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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Testing: Chips and Chocolate


Yesterday night I had chips and chocolate! 

In the cupboard we had an opened box of Julienne (chips) bought in January. They were stale, I didn’t care; I was doing a test. I put a small portion in a bowl, sprinkled some vinegar on them, and proceeded to move them from the bowl to my mouth. As far as tasting sensation goes; nothing unexpected, doesn’t mater the amount of vinegar you put on, stale chips are stale chips. But I was not looking for an orgasmic type of sensation… I was doing a test!

After a few trips from the bowl to my mouth, I ended the test and concluded it was successful. I didn’t need to finish the bowl.

In the cupboard we also had a bag of chocolate covered almonds. Nine of those are worth 220 calories. They were as fresh as if I had picked them up myself in the morning. I took five and didn’t even bother to select the five biggest one. 

After eating three, my test was done, I didn’t have to suffer and eat any more. I was satisfied and concluded the first part of my test was over.

What kind of diabolic test is that you might be wondering?

In the past two months, I have commented on other blogs saying “Have faith in yourself”. However it’s easier said than done.

How could I give this advice without doing it myself? Since I came back toward the “healthy light”, I haven’t trusted myself. What I’m doing is abstinence. I didn’t trust myself for making the right decision so I just ignored my desires and moved on. This is NOT dealing with the issues! I have a control issue; I can’t drink or eat bad stuff in moderation.

Abstinence is easy to do when you are in a controlled environment. In Florida, my wife and I are pretty much our own social circle right now, there are no temptations. It’s about to change.

I have to learn to have faith in myself. This is why I had chips and chocolate. It has been on my mind for a few days and I kept delaying the test. Now that the test is over with, I’ll go back to abstinence but I trust myself to do the right thing when I’ll be faced with choices.

I know one occasion is not a lifetime commitment but I’m working on fixing my food control issue and it’s a lot harder to accomplish than losing weight. The next test will be with my in-laws next week and around a fire with friends during the coming 6 months. I’ll see how I perform.

I am conscious that if I don’t deal with the issue, I’ll lose weight and I’ll gain it right back!

Do you have faith in yourself?

13 comments:

  1. Trying to remain in control in the midst of all kinds of temptation is tough, but if you keep your goals in mind, it might make it easier. I had to be on that damned low carb diet for 5 weeks before surgery. Did I have anything except the prescribed protein shakes and low carb veggies (without salad dressing, sauces, etc.)? Oh yeah, I did! But I kept my "cheating" to a minimum and did it sensibly. Not once did I have bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and the likes. Instead I went mostly for lean proteins (tuna and chicken were the big ones). I also used low carb/low fat salad dressings (it took a lot of label reading).

    I use the term "cheating" because a lot of people would see it as such but I really don't like that term. I was finding a way to keep enjoying the acceptable vegetables that were on that list without losing my sanity (what little of it I had left) and binging every so often on things like bread, pasta, etc. Guess what. It worked!

    If you do find yourself at the end of a day looking back on what you ate and drank and are feeling crappy about the choices you made (I know trailer time is coming with neighbours and all, campfires, and the food and drink to go with it), don't be hard on yourself. It sometimes happens, but the most important thing is to get right back up on that horse right at that time, and get back on track. Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up more because it could end up causing you to make more bad choices (the brain sometimes is our enemy). That's the one thing I had to finally learn after years of trying to lose weight.

    Now, about the control you exercised with the chocolate covered almonds (I won't mention the chips since it didn't sound like too much control was needed over stale chips hahaha), kudos! :-)

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    1. Elaine you seem to do very well post-surgery... poor Brad ha ha ha

      As far as your sanity, knowing you personally I will refrain the numerous comments I could do... see what I'll do for a "special" friend :)

      "don't be hard on yourself" this is a post that I have been thinking for a while now, but, no I'm really not hard on myself. And if you remember when we work together, I'm a man so guilt might not be something I feel LOL

      The stale chips were exactly part of my test... if you go 2 months without something that has been a very close friend, when you crossed path again, if you have a bigger problem than what you thought, you would not care that they changed (stale)... I did care but I know that if they had been fresh, I would not have eat more. I'm getting to be a real control freak!

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  2. Ca fait drole de representer la TENTATION mais pour le junk food on est sur la meme page que toi. Mais pour le vin ou la biere, pas sur la meme page mais meme pas dans le meme livre!!!
    L'age nous donne des privileges.........on as plus grand chose a perdre!
    Ce seras ton test sur tadiete liquide! Encore 7 dodos et on arrive!

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    1. On a bien hâte de vous voir, même si vous êtes la tentation réincarnés ha ha ha

      Je n'ai aucune crainte, j'ai vue la lumière :)

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  3. I love me some wild choco-covered almonds.

    - Hairy Toes

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    1. Look at that, Hairy Toes drop by :) If you love them, you can have them, we will deliver them to you at the end of April...

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  4. Sometimes I'm okay, but with other things, I just can't do "a few". Nutella. I get a jar of that and it is gone pronto. I have to find the things that satisfy the craving but don't cause me to go off the rails. :)

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    1. Funny Beth Ann, my wife this week had one Ferrero chocolate. She told me that AFTER she checked the calories and was shock... she said that if she had knew, she would have take a spoon full of Nutella instead!

      One of my daughter is like you, what she does she keep an empty jar of Nutella in a cupboard so she doesn't buy one and she can't have any. Some kind of win-win I can't even understand the logic LOL

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    2. I'll admit it, the daugher he's talking about is meeee! Nutella disappears SO QUICKLY in my vicinity. When I buy a normal sized jar, it has a lifespan of 2-3 days.

      So I kept an empty jar of nutella in the cupboard for a long time. You see, I couldn't buy another jar, because I already had a jar that maybe could yield a tiny drop of nutella with a spatula. And there's no space in the cupboard for more nutella jars. A PERFECT SOLUTION!!!

      -WWE

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  5. In the last month, I've surprised myself. Things I thought were triggers weren't anymore when I lost the taste for them... Chocolate, for instance. I have a few bags in the cupboard of this or that. No yearning for them. As we speak I have truffles in my desk that were a gift from a customer. They've been there awhile...

    Have faith. Always have faith. Sometimes we surprise ourselves....

    Sarah
    www.thinfluenced.com

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    1. Thank you Sarah, I know for some people the wrong type of food in their cupboard, desk or the freezer is a big problem. I'm lucky because my problem is of controlling, if I don't have something I'm OK but if I have one, I have several. I have to learn and applied moderation. It will take time.

      Faith is crucial but an untested faith is weak!

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  6. Eventually it'll be very easy. When you get to the maintaining stage, you'll be able to treat yourself to an occasional treat like chips or ice cream or cake (in smaller portions and even healthier options) without losing sight of the lifestyle you've chosen. I do not believe in totally giving up things you love, especially treats. You will feel deprived and eventually go on an unhealthy binge. But a small treat now and then doesn't hurt. You'll also find recipes where some of your favourite foods have been modified and made healthier (less calories, little fat). Homemade stuff is always the best. I make cookies, muffins and even cheesecake (my favourite!) in ways that I don't have to feel guilty when eating them. Also, the ingredients in my favourite dishes have been changed to healthier options, so I can enjoy them regularly. With some tweaking, you can easily eat very well and never feel like you're missing out.

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    1. I agree so much with what you said Martha. I know when I'll be maintaining, I'll be looking at healthy recipe. Right now I don't want to focus on substituting un-healthy food (like cookies and muffins) to a better choices of those. Just because I don't want to mess with my one track mind.

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