out front that read “Candy, buy 1 get 2 FREE!” I held out, consoling myself w/ the promise of my (shrinking) supply of Easter candy at home. But Tuesday was my sister’s birthday and she loves chocolate even more than I do (and my Easter candy was gone by then). So it wasn’t a question of if I would buy anything; it was a matter of narrowing it down to three items. I was ready to order and I asked the clerk to confirm that all the candy was buy-one-get-two-free. His next words will haunt me forever: “No, just the Easter candy on that shelf,” with a dismissive point to the shelving unit forlornly to the side with a few pastel colored candies and a lone chocolate bunny. I marched outside to grab the hastily-made sign and prove to the man that he was clearly mistaken. But it wasn’t the sign I had read yesterday. The “Candy, buy 1 get 2 FREE!” was still there in some Times-New Roman print-out, but the words “Easter only” had been scrawled at the bottom.
Instead of being upset (which I am…still), I’m going to try and use this as a wake-up call. My Easter candy was gone w/in two days (and B’s mom had stuffed it full of sweets, so it’s not like I had a measly Cadbury egg and was calling it a happy Easter). The box of Girl-scout cookies I opened over the weekend has three or four cookies left rattling around the bottom of the package. It’s like all the sugar I missed out on over Lent, I inhaled in a three-day free-for-all that (shockingly) didn’t result in diabetes.
I’m fueling properly during the day and getting my training runs in at night. My body should be strong and lean. Instead, I’ve maintained my weight with this ramped-up training plan b/c every time I add to my route and take a step forward, I get home from my run and take three steps back by eating literally everything in the house (and then running across the street to 7-11 for a pint of Phish Food).
I have the worst mentality; I told Beth that I needed to eat all my Easter candy so then I could start eating healthy again. She asked me why I couldn’t eat healthy and incorporate the candy in small amounts.
Hmm. Moderation. What a novel concept.
Comments
Moderation is hard! But baby steps.
Oops?