I went to a sports banquet with my kids last night and the food served there was “snacks and drinks” versus a full meal for all. We walked into tables of predominately cookies and goodies with a scarce good choice for snacks- a teenager junk food heaven! On my plate, I chose a small helping of popcorn, homemade Chex Mix, and puppy chow and headed toward our table to sit down.
On the way to my seat, I saw it. A full plate of homemade scotcharoos! Cut in small squares with homemade chocolate frosting smeared on top. I can pass by a lot of desserts, but these little bites of heaven are one of my “kryptonite” foods, meaning, I have a harder time resisting!! I love them!
The awards program started and I kept turning to look at the plate of scotcharoos. Slowly, people took them and there was one left sitting there, just a few feet from me. It was SO ridiculous how many times I kept looking over at it. SO dumb that this dessert had almost as much of my attention as the people I was visiting with and the awards that were being presented.
I could hear my inner dialogue: “You’re not even hungry, you’ve already had supper and now a snack.” “You’re fine without that dessert.” “Ohhhhhh, it’s still there, will somebody please take that?!” “It’s not worth it, stay in your seat.” Back and forth, look and don’t look. FINALLY, a late attendee snatched it up and walked off. Phew! Now, I could stop looking at the plate, it was empty!
Lessons here?
1) When in arms reach of temptation- WAIT. Decide if it’s worth it.
2) Listen to your inner dialogue....actually, allow an inner dialogue to happen. It’s great information about yourself!
3) What you put your attention on will grow stronger. This is one of the best lines I’ve heard in a long time and really applies to anything! My attention was on that darn little scotcharoo and almost made me crazy! As soon as it was gone, so was the attention.
4) Your environment makes a difference. If you are trying to change your eating habits for the better, what are you keeping around you? If it’s your kryptonite foods, this is an obstacle. If your favorite junk foods are sitting out near you, chances are, you may get into them more than you’d like to.
