Ah, the Holidays.
The music.
The friends and family.
The sweets…
Yikes!
In the last two weeks, we have held two Holiday parties. We have attended several more. In the course of the festivities, we have been exposed to a lot of sugar-filled Holiday goodies (par for the course in our American culture of sweets).
The picture above shows what was leftover from our party last Tuesday.
I admit, I have indulged. After spending the last year primarily avoiding processed sugar (basically sticking to the diet I describe here), in the past few weeks I have let that routine slacken. Curiosity and opportunism (and the post-party desire to rid ourselves of the junk food in our house) got the better of me on several occasions.
I think it started on Thanksgiving. It continued at our first Holiday party, increased at a friend’s Caroling party, and reached a crescendo on Tuesday with our second party. Over the past few days, I have nibbled on more than my share of chocolate-covered pretzels, snickerdoodles, and Oreo cookies.
As a child, I was like most other kids: entranced by the prospect of of Holiday sweets! I looked forward to the plethora of sugary choices, from candy canes to apple cider, from egg nog to Christmas cookies. Apparently,, I still have some of that in me.
Yet nowadays it seems my body feels differently. It seems to prefer less sugar. I really get why they call it “junk” food. It just doesn’t satisfy. Instead, it seems to leave a void in my stomach. I reach for more junk food to fill the void… but it never really can.
Yesterday I had a slice of cheese and thought, “Real food!” I can really tell the difference.
I think I might need to turn the lever on my Will Power gage back on to get back. Thank God I have that!
To clarify: this does not mean I love the Holidays any less!