NOT having your cake and eating it!

Today the gym I joined just over a fortnight ago had its Christmas party, which was an outdoor family party held in a park. As I'm trying these days to do things that are outside my comfort zone, it didn't really matter that I tend to be an antisocial hermit at times - I was going to go regardless! And I did go, and I enjoyed myself. It was good to catch up with friends who also go to the gym and chat to the trainers as well.

The function today was catered with healthy lunch options of salad and cold meats - all good there - and then there was dessert. Now, anyone who knows me will know what a dessert FIEND I am. If there is one food type I find almost irresistible, it's cakes/biscuits/desserty-type stuff. But something that came back to me today from the CH workshop and I decided to try and put it into action. Craig was saying how he made a decision many years ago that he just would not be a drinker, so he does not drink by choice. He goes to a lot of functions in his line of work and, especially if they are "blokey" functions, there is always a deal of peer pressure to drink at least some booze. He says he never goes to these functions and thinks, "Damn, everyone is having such fun having a few beers - maybe I should too," or, "I wish I could be fully taking part in this function by drinking." He has made his choice and he goes with it, and has just as good at time NOT drinking. Well, today, when it was announced dessert was served, I had a flashback to this part of the conference. In the past, two things would have happened. If I was in eat whatever, whenever I want mode, I would have been one of the first in line for my cake or whatever. If I was in "diet" mode, I wouldn't have had any, BUT I would have sat there watching others eat theirs and feel terribly deprived and a bit annoyed that I couldn't also have it. Today I thought I'd try the CH experiment - choose not to have cake, just because I'd already had lunch and I didn't "need" it because I wasn't hungry, but concentrate on how I felt once everyone else got theirs and I had to sit there watching them eat it. And you know what? It felt OK. I can't honestly say I was sitting there slavering and panting and drooling and wishing I had some. I concentrated on looking at how nice the park was, enjoying the breeze on my face, enjoying the fact that I was with good company - I guess you could say I was "finding the good".

So maybe this is how the process goes - if you fill your life with other things and people you enjoy, the desire to mindlessly inhale food you don't really need to eat will start to ease. Now, I'm a person who can go to a function where people are drinking and not have one single drink and not feel the slightest bit antsy or deprived because I just don't really enjoy booze or what it does to me. I don't expect to ever feel so blase about food, BUT if I can get to somewhere in between, "What are they eating? I MUST HAVE IT NOW!!!!" and total indifference to food, I will be thrilled. The habit can be broken, I know it! It will require diligence and work, but it can be broken!