Sunday, October 12, 2008

Just Say No (to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.)

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down. But there's no need to consume it by the cupful (or, if we're being really honest, bowlful). I do have a massive sweet tooth and I should be better about controling it. Historically, this is not a great time of year for me when it comes to self-control on the sweets front. You may recall that Bert and I have birthdays at the end of September, Halloween and all of its trick-or-treating (in my experience all treats, no tricks) follows suit, then we're on to Thanksgiving with those apple pies (I'm such a sucker for apple pie), and finally Christmas which is one huge dessert-fest. I love it all. Too much. That is the crux of my problem.
So without further ado, I'm revealing vice no. 3: consuming a spoonful of sugar x10. Here's what's going to happen from now on. I'm not denying myself sweets, per se. I'm just limiting my intake to one treat per day. "That's easy," you might think. "Not even a sacrifice at all." And you might be right if you were talking to anyone but me. To put this in perspective you should know that I ate a half-dozen sugar cookies yesterday. Not the little ones. With frosting. True story. So, yeah, I need the motivating power of this blog to help me have more self-control with this issue.
For me this challenge is about self-control and being healthier, not weight management. I don't think I can really continue to justify eating 6 giant sugar cookies in one day simply because I wear a size 4/6. That's not a healthy habit at any size and I need to set a better example for my daughters. I've got 2 girls with very different body types and I need to be more careful about how I frame the eating and exercising discussions that go on in our household. I'm trying to eliminate words like "calories" and instead talk about eating foods that are good for our bodies. Similarly, my workouts shouldn't be done simply to burn calories, but to instead to make my heart stronger. I'm a concerned mom and I limit the number of sweets my girls get. It's about time I start doing the same for myself.

6 comments:

Erin Gong said...

I love your taking on healthy eating. I have secretly vowed to never own a scale because I feel like that is not what being healthy is about.

By the way, I can attest to the awesomeness of your mac and cheese. We had some for dinner, and then I devoured the rest throughout the next day. I couldn't stop myself. I was craving it all day.

Angie said...

I so need to start getting your motivation lady. Maybe I will do what you are doing and post it on your blog about working out and eating healthier. I am getting unhealthier by the minute!

I am so glad that you guys came tonight!!!! It was so awesome to have you there and have you meet my sis and friend. I hope you guys had fun. We need to get together while our boys are gone. You busy Wednesday night? I don't want to cry all week long that I'm lonesome. Call me!

Mary Poppins said...

erin--thanks for adding your testimony about the mac and cheese. Even if my oldest doesn't prefer it, I'll take some comfort in knowing that you like it.

Mary Poppins said...

dodge party--it was a party indeed. thanks for having us. i'll talk to you later on about our schedules.

klortz said...

Agreed on your mac and cheese. I now make my own but I can't capture the yumminess of yours. On another note, I am TOTALLY into the "healthy" not "thin" thing with my girls and they absolutely love it. They always talk about, "This is good for my body. . . This gives me strong muscles. . .Vegebles (that'a a direct quote) have vitamins." Keep it up- they will catch on. BTW, at our house, V8 is "jumping juice" and the more they drink, they higher they jump. They DOWN IT!!!

Mary Poppins said...

klortz--jumping juice. i love it. sounds like you've got proof that it works. thanks for being supportive.