Voodoo Tuesday: Know Thyself

Voodoo Tuesday: My effort every week to remind myself of the million pieces of voodoo (also known as good habits) that are progressing me on my journey.  Today's voodoo...

Know Thyself

This is the companion to last week's "There Are No Off-Limits Foods."  The condensed version of that idea: if I forbid myself from ever eating something that I really enjoy, the desire for it will consume me until I consume waaaaaay too much of it--whatever "it" is at the time.  There are no off-limits foods, just off-limits portions. 

Unfortunately, I'm still a food addict.  I still have the ability & propensity to over-indulge in the blink of an eye, set off by a bad day, a good day, a mediocre day, or a full moon.  *sigh*  So, while I give myself the latitude to eat anything I want in moderation, I also have to be realistic about myself.  I know that certain foods make me all giddy & tingly inside to the point where I throw caution to the wind.  Those foods (trigger foods) do not have the key to the club.  They do not get to be in my house.  They are not welcome to live in my cupboards. 

That is not to say that I won't eat those foods.  I just purchase them in single servings & don't allow a big package or whole batch to linger in my home--because the lingering would be just a brief layover on the way to the bingeing. 

Now for the Lasso of Truth: This Halloween I did an abysmal job of knowing myself.  As I did last year, I bought candy that I don't like to pass out to the neighborhood ghouls & goblins...unfortunately my neighbors did not consult me before making their own treat purchases.  My kids came home with far too much of the good stuff (read: chocolate, chocolate/peanut butter, chocolate/caramel, etc).  I am very thankful that they are still so little that they don't have the eye of the tiger when it comes to trick-or-treating, so their haul is somewhat limited, but still dangerous.  What I PLANNED to do was let them have unfettered access to candy for one night & then toss the remainder.  What I ACTUALLY did was let them have unfettered access to candy for one night & then forgot to tell Lincoln that I was tossing the rest, so I justified keeping it around in the name of good parenting.  Over the course of Monday I fished out all of the delectable bits in a steady stream of chocolaty madness.   Monday was a Know Thyself Fail.  Today I made the remainder go away but for one treat for each of the kids--what I should have done yesterday--& made myself write this as a part of my penance.  Now time to go say my Hail, Spinach.