The end of the week is drawing near which means a much needed trip to our local grocery store.This is a good and a bad thing for me.
We need groceries to be able to eat and with a fridge full of fresh fruits and vegetables, eating healthy and making smarter choices is much easier.
The bad thing? All the unhealthy choices that stare me straight in the face as I walk through the aisles.
It is so hard to turn away from cookies, cakes, ice cream, popsicles, chocolate, gummies . . . you name it, as you walk past them in the grocery store.
Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try these things always seem to creep up on you?
I purposely try not to take my children with me when I do my groceries because it is so much easier to avoid temptations when your children are not there asking for this, that and the next thing.
Yet it can also be a dangerous place to be in when you are trying to eat right and make those choices that you know are better for you.
I have caught myself before, standing in front of the Oreo cookies and I do believe that I had a line of drool escaping from my lips!
It has been said that the outer perimeter of your local grocery store is the healthiest place to shop. So, you should purchase as much of your groceries from this section as you can. It is here where you will find your fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, cheese, and dairy.
However, nestled right in there, snug beside the fruits and the vegetables are these glorious looking clear bins filled with bright coloured, sugar coated, some salty and some sweet, delicious, delectable candy.
Why in the world would a store designer think that this would be a great place to put candy bins! I mean, here I am walking through the grocery store being proud of all the healthy foods that I am placing in my shopping cart, giving myself a great pat on the back that so far, I have been able to resist temptations.
And then it hits me . . . smack in the face.
I do my best to put my blinders up. I walk with my head down (although I do not advise this if your grocery store is busy) and try to rush past the bins swallowing as much as I can since my mouth has begun to water at the sight of all the sugary, seemingly divine candy.
Apparently, dear friends, these temptations are hard to resist regardless of how far along in our journey we are.
It is important to remember that, despite continuously having these feelings, it is not a sign that you are failing.
I know that I have had that thought time and again. How can I be at this point in my journey and still have these types of feelings towards foods that I know I should not have?!?!
The answer is not an easy one. I honestly cannot say why my body reacts the way that it does towards sugar, chocolate, chips . . . anything that it seems to know that it cannot have.
Just typing this post to you all and my mouth is watering.
What I do know is that I have a Heavenly Father who wants to do battle for me. I have a God who wants to stand beside me and help me overcome my temptations.
And lastly, I have a heart that longs to desire a deeper, more intimate relationship with my Creator.
Even if it means that I sit here eating cucumber instead of a bowl of chips.
3 comments:
Girly, I can totally relate. I'm usually good until I get to the ice cream (especially in the summer) because by that point I have already passed the baked goods (cakes etcetera and random chocolate in the aisles).
Grocery shopping is terrible. Making sure I have cash so I *CANT* purchase those things helps. Making sure to not put anything extra in my cart until I've finished all the things I NEED to get helps (often I've forgotten about that want at that point!) I've also learned with quitting smoking recently that the craving for anything really WILL pass within 30 seconds most times. So it may be 30 seconds of uncomfortableness but I am far bigger than that.
Most important? I make sure that I plan in treats for those things I adore but need to eat less of. Because all or nothing is a dangerous game for me. And not just "I can have it on Friday" (because then I'm depriving myself again) but planning in "I can have x amount y times this week" so I can feel like it's a "cheat" w/o being a big deal.
But seriously? CANDY WITH THE FRUITS AND VEGGIES? That is INSANITY.
Thank you so much for your comments, ladies! I love to read them!
Devon - I am a sucker for ice cream! Especially with this weather getting warmer. I do my best to try and avoid that aisle at all costs! However, it is hard when I need cereal since it is the same aisle! I just try and make sure to only look at the cereal side and not the other. Once I look it feels like game over!
M - That is a great way to do things! Not everyone can handle the "only treats on Fridays" aspect of diets and so it sounds like you have started something that works for YOU. That is the most important part. If you know that you cannot go without a treat for a week and then causing yourself to binge eat on foods, then it is better to allow yourself smaller amounts throughout the week!
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