I am currently reading Happier at Home, in which Gretchen Rubin talks about two types of dieters: moderators and abstainers. She says that some people in their diet will only succeed if they eat in moderation—in other words, if they try to cut anything out of their diet or make something “off limits,” they are more likely to fail because they do better when they eat less of certain foods rather than cutting out those foods entirely.
Abstainers, on the other hand, should never let themselves be tempted with even a small bite—their lack of self-control once starting to inhale their favorite junk makes them much more likely to succeed if they just cut out the food group entirely.
I always thought I was a moderator, but with my massive intake of heavy sweets this season already (most days I have literally taken in more sugar foods than non-sugar foods), I’m beginning to think that maybe I’d better swear off junk food until the actual holiday.
I mean, you know it’s bad when you’re already feeling sick from eating so many sweets, but all you crave is more sweets because real food has lost its appeal. You also know it’s bad when you catch yourself saying this over yet another bowl of ice cream: “December is a month for excess. January is the month for dieting.”
No bueno.
On the other hand, many of my favorite foods (peppermint fudge ice cream, gingersnaps, candy cane fudge) are generally only available now, and a small part of my soul just wants to die at the thought of not being able to get in my fair share of them this holiday.
It’s a dilemma of the worst kind for the sugaraholic.
In good news, I am still managing to run three times a week.
In bad news, I am still gaining weight due to the massive intake of said sugar. (At least I haven’t touched Diet Dr. Pepper for over a month now—-gotta count those small victories.)
So, I think I might have to try and avoid the treats in the faculty room this week and start pawning more sweets off on Matt. Sounds like a plan.
Are you a moderator or an abstainer? And are you already thinking of your January diet?
