treat (n.)- a rarely partaken food item consisting of a fair amount of sugar, preferably raw/organic but possibly refined, and totally not beneficial for one's body at all. ideally includes some chocolate. examples: cookies, cake, donuts, sugary beverages, candy, cheesecake, muffins, cupcakes, brownies, fudge, ice cream, most frozen yogurt, Nutella, peanut M&Ms, Lindt dark chocolate, & the like.
Because I include all refined sugar, I also do not eat cereal, granola bars, sweetened nuts, juice, protein bars (full of junk), etc. It sounds extreme, but I've gradually weaned from these items over the past year, and I feel so good now, it's actually not a big deal. I don't miss much. Now when I try to eat cereal, even Kashi, I immediately bloat and get stomach cramps-- bleh. Ice cream, same story. I've never felt healthier. I can't remember the last time I was sick. I do know I haven't vomited in 6 years & before that 17 years (phobia). But I can't even remember my last cold . . . I know it's from cutting refined sugars & eating clean. I would commit to never eating any of it again ever, except for sometimes I miss the emotions attached. Like cake. Reminds me of 30-some odd years of birthdays, of my wedding, of celebration. A good chocolate chip cookie is as warm and comforting as a blanket and a hug from mom. And dark chocolate. Well, that's just heaven on earth. For this reason, I've opted for the 2 times a month splurge.
One must be very wise when choosing these special 2 days. You don't want to have them too close together. And you want to make sure it's really worth it. So when looking at my January calendar, I was torn. Book group (always a decadent evening with the girls) was the 12th. My birthday the 17th. Ryan's work party the 27th. Birthday dinner the 29th. My son's birthday the 31st. Of course, as a woman, you have to consider PMS days. And MS days. And post-MS days. Shoot.
Luckily, I've done this before. Twice in one month is basically every two weeks, nothing compared to 30 days straight. I almost feel wussy. I've gotten through Halloween. I've survived every week in December, except the last. I know I can survive social occasions & celebrations just fine-- as long as I've already made up my mind beforehand. So I can definitely get through all of these occasions without sugar. So the question becomes . . . which ones?
I ended up choosing the 12th. The hubby had been out of town; I'd been doing the single-mom thing for a few days; and the 12th seemed fairly close to mid-month. But I wasn't quite positive. So I waited until 7:30 pm before digging into the 90% dark choc Lindt bar in my pantry. 2 squares. Only 2.5 grams of sugar. It almost shouldn't count. It's practically a health food, like blueberries. But I had already put it on my treats list, so there it was. I was excited to dig into more delectables at book group.
Fast forward an hour. Book group. Mmmm, what will it be, what will it be-- chocolate cake? Apple crisp? Peanut butter bars? Pie? Wrong, no, incorrect, nope.
Salad. And homemade rolls, with cinnamon butter. Okay, so it wasn't chocolate, but I smothered those delicious warm rolls with enough cinnamon butter to call it a treat. The salad was amazing, too, and I was grateful that I eased myself into this first treat day rather than smother myself in sugar from dawn to dusk. I didn't feel sick, physically or with guilt, and I did splurge (I never eat white bread. Or cinnamon butter. And I'm a huge fan of cinnamon!) It was a good, non-gluttonous treat day. It set the standard for what I hope most of my treat days look like: restraint. order. moderation.
I'm guessing there may be some days that get a little ugly. But this first one did NOT.
Now I just have to decide when my next one is. My birthday is tomorrow, but that is just too soon after my first treat day. So I have decided that this year, 2012, on my 36th (OMG!!!!) birthday, I will NOT eat cake. Or ice cream. Or chocolate. I think this will be the first year of my life, with the exception of my actual birth day, that I am not having cake.
Hey, that's one way to make it special . . .
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