Last week it was a rich, fudgy chocolate cake. This week, it's a Polish layer cake that stands at over 10cm tall a slice. The top is covered in chocolate icing and the next layer down is chocolate poppy seed sponge. After that I have no idea, because I was too busy eating my slice on Sunday to listen to the rest. It was delicious, although not as good as last weeks cake. The sad thing is, that I will probably never eat a slice of this cake again. My sister only cooks a recipe once...ever...and although a hefty piece lies invitingly on a plate in the fridge and calls to me, I won't eat it. I'm practising willpower and it hurts a lot. Mainly because I'm not very good at it.
Each week after dinner with my family we bring home some dessert, which usually last a day or two. But then by the second or third night, we've had a taste for sweets after dinner so the ice cream comes out of the freezer or chocolate or maybe some biscuits. Eventually I discover that I am actually eating a lot of sweets even as snacks on the weekend when I'm hungry and we are working on the house or landscaping. So I decided last week to stop having sweets during the week. I've tried every method that I've ever heard recommended to reduce sugar intake, but it simply hasn't worked. So now I am down to willpower, which isn't supposed to be very effective. But last week I got over my plateau by resisting chocolate cake so each time I am about to walk over to get a sugar fix I remind myself about that. I'm not sure how long I can keep my willpower muscle flexed, although it might just hold out until my husband finishes all the sweets in the house!
I'm curious, what are your secrets to controlling your sweet urges? Is willpower really hopeless or is it a show of strength? Isn't willpower supposed to be a good thing?
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for me, and there's a post coming on this soon, it isnt WILL POWER but WILLINGNESS.
ReplyDeleteto do what it takes to stick around for my daughter.
to do what it takes to be healthy.
to do what it takes some days to just ENJOY LIFE (and YES. those are the BRAVO TV & a sleeve of cookies nights :) some days that's what it takes!)
I find if I can stick with the willpower long enough the cravings subside and I can manage it all a bit better. I'm working on the willpower bit at the moment after a slightly large chocolate binge :)
ReplyDeleteI like MizFit's willingness idea, might have to steal that.
I still would like to know. But since I know I love sweets and I am not going to totally give them up, I keep healthier options in the house like fresh fruit with coll whip or animal crackers and graham crackers from Trader Joe's. That way I have the sweets, but with less calories. Less guilt but still curbing that sweet craving.
ReplyDeleteI had to drop the "w" word from my vocabulary as I was about to explode from hearing, "You just need a little willpower." What works for me (so far) in maintenance mode is to set parameters for sugary snacks. I can have small items daily (a Hershey's kiss or two, for example) through the week OR I can have a splurge-y dessert once a week. It's not a question of willpower so much as a guideline I've established for healthier living.
ReplyDeleteAll of that is out the window when I'm on vacation, of course. :)
MizFit - I'm very curious and looking forward to your post on this.
ReplyDeleteBerni - Ah cravings that go away. What are they?
Kristi - Substitutes are a good idea we have lots of them! Oh dear...
Cammy - Yes, I think having a little is the best way to go.
Willpower is good to exercise, I think. I feel for you with the cake! My ways to combat the sweets is to either have fruit instead, or share the sweet thing with someone else, or not have it in the house so that I have to walk somewhere to get it if I really want it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I just give in and have sweet stuff, even if it goes on for a few weeks or a month at a time- by the end of that, I'm able to cut myself off and work hard to ignore the call. Also, thinking about it logically ("I'm going to bed in a couple hours so why should I eat 500 calories worth of sweet foo right now?") sometimes helps.
- Sagan
Sagan - Sharing is a great option. I think I will try it with myself - like a little tiny piece today so I can have some tomorrow!
ReplyDelete