Thursday, June 7, 2007

And the Winner Is.....


Last night in my Classroom Management Class - the instructor came around the room at one point and without any warning - dropped a Hershey's Chocolate Bar on each person's desk. Normally I would've been like...Cool! Free Candy! Last night it stopped me dead in my tracks. It's one thing to go through the check out aisle at the Grocery Store and purposely turn your head away from the vast array of Candy bars...but to have one plopped right in front of your nose is quite another.
Now I could have politely declined but since everyone else was not - I was afraid it would draw attention to myself. SO there it sat the entire rest of the class (this is a 3 hour class!) silently mocking me.

"You know you're going to eat me."

"No I'm not. I'm giving you to my husband when I get home."


"No you're not. You're going to eat me as soon as you get in the car."


"No I'm not. Maybe I'll just leave you right here on my desk and pretend I forgot you."


"Ha! You would never do that and you know it."


And so it went. The rest of the class was not devoted to me learning how to manage my students. It was spent arguing with a stupid candy bar. I would like to say that when all was said and done I won the argument and hubby enjoyed a Hershey Bar. But that's not quite how it played out. As soon as I got in my car I took the enemy out of my purse and gingerly opened the wrapper. At first I felt defeat and then all of a sudden I remembered what I had blogged yesterday. About life. And candy bars are a part of life. And dang if I hadn't eaten one in a long while! And I thought back about the food choices I've been making these past few weeks and how I've stayed pretty much on the mark. And all of a sudden the candy bar hadn't won at all. I was the winner because I was going to choose to eat it and I was going to savor each bite because I knew in heart that I wouldn't be eating another for a while.
And I ate it. Slowly. And it was gooood. And I don't feel bad. Because there's a big difference between eating one candy bar every couple of weeks and eating one daily as you pass the vending machine.
Now I'm not saying this is for everyone. If you know that one bite of chocolate is going to set you off on a binge - for heaven's sake don't do it! But if you feel confident that you can indulge and get right back on track - go for it! Too much deprivation will always set you up for a fall. Moderation is the key word that plays out here.

And this morning, when I hopped on my beloved scale (today it's beloved - some days it bears a different moniker) it registered a 2 pound loss! Oh Happy Thursday!

2 comments:

*ccc* said...

There is no way to succeed at losing weight without the occasional treat and you treated yourself the right way...

You thought about it, you enjoyed it and you know it's not something you do every day.

Good for you! And congrats on another two pounds gone.

Yay!

Christine said...

Great blog today! I was right along with you while you were eating that chocolate bar. :) I have done some thinking about this concept and I think you are right - allow yourself to have as a special treat - it will keep you on track for the long run. Good for you for savouring each bite. And CONGRATS ON THE WEIGHT LOSS!