Let me be very real. My first two weeks of turning the corner to "Fat Loss" lane were similar to going to drug rehab. I was physically going through withdrawal. Cranky. Anxious. Craving. What a lesson to learn in life. I prayed that the Lord would help me through each hour. Why are donuts NOT on this freakin diet?! It was brutal. But I'm stubborn and wanted change enough that I ate the fruit, the salads, the chicken. This was the spark that would lead to jeans being looser. Success! I'm hooked.

After that it was smooth sailing and I ate flawlessly every day after.  The End.

Get real.   Realizing that you don't just "like" food but actually "love" food is so much fun.  Please reread that with sarcasm.   I learned a lot about myself.  Food wasn't fuel.  Food was comfort.  I had a bad day so I deserve chocolate chip cookies.  I had a great day so I should celebrate by ordering pizza.  I was bored so snacking could fill the time. 

Have you ever read The Jungle?  It's a book with graphic descriptions of the meat-packing industry.  Here's a juicy morsel:  "the meat will be shoveled into carts and the man who did the shoveling will not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one."  It's like how we all know what goes into making a hot dog a hot dog, yet we still smother it with mustard and cram it in.  We know we shouldn't, and yet we do it anyway.  That's the nature of temptation. 

Want to read a book that won't induce vomiting or force you into vegetarianism?  Made to Crave.  This one teaches how we are designed by God to long for  more.  We are supposed to crave Jesus and all that is holy.  Not cheese puffs, though I could eat a handful right now.  And that takes discipline that, in order to be successful, only He can get us through.

So I started seeing my cranky sugar deprivation as a way to lean on the Lord.  He is my milk and honey.  He is the bread of life.  He is living water.  I decided God had been the void I would try to fill with edible treats; didn't work.  I must press into Him and ask for His help to eat in a way that would honor my body, His temple.  He can get me from temptation to victory.  He wants to. 

Here's today's last nugget.  You know what else helps with accountability?  Freakin kids.  My son thinks it is hilarious that he can eat candy as I crunch away at some broccoli.  And when I try to sneak some m&m's, he's bad cop.  "Mo-om, you know you aren't allowed to eat that stuff."  Thank you, Pumpkin.  And it may or may not be true that he and I once wrestled on the couch as he pried Hershey kisses out of my hands.  Oh God bless that kid.