I call it "21 Days Without Sweets." I find that I have a particular problem with craving sweets. Not only does chocolate call me daily but baked goods, ice cream, candies and more! I was raised on homemade goodies of all kinds and cheap treats. I continued the tradition to some extent when I was raising my own kids. Now, I vacillate between healthy eating and comfort foods.
The result is I am constantly gaining and losing the same twenty pounds. I would love to lose fifty. So, during a recent bought of backsliding I regained the twenty plus I just lost at Weight Watchers last spring. No, I don't blame Weight Watchers. It is the best eating plan out there. I have other issues that I try to resolve with eating. It is a life-long pattern which makes it difficult, but not impossible, to change.
SO.....when I recently found myself once again falling into old habits that die hard, I decided to take action against my sugar addiction. I read once that to make a habit or break one, it takes twenty-one days of consecutive adherence. That means you eliminate the bad habit or practice the new one without any failures for the full twenty one days.
I took my new resolution very seriously and used my kitchen calendar to show my progress, putting a blue slash on each day as I completed my challenge. There were days, I assure you, when I wanted something.......a candy bar, a milk shake etc.... Because I knew that these sugary extras are not a necessary part of the daily diet and that they were causing me to fall off my diet wagon, I stayed strong. I was even able to sit by and watch as other people in the house ate cookies after dinner! I had real resolve most of the time and when I didn't feel all that strong, I ate some diet yogurt with raisins added for extra sweetness.
My intent is not to eliminate sweets for the rest of my life. That would be impossible and also un-enjoyable! My mission was instead to tame the cravings so that I would not over-indulge on a regular basis. I mainly blame my summer liking for ice cream for my current relapse.
So, on my final day of my plan, day twenty one, my son brought me a Reese cup after dinner. I asked him to put it in the freezer and told him I had to hold strong for about six more hours. He tried to convince me it was enough already and 20 days was sufficient, but I would not hear of it. Later he admitted he was just testing me so I am glad I made a point of telling him my goal was important to me and I wanted to wait!!!!
Well, I made it and I also ate the Reese cup at about 1:30 AM when I woke up to get a drink. : )
I feel more in control of my sweet cravings again and ready to tackle another initiative in my weight loss journey!
Whatever you want to work on in your life, try setting a moderate goal for yourself and initiate my 21 days method of changing your behavior. Maybe reward yourself at the 22nd day with something, maybe even something sweet! : )
Good Luck!
The result is I am constantly gaining and losing the same twenty pounds. I would love to lose fifty. So, during a recent bought of backsliding I regained the twenty plus I just lost at Weight Watchers last spring. No, I don't blame Weight Watchers. It is the best eating plan out there. I have other issues that I try to resolve with eating. It is a life-long pattern which makes it difficult, but not impossible, to change.
SO.....when I recently found myself once again falling into old habits that die hard, I decided to take action against my sugar addiction. I read once that to make a habit or break one, it takes twenty-one days of consecutive adherence. That means you eliminate the bad habit or practice the new one without any failures for the full twenty one days.
I took my new resolution very seriously and used my kitchen calendar to show my progress, putting a blue slash on each day as I completed my challenge. There were days, I assure you, when I wanted something.......a candy bar, a milk shake etc.... Because I knew that these sugary extras are not a necessary part of the daily diet and that they were causing me to fall off my diet wagon, I stayed strong. I was even able to sit by and watch as other people in the house ate cookies after dinner! I had real resolve most of the time and when I didn't feel all that strong, I ate some diet yogurt with raisins added for extra sweetness.
My intent is not to eliminate sweets for the rest of my life. That would be impossible and also un-enjoyable! My mission was instead to tame the cravings so that I would not over-indulge on a regular basis. I mainly blame my summer liking for ice cream for my current relapse.
So, on my final day of my plan, day twenty one, my son brought me a Reese cup after dinner. I asked him to put it in the freezer and told him I had to hold strong for about six more hours. He tried to convince me it was enough already and 20 days was sufficient, but I would not hear of it. Later he admitted he was just testing me so I am glad I made a point of telling him my goal was important to me and I wanted to wait!!!!
Well, I made it and I also ate the Reese cup at about 1:30 AM when I woke up to get a drink. : )
I feel more in control of my sweet cravings again and ready to tackle another initiative in my weight loss journey!
Whatever you want to work on in your life, try setting a moderate goal for yourself and initiate my 21 days method of changing your behavior. Maybe reward yourself at the 22nd day with something, maybe even something sweet! : )
Good Luck!
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