I have Nancy Reagan chanting in my head right now. Just Say No. Just Say No. For those of you too young to remember the Reagan presidency years, Mrs. Reagan campaigned against illegal drug use and promoted Just Say No to encourage kids not to give in to peer group pressure to try drugs.
So, why am I doing this today? It’s October and one of my co-workers brought out her plastic pumpkin, loaded it with miniature candy bars, and placed it on the kitchen counter in our office building. Another friend keeps a stash of chocolate in her drawer for all of us. These are dangerous times for me, my friends. I love chocolate and such easy, convenient access is not good.
In the grand scheme of things, a single miniature piece of chocolate is not bad. However, since I’m already struggling with a slower weight loss and the resulting frustration, etc., one thing leads to another and to another and to another. I’m a compulsive overeater and can quickly get out of control. True, that with weight loss surgery, it’s not like I can pack away food by the pound, but even smaller deviations can further slow my positive progress. Those small pieces can act like the little rock under the larger stone that throws everything off balance. I saw this happening yesterday and the small portion of chocolate set up a greater craving for a chocolate cookie. It’s a slippery slope.
To protect myself for today, I need to stay away from the chocolate and not even risk starting the process with a single piece. Every time I walk into the kitchen (also the location of our copier and mail boxes), I look at that grinning pumpkin and am tempted. That’s when I channel Nancy Reagan and say to myself, “No!”
I’m really the only one who can derail my effort by taking the wrong action. It stands to reason that I’m the only one who can keep myself moving forward in the right way. To that, today, I say, “Yes!”
Weighty Matters 
I used to work in the same office as a woman who loooooved to offer me chocolate. It was hard enough for me to resist the chocolate that was right there in the open, it was almost impossible when there was someone saying “c’mon, just eat some!” I started yelling “just say no!” and “no means no!” It was really helpful both in getting her to back off, and in changing my mindset about not wanting to eat the dang chocolate.
We always buy our candy for trick or treaters at the very last minute. Otherwise, I would probably pick out every last milky way midnight and eat it myself. :p
Okay, this is going to sound really weird, but I find if I brush my teeth, I lose the craving.
Good luck with this. Hope you continue to conquer this because Christmas is coming fast.
You know what really helps? Thinking about how the chocolate actually tastes. Those cheap chocolates leave that too-much-sugar taste in your mouth afterward, and becoming conscious of that really helped me wean off of them.
Use aversion therapy; imagine the chocolate factory all full of bugs, and they are legally allowed to have a certain amount of bug parts in the chocolate. This, of course, only works when you’re around cheap, American chocolate, but since that’s the vast majority, that helps.
Also, it’s not a bad idea to think of an alternative sweet that you like and have that handy. Those little clementine oranges are super-sweet, but they don’t have that sickening aftertaste, and they’re good for you. Or, for me, a cup of coffee with a bit of real sugar and real cream is decadent, and satisfies those cravings.
And another thing; only have the good stuff. And when I say good, I mean *good*. That also means expensive, which means fewer, and more satisfaction when you do have it. Don’t live a life of constant denial; that’s no good for anyone. You may not want to have the good stuff in the house, but if you’ve got a friend at work you can give them to, and who you can grab one from when you’re really feeling it, then you’ll have one *good* chocolate instead of five bad ones. It’s so much more satisfying, and cheaper in the long run, too, because you eat so much less.
Consciousness doesn’t help me with chips, which is my downfall, or with wine… I take it back about the chips, THAT’s my downfall… but it helped a lot with chocolates and cookies and sweets. I hate that sugar-taste on the back end, and I never realized it until I started really thinking about it.
At any rate, it’s always tough, but I find that bug parts definitely helps. 🙂
I don’t even like cheap chocolate (although I love good dark chocolate) and it is STILL hard to resist those damp Halloween things. *hugs* Just say no!
It is sooo hard to resist temptation when it is all around you, staring you right in the face, and backing you up against a counter. Living with my housemates is like that: there’s usually more than one kind of ice cream in the fridge, plus tons of chocolate in the drawer (and on the counter) and tons of cookies in the cupboard (and on the counter). I did okay at first, but then I slipped and kept slipping. Not good. So now I have to go back to resisting temptation again. It’s a very flabby muscle. 🙂
Good luck on the resistance. Resistance is NOT futile. You will NOT be assimilated. Look that candy-filled pumpkin in it’s pumpkiny face and tell it to fuck off. YOU will not be lead around by your tastebuds, your cravings, or your emotional issues with food. I believe in you!