A Little Thing I've Learned About Moderation

I've had the same bag of chips and the same container of ice cream sitting in the house well over a week. How is this possible? Me, the girl who can't restrain myself when there's junk food in the house. Well, part of my past failure has been that I'm "all or nothing" about things. I try to eat so good that I go overboard when I do get the opportunity to "cheat". I've always told myself that I can't handle junk in the house and just have no restraint when it comes to that. So in telling myself that for years and years I've wholeheartedly believed in the truth of that fact. When one believes this little lie it's easy to see how binging can happen because if a person truly has no restraint and can't handle it, then it's not that person's fault. That person can't help it!!! This little revelation hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. Believing this lie and trying to keep junk food from entering the house has been extremely detrimental to my success with eating right. Because if a person has no restraint, what happens when that person is outside the safe confines of the junk-food free house. Well, then, it's not that person's fault when binging happens because that person can't help it. Well....I beg to differ. I can help it...I'm in control and I can be restrained if I want to be. In fact, I would go so far to say that I need to have the ice cream in the house so that I don't feel deprived. It's not so tempting when I know I can have it whenever I want it (a portion size of it, that is). I've had potato chips a couple of times this week. They're this all natural brand that actually tastes like real potato. They're delicious. I've always believed the lie that an open bag of potato chips is an empty bag of potato chips. Nonsense. I've had chips a couple of times this week (portioned out in a serving size in a little bowl, bag gets put up right away). There's no need to gorge, because I can have some again another day.

Now I'm not saying that I should spend a lot of my weight watcher's daily points on junk. I would feel like complete crap if I did that. But, there's room for little treats now and then. Usually I have to make a choice. Do I want the ice cream or the beer because I don't have enough points for both? Chips or wine? And so on.

I'm hoping that I can hold onto this new truth and replace the lie with the truth and use that to guide my behavior!