Self-Control

If you had come to me two months ago and said, "Tricia, why are you 80 lbs overweight for your height?" I would have replied, "I have no self-control." But now I know that was a lie. I, in fact, do have self-control. (Much to my surpise.) Now I would say, "I am lazy and a little bit addicted to food."

I make these amazing Oreo Bon Bons during the holidays. They are like heaven. And my mother-in-law makes the best peanut butter fudge. These two treats would often find themselves at the same family function. And I would devour these treats. Literally, I could eat on them all night long, consuming 1,000 calories on just sweets. And now I realize that I never savoured those treats, I just inhaled them. I would often eat some of those things so quickly and think to myself, "I don't even remember what that tasted like." I was just eating to eat and that's CRAZY! That's not why God gave us food! Food was created mainly to sustain us. And yes, to be enjoyed - but not inhaled.

I have come to realize that I can take a bite of something and enjoy it. Slowly chew it and taste all those wonderful ingredients blended to make something that tastes amazing. And that's all I need. My craving is almost always satisfied from that one bite. Every bite tastes the same as the first. I have tried to "diet" enough times to know that if I deny myself my cravings for sweets that I will end up gorging on them later. So I still enjoy some things in moderation, one bite at a time.

And now, I can to a party and just have a bite of my husbands cake. Or I can to the self-serve yogurt place and get fat-free yogurt, fruit and one mini reeses cup. Or better yet, I can say no thank you to those sugar cookies from Wal-Mart or a brownie that looks really dry because I know that the taste won't even be good enough to waste my time/calories/progress on.

All of my life I thought that I had no self-control. I am so proud to be able to say that I do. It feels wonderful to learn something new about yourself, even at 24 years old.