Toxic Thursday

My name is Linda, and I’m a chocolaholic. Oh yes, I may be a personal trainer and practice nutritious/healthful eating, but I love me some chocolate 24/7. The problem is, I fell off the wagon in the last few days. I haven’t been stuffing myself with all the goodies of the season, but I would walk by a cookie here, eat some Hershey’s kisses there, and to tell you the truth, the more I ate, the more I wanted. Until yesterday, when I was unwrapping kisses so fast the sparkle of the red/green/silver foil flashed and glittered around me like a string of holiday lights on a Christmas tree! Yes, girlfriends, I was a chocolate chipmunk-cheeked mess just waiting for insulin shock to set in.

And this morning, I paid – dearly! I have a sugar hangover. Thankfully, no headache, but I am slow and sluggish and feel like I’m walking through a sea of Jell-O. I slept hard, and when I awoke this morning, instead of saying cheerfully “God is good, it’s morning!” I fell out of bed groaning “Good God – it’s morning?!?!?” I think instead of blood happily coursing through my veins I have molten chocolate oozing slowly. When I practically crawled onto my scale this morning, I swear I heard it say “Tsk…tsk…tsk… I TOLD you so!” as it registered the numeric proof of my overindulgences.

Let me say yet again that food isn’t bad, and there’s nothing wrong with eating anything you want – including the aforementioned fare which is everywhere we turn at this time of year. However… it is when I eat and eat without reserve or intentionality that it comes back to bite me on my ever-increasing butt! I have to honestly say, it just isn’t worth it. My brain is fuzzy and my energy levels are woefully depleted. Granted – a mouthful of chocolate truly is taste bud bliss, and dark chocolate has some wonderful properties… but I have learned my lesson.

So here I sit, green tea and bran muffin in hand, asking you to join me as I exercise my restraint muscles over the remaining Christmas feasts. I think I’ll leave the cookies for Santa and reach for a big ol' bahonkin' crisp, delicious salad and plate of veggies, which I find myself craving today, along with a huge ice-cold glass of water with lemon.

Blessings,
Linda