Sugar Addiction Update
I decided today to write a little update about my dessert fast. If you'll recall, I explained it all four months ago in my post called Confessions of a Sugar Addict.
So that means I haven't had any cake, ice cream, or candy for a while now.
At first it was really hard. In fact, I dreamed about it -- a lot. Every dream went something like this -- I'd be in a store walking around shopping. Then I'd look down at a package of candy in my hand, usually chocolate, and I would start eating it. About the time I was really enjoying it, taste and all, I would remember that I was supposed to be doing this dessert fast. I'd spit the candy out and feel terribly guilty for forgetting about God and the commitment I've made.
I had that dream several times for the first two months. Now, I haven't had a dream like that in a several weeks, thankfully. I don't feel like the longing for sugar is constantly nagging at the back of my mind anymore. I've also managed to get past my birthday and Thanksgiving without losing my resolve.
It is tough on me now that the Christmas season is here. So many of the things I love about the holidays are dessert related. My mom, sister, and I have a traditional cookie recipe we make. I'll be skipping that this year, and it's sort of bumming me out. Not to mention the fact that I won't be eating any peppermint bark or my mother-in-law's amazing chocolate pie. Nope. No peanut butter balls for me this year. I thought about all that back in August when I made this commitment, so it's okay. In fact, it's more than okay because the fast is doing its job.
Every time I get the overwhelming urge to eat something sweet, like when there are Gigi's cupcakes in the teacher's lounge, I think about the whole reason I'm not going to be eating it. (See that one with the yellow fondant star on top? Yep. That's my favorite one.)
I tell myself, "Jesus is the sweetest thing in your life." Consequently I'm thinking more about Jesus than I was before, and it's making me grow.
The other morning on my way to school, I was listening to some Christmas songs. I haven't been feeling the Christmas spirit as much this year. I'm sure that's partly because I haven't been eating all the sugary, seasonal goodies, but there are other factors too. Our school's Christmas break is exceptionally short this year, and it has been unseasonably warm the last few weeks.
Then as I was driving, the Casting Crowns song "While You Were Sleeping" started playing, and I was moved to tears because I realized that this dessert fast is making me 'wake up' this Christmas season. I realized how in years past I've always focused on eating good food, exchaning gifts, and having fun. Now it seems like I might not have really had the Christmas Spirit at all; it was always about me and how I felt -- not about Jesus. The real Christmas spirit is much more than having my selfish desires fulfilled. It is rejoicing in the marvelous gift of salvation, something I should be celebrating every day.
Four months in, I can happily say that deciding to fast from desserts was a good decision. The sacrifice has been easier to make than I thought, and it has helped me grow so much more than I ever expected.
image credit: coupongal.net
So that means I haven't had any cake, ice cream, or candy for a while now.
At first it was really hard. In fact, I dreamed about it -- a lot. Every dream went something like this -- I'd be in a store walking around shopping. Then I'd look down at a package of candy in my hand, usually chocolate, and I would start eating it. About the time I was really enjoying it, taste and all, I would remember that I was supposed to be doing this dessert fast. I'd spit the candy out and feel terribly guilty for forgetting about God and the commitment I've made.
I had that dream several times for the first two months. Now, I haven't had a dream like that in a several weeks, thankfully. I don't feel like the longing for sugar is constantly nagging at the back of my mind anymore. I've also managed to get past my birthday and Thanksgiving without losing my resolve.
It is tough on me now that the Christmas season is here. So many of the things I love about the holidays are dessert related. My mom, sister, and I have a traditional cookie recipe we make. I'll be skipping that this year, and it's sort of bumming me out. Not to mention the fact that I won't be eating any peppermint bark or my mother-in-law's amazing chocolate pie. Nope. No peanut butter balls for me this year. I thought about all that back in August when I made this commitment, so it's okay. In fact, it's more than okay because the fast is doing its job.
Every time I get the overwhelming urge to eat something sweet, like when there are Gigi's cupcakes in the teacher's lounge, I think about the whole reason I'm not going to be eating it. (See that one with the yellow fondant star on top? Yep. That's my favorite one.)
I tell myself, "Jesus is the sweetest thing in your life." Consequently I'm thinking more about Jesus than I was before, and it's making me grow.
The other morning on my way to school, I was listening to some Christmas songs. I haven't been feeling the Christmas spirit as much this year. I'm sure that's partly because I haven't been eating all the sugary, seasonal goodies, but there are other factors too. Our school's Christmas break is exceptionally short this year, and it has been unseasonably warm the last few weeks.
Then as I was driving, the Casting Crowns song "While You Were Sleeping" started playing, and I was moved to tears because I realized that this dessert fast is making me 'wake up' this Christmas season. I realized how in years past I've always focused on eating good food, exchaning gifts, and having fun. Now it seems like I might not have really had the Christmas Spirit at all; it was always about me and how I felt -- not about Jesus. The real Christmas spirit is much more than having my selfish desires fulfilled. It is rejoicing in the marvelous gift of salvation, something I should be celebrating every day.
Four months in, I can happily say that deciding to fast from desserts was a good decision. The sacrifice has been easier to make than I thought, and it has helped me grow so much more than I ever expected.
image credit: coupongal.net
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