Before we moved, my good friend used to bring us treats from across the backyard. She called them “happys.” Sometimes the “happy” would be a few cookies she made, and wanted to share with our family, and sometimes it was flowers from her garden. Other times it was just a funny little something she picked up, and thought of me. I miss my friend, but God is good and I have new friends and acquaintances.
I just wrapped up teaching my weight loss class Fit to the Finish on Thursday, and the wonderful ladies gave me these plates as a little thank you.
If you look at the words on the plates you will probably laugh out loud as I did. There is a lot of truth in the sayings on these cute dessert plates. Besides appealing to the eye, they fit right in with my weight loss and weight maintenance philosophy. You can have the occasional dessert, you just can’t have the whole thing, or have it everyday. As I lost my weight and got healthy, a lot of old habits fell by the wayside. I replaced the old habits with new ones that were good for me and life affirming. One habit that was near and dear to me was eating large amounts of sweets and treats. Rarely a day went by where I didn’t load myself up with chocolate, cookies, brownies, cakes or pie. I just couldn’t get enough to satisfy my relentless sweet tooth. Time after time I’d swear to myself I wouldn’t buy the big value bag of M&M’s, yet I’d see myself handing them to the cashier, eagerly anticipating eating half the bag in the car on the way home from the store. I had been known to get in my car, drive 3 miles to Wendy’s, buy two large Frosty’s and eat them on the way back home, never telling anyone what I had done. And yes, it is possible to eat a Frosty while driving, but it can be a little messy!
Sweet obsession is a common problem among those of us who struggle with our weight. I hear it all the time, “What about chocolate? What do you suggest I do about my love of candy?” My advice is simple. You can have the occasional sweet treat – a sliver of cake or a small chocolate, but you can’t have it every day, and you can’t have a large quantity of it. If you eat too many sweets, or too much of anything for that matter, you will have a hard time losing weight, and will probably gain weight. Moderation in all things is a common saying, but even moderation needs to be monitored carefully. If you know you are going to have a bit of dessert at dinner, plan ahead during the day what you will eat to compensate for the extra calories. If you “mess up” and eat a King Sized Mr. Goodbar for a snack, just have a salad for dinner. It’s okay to adjust your eating schedule and plan for unforseen situations and mistakes.
The ladies in my class this time lost an average of 15 pounds. They communicated to me that they felt they were better equipped to continue on their journey to lose weight and get healthy. Their feelings about dieting had changed from “temporary fix” to “changing for a lifetime.” As you journey towards your goals, I hope that you too will look at the changes you are making as lifetime changes, and not just temporary fixes. Diane
You are so right! I was just writing out my health history on my blog and mentioned that when I grew up we had dessert and candy once a week. I think a lot of our problems are caused by the fact that we want to feast every day!
I took some cookies to my mom’s yesterday and I made sure that they were the best cookies I could find – not cheap packaged cookies, but sumptuous, fresh bakery cookies. No guilt! I was still down on the scale this morning…
Yes, so true. Big sweet tooth girl here, but I’ve come to learn that little fixes get me through it. I’m also trying to only eat what sweet thing I really want instead of munching on a bunch of sweet things that aren’t what I REALLY want and then not feeling satisfied, but too full to eat more. This isn’t easy, but little by little it’s working.
Diane, I think I’m going to become a regular follower of these essays. You speak right to me on most of them.
@Hanlie,
Congrats on your continued weight loss! I agree with you, at my weight now, I only eat desserts that I really love, not just packaged stuff that isn’t any good.
@Leah,
I’m glad you like my little essays. It makes the effort of writing them worth it when I know people are reading them and enjoying them! Good for you in making the good choices when it comes to sweets. Sweets are addictive – I’m just sure of it!!
Diane
I bet those ladies loved your class. And the plates are adorable! What a sweet gift.
But I have to disagree about the chocolate. I have a small serving of dark chocolate EVERY day and have been while losing 50 pounds.
(Twenty of those pounds have been lost since Feb 9th when I started the Flat Belly Diet.) Having that treat every day, I can bypass the other not-healthy sweets and treats.
For me, I didn’t have the self disciple that you are obviously blessed with! Personally, having one piece of chocolate every day would have made me crave it all the more. That being said however, I do agree that if you can handle it, and it makes you feel satisfied, and not apt to overeat more chocolate – eat away! Obviously it’s working wonderfully for you. For the past 12 years,I choose my treats according to their appeal to me. It’s worked well for me in handling my sweet tooth and maintaining my weight loss. Thanks for the comment and congrats on your weight loss!