and continued to cave for a while.

But today was day one, again. 4 weeks ago

Wow. Miss ‘em. 1 month ago

Well, I crave sweets right now like nobody’s business!

I got into a bathing suit today. Um, yeah. Yet another good reminder of why I’m trying to eat more healthily. Granted, this no sweets thing isn’t going to lose me much weight bc I’m allowing myself to eat other, non- sweet foods, but I hope it’s a step in the right direction when it comes to my health.

My mouth does feel “cleaner” in an inexplicable way when I haven’t indulged in sweets for a while. That’s another benefit. 1 month ago

Well, today I almost bought and ate some chocolate. I felt discouraged by yesterday’s unconscious slip-up and thought, “Why not have a few days of indulgence before I try to go without, again?” But, you see, this demonstrates the problem with my thinking about food and weight loss. I can always give myself an “out;” I can always find justifications or excuses or reasons. So yeah, I could have enjoyed a couple of days of sweet treats before starting this challenge again, but I decided against it and I’m glad I did.

Instead of stuffing gooey deliciousness into my mouth, I instead went to Old Navy and bought a tank top and saw that yes, I’m still an XL. This steeled my resolve. So, one day down, 42 to go. 1 month ago

sigh So, tomorrow will have to be Day 1 all over again. I was doing so well until tonight. I went into a Panera to get some dinner. Got a salad to go. I wasn’t even thinking about my Sweets Challenge so when I saw a plate of free samples on the counter, I took one and ate it. A shard of cookie: not even a whole one! It was only several minutes later that I remembered my no sweets goal.

Part of me thinks, “it was only a piece of cookie – not even a full one! WE can let this slide, right?” But no. My integrity insists that this count as just as much of a f*ck up as if I consumed a whole tub of ice cream.

This incident also serves as a good reminder that eating well has to take both sound conscious decisions and unconscious decisions. I’ve been able (with difficulty) to control myself in the candy & cake aisles of grocery stores when I’m thinking about it, but tonight I just absent-mindedly grabbed for that cookie sample. Isn’t that one reason we’re all becoming fat: that we don’t think about the food we eat while we’re driving/ sitting in front of the TV/ talking on the phone? 1 month ago

I’m reminded several times/day how much delicious gooey sweetness surrounds us. When I go to the grocery store, when I hang out with friends, when I attend knitting group: sweets abound.

So, what to do during the next 38 days?
1. avoid the candy & cookie aisle when I grocery shop
2. bring my own healthy snacks when I hang out places I know I’ll be tempted by dessert-y things
3. give myself non-candy treats. eg.Last night, I had a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc with dinner. Mmmmm 1 month ago

I’m only on day 2 and my body/mind is crying out, “CHOCOLATE! CARAMEL! NOW!” If anything, I see how much of an addict I am. I know, though, it will get easier as time passes. 1 month ago

Every time I slip (and,let’s be realistic… I will), I will have to start from day 1 all over again.

Okay, folks. THIS, March 30th, is day 1! 1 month ago