If you know me at all, you know I struggle with sugar. It tastes too good and I eat too much. “No” is not in my vocab when a deliciously frosted cupcake is staring me down. Like most drugs, one dose is never enough and the floodgates are opened. Eat a cookie – why stop at one? Why not eat 10? You laugh but I’ve done it MANY times!

Recently I decided to save the sugary sweets for special occasions. I don’t want to miss out on treating myself once in a while, so I thought this would be a good compromise. It turns out I live a VERY special life. Every time I turn around, there is something special going on. Let me give you a run-down of my last few weeks:

-Easter

-Softball tournament team lunch

-Training at work

-Mother’s Day

-Friend’s birthday

-College softball game with my girls

-Emily’s band concert

What do all of these things have in common?

Each one involved tempting sugary treats.

Somehow, the fact that the treats were tied to an event, made it seem more justifiable.

I got some alone time with my middle daughter and half the 6^th grade was going to get ice cream after her band concert. How often do we get to spend time alone? It’s her last band concert. This is special.

It’s Easter Sunday. It’s a holiday for crying out loud! This is special.

Someone brought in treats at work because it’s someone’s birthday. How often does that happen? (about 30 times a year actually!!!) This is special.

Are you catching on?

It’s CONSTANT!

This doesn’t even take into account the random summer Tuesday night when it’s hot and we all decide to make ice cream sundaes at home.

Not to mention so much of our “regular” food is loaded with sugar too!

What I need to learn is just because everyone else is partaking doesn’t mean I need to. I could have taken my daughter for ice cream and not had any myself. Why is it hard to say no? Herein lies the struggle.

If you add up all the holidays, weddings, birthdays, parties, nights out, etc… and save the sugary treats for those occasions only, you will probably eat way more sugar than you think, or than you would like to!

My goal – figure this out!

There has to be a way to treat myself once in a while but not go overboard. I am still a living, breathing human after all!

My plan –

Evaluate my schedule. If I want to eat ice cream on a random Tuesday night in the summer, then I should probably look ahead. Is there anything else coming up that will exceed my willpower level? A wedding where I will be drinking AND eating cake (double whammy)?

Use my Sweet Defeat. These lozenges work well for me, when I use them! You can read more about Sweet Defeat here.

Drink water. This sounds dumb but if I drink enough water, I tend to have more willpower – probably because I feel full.

Eat with my cycle. Men won’t understand, but there are certain times of the month that I would jump in front of a speeding train for a bite of a chocolate chip cookie. Not much will stop me, and I will likely OVER indulge. It is what it is. BUT – if this happens to fall outside of the random Tuesday ice cream night, then maybe I say no to that next time!

Stop and think. Why am I eating this? Do I want it or am I doing it because everyone else is?

The bottom line – life’s too short to say no every time. However, your life will BE short if you say yes every time! Find a happy medium.