A Less Sweet Life

Giving up sweets for Lent is still going okay, sort of. I haven't "cheated", but I have definitely overdone it on the sweets on the last two Sundays. I feel disappointed in myself, but I suppose that I should know by now that deprivation and making foods off limits IS what leads to overeating. This Sunday, I am going to try and be more sensible. I still have a few more weeks left til Easter, so I don't really want to quit now. I read a post by a friend of mine who said something to the effect that sacrifice during lent gives you a chance to pray more. When you are tempted to give in to the urge to eat sweets, you can pray for the strength to resist. Heaven knows, I don't pray enough, so I should take every opportunity to do so!

I will admit that when I'm hungry now, I don't often feel the urge to reach for something sweet. I've been making and enjoying a lot of vegetarian dishes these days. Snacks like eggplant spread and yogurt and fruit have been really satisfying me. I'm struggling a bit these days with the desire to eat after dinner, even though I'm not hungry. I want something sweet, feel like I really shouldn't be eating anything because I'm not hungry, and end up wanting to munch on crackers or something (anything!) I can eat with almond butter. Another opportunity to pray, eh?

I started a new blog at http://ahealthierappetite.blogspot.com/. I had one over at wordpress, but I found that I just didn't like wordpress very much. So, if you'd like my eggplant spread recipe, go over there and find it. Right now, I have only a few posts - mostly recipes - but hopefully, there is more to come!

Feeling Calmer

Giving up sweets hasn't been as difficult as I'd envisioned. Of course, no one has been offering me gooey brownies or anything, but we have homemade cookies in the house, as well as chocolate, and I haven't had any uncontrollable urges to gobble it all down. Sundays aren't considered part of the 40 days of lent, which seems a bit like cheating, but I've had some dessert each of the two Sundays so far. I haven't eaten everything sweet that isn't bolted down though, so I'm doing okay.

My work situation is a bit better. At least my boss is aware of the situation, even if he isn't rushing to do anything about it. I read recently in someone's blog (I have no clue whose it was - I caught up on about 1000 posts last weekend) that she was trying to be less irritated with people. She was telling herself something to the effect of "life is a journey and that isn't your ride". I've been reminding myself that D isn't on the same journey I am and I just need to worry about staying on my road, rather than veering over to his. It helps. And I've lost 3 pounds of the 10 I'd gained -- a bonus to feeling more peaceful.