On Holliday Treats!

There are plenty of holiday treats that are once a year, right?

It's not like your Aunt Tilly makes her fabulous, famous apple strudel every day, and that triple fudge cake recipe offered in that flyer you got for gift baskets is available at Christmastime ONLY, right?
You can order some of these things for Christmas but that's it. After that, no more sales. Reeses even makes peanut butter 'trees' to celebrate the holidays. Can't get those at other times.

Sigh....all these 'once a year' type treats....it gives Fat Brain all kinds of fuel to go off program, or 'take a break', right?

I saw one of these Xmas special cakes recently in a flyer. And it had me salivating just reading the description and looking at the picture.

And I had NO ONE in mind to send it to....except...MYSELF!

I wanted to dive in. Literally. Just dive in and swim around in the chocolate peanut butter fudginess....sigh....
it was an entire CAKE and it cost $59.95 and you know, I actually fantasized for a second about ordering one.....'just for me'....and keeping it to myself, and when it arrived via UPS (I'm usually home alone so I could take delivery and not tell a soul) I'd literally EAT THE WHOLE THING.

And make myself sick on it. And HATE myself.

The first few bites would be heaven.....but that's the problem, I can't STOP at the first few bites!

So what's a Foodaholic to DO?
How do we get through the holidays without going hog wild?

Well, I sat down and really thought about it. I followed 'what would happen' all the way through to its conclusion.

What IF I allowed myself all these treats....just for THIS year?

Well, I know what would happen.

First of all, I'd eat that whole cake....1 piece is never enough for me. I may START with one piece, I may TELL myself that's 'all I need'....but the sugar junkie in me will have the cake calling me from the refrigerator in the middle of the night, and like a hypnotized person, I'd fall into the food trance and get up and carve off 'just a little' slice from it....and then later 'just a little' more, and so on.

You get my drift. Right? We've all done that sort of thing. We DELUDE ourselves that we're able to handle it, but the truth is, we're NOT!

So I'd wind up eating the whole cake. Let's face it.

But wait. What IF I allowed myself 'permission' to eat the whole cake? Maybe I could 'get it out of my system' (ever tell yourself that?) and get so SICK on it I'd never do it again!

Yeah, right. I'd make myself sick on it....but that wouldn't necessarily 'cure' me forever. Believe me. (Been there, done that).

So it's important to REMEMBER the outcome.

I'd make myself physically SICK - actually in PAIN - in the process, of course, if I ate the 'whole thing'.

My stomach would get all bloated. My face would get puffy, and I'd be unable to MOVE afterwards. I'd get lethargic and have to lie down.

And I'd HATE myself. For feeding the Binge Monster, once again.

For listening to Fat Brain, once again.

And for NOT adhering to my higher goals....my long-term goals...
which is to have a slim, healthy body and have CONTROL over my eating. NOT the other way around.

So WHY am I letting an inanimate object run my life?

I'm bigger than that stupid cake. I'm smarter. And I KNOW what I want. I know what my goals are....and drowning myself in chocolate fudge cake is NOT in keeping with my goals.

It offers short-term pleasure at the expense of my LONG TERM GOALS.

Therefore, it's not worth it.

It's also not worth it in terms of HOW I'LL FEEL afterwards!

I mean, why DO that to yourself, right? Why put yourself through all that self-hatred, that shame, that ANGER, that feeling like you're weak and have 'no willpower', etc.?

It's not being kind to yourself. And SELF LOVE is what this program is about, in many ways.

Self love and sharing and supporting each other LOVINGLY.

Listen, guys......you CAN do this. THROW OUT those flyers....order for your relatives or friends if you wish, but once it's done? Throw it out and don't fixate on it, don't think about it, don't dwell on it....instead get busy doing things that make you happy, like decorating for Christmas......(say YES to the white lights an candlelight! LOL).....and planning what you'll wear now that you've lost some weight (YAY!) and looking forward to a GREAT 2015.

We all have two choices this holiday season.....

And they are....we can get negative, pull ourselves (and others!) down with us complaining and finding fault and whining and carrying on....and we can succumb to the food temptations that surround us and just 'chuck it all'....
(and we'll be VERY sorry later....always!)

OR

We can keep on keepin' on....build ourselves up however we have to...find our support and a POSITIVE outlook wherever and whenever we can....and stay OP.

Here's to staying positive! You can do it!

Keep on keepin' on!

Linda