I'm sitting in a lovely restaurant with four of my closest girlfriends lingering over savory Italian dishes and big-hearted laughs. Our dinner is long-overdue and much needed and as we laugh over nothing, and trip over fond memories, our server saunters over with yet another menu. "Dessert, anyone?", he gushes with a smile. I watch my friends audibly sigh, roll their eyes and pat their full stomachs, glaring at the server as if he's offering them a plate of mud. I, on the other hand, gaze longingly into his eyes, clasp my hands together and just as the phrase "that sounds delicious" exit my mouth, one of the girls blurts "check, please!"
I. Love. Sweets.
I don't discriminate, I'm not biased toward one dessert or another, and there's a more-than-good chance I will be first in line for a second helping. I'm the girl that would often rather have dessert before dinner, and I think it comes to no surprise that my first job was scooping ice cream, and no, I never got sick of the creamy goodness.
My friends, God love them, are either far more disciplined than I, or they just don't share my saccharine-covered palate. I am the outcast at the table who lives for the moment when the server walks over to exclaim those precious four words; "Save room for dessert!"
I've learned that my passion for anything chocolate covered actually work in my favor. I don't believe sweets are the enemy, and I don't believe they should only be saved for special occasions. When you have the mentality that something is off-limits, you want it all the more, right? So, if you gear your brain and train it to understand that it's ok to eat what you love and love what you eat, you'll probably be much happier, and therefore, healthier.
Here's How To Have Your Cake And Eat It Too:
1. Plan: If you know you're headed out for a feast, or even headed to your couch for takeout, decide earlier in the day what you're going to eat so your otherwise healthy diet doesn't implode.
2. Sweat: If you gruel out an extra meal's worth of calories, your cake will taste even better. You won't ruin your diet so much as you will veer off momentarily
3. Savor: When you finally do decide to have that cake, for goodness sake, enjoy it. Savor every single bite, eat it slowly, and unless it's completely irresistible, leave some on your plate for someone else to join the fun.
Life is full of ups and downs. Make it a little sweeter. Even if you're the only one at the table who wants it that way.
Keep Climbing,
ELD
