Sugar Cravings

Two and a half years ago I went off sweets. For some reason it wasn't too hard. Oh, I had occasional lapses - I remember well succumbing to the temptation of a bag of M&Ms in the Food Lion store in the middle of about June or July, but did realize that an occasional - a VERY occasional - lapse can sometimes almost help a person stay on a diet of no sweets. I also remember our neighbor, the manager of a restaurant we go to occasionally, giving us a free dessert one night when we were there. And I devoured the entire brownie covered with whipped cream, kiwi, and strawberries. Felt mild guilt but also enjoyment. After all, you can't turn down a kind gift like that.

And going off sweets, along with intensive exercise at the Y, led to a 20+ drop in poundage.

The downturn came about two years ago right now. It was my last year of directing the play, and the script called for a box of candy that was passed around the family from time to time. In the interest of maintaining cast unity, and making practices a little more fun, I kept the box full. I didn't eat any and truly didn't miss it. Until one day. I decided to take two pieces out of the box. One young man, Carl, actually fussed at me. (They knew I was off sweets.) "You can't eat that!" he said. Then he finally said, OK, I could eat them - but was limited to two pieces a day.

Believe it or not, that was the start of a downfall. Two pieces a day became a little more than that. Gradually. Then, it became easier to justify things. A long morning, with an hour to go before lunch? A Mr. Goodbar is OK for a little energy, because it has peanuts in it. And so forth and so on.

I have now been off of sweets, again, for three weeks. And it is much harder this time. I crave chocolate on a daily basis. I did eat a few plum-sweets yesterday, which really aren't bad for you (the name plum-sweets is a euphemism for "chocolate-covered prune pieces), but they also didn't really fill that craving.

So far I am hanging on. It is important that I do so.