Lent Day 3-4

I made a grave mistake yesterday...I had sugar free gum. This decision came from a desire to have something sweet so I thought, hmmm, I will just have a piece of sugar free gum and that will curb my craving. Not only did it NOT curb the craving it has made it worse by about 10 fold. I am still eating fruit and bread and stuff so this constant nagging is not out of a need for carbohydrates, but simply an annoying indulgence that has been fed for far too long. I did however, put a small bag of conversation hearts in my cupboard for Easter Sunday...the day when I will be expecting a basket of candy from my family this year!! haha Unless by some miracle I feel so good by then I don't want it. I can not fathom that right now.

In other news, I took my first Anatomy 2 lab test last night. I found it quite easy, as the instructor said we should. Today I must cram for my medical terminology test. I do believe at the end of the semester and before my program starts I will be going back over this massive amount of vocabulary. It's like its own language. It has been fun between the med term and the a&p class to be able to not only spell, but know the meaning of words like cholycystokinin-pancreozymin! Makes me feel smart!!

Well, it would sure me a shame for me to fail my test because I am stalling on the study!! Hopefully to day, Lent day 4, will show some relief for the sugar desire. I think I may just let my kids eat every piece of Valentine's Day candy just so I don't have to keep looking at it!! Thank goodness there is no Dove chocolate laying around...a girl can only take so much. And yes, I am still thinking about yummy, smooth, delicious Dove chocolate...

Lent - Day 2

So I woke up this morning with the headache that always follows me giving up sugar. However, I have discovered that two Excedrin will take away the pain! I don't consider myself that much of a caffeine drinker, but I think the lack of sugar AND caffeine must be a dual contributor to the headache. I cannot drink coffee at this time because my coffee is like dessert between the flavored creamer and the yummy sugar. Yes, I have tried sugar free creamer and have decided that I would rather not drink it at all. Too bad for me, I am terrified of diet chemical water, aka soda, and so that is out as well. So not only is the sugar gone, but I am having to drink more water. Perhaps a more healthy me is in store??

I have discovered two things in just two short days...I have never considered myself an emotional eater, but upon getting some challenging news yesterday all I wanted was a piece of chocolate. Huh?? That surprised me, that the one thing I would crave would be something sweet...the very definition of an emotional eater is one who turns to food to make them feel better. That's kind of a lot to take in with just one day under my belt. So being that I am doing this to see what God has for me during this time, I turned my attention to Him. I must say, that time satisfies in ways chocolate cannot and I don't even have to put sweatpants on to indulge in it!!

Secondly, I discovered, I eat when I am bored. Seriously?? I did not realize this either. After a few hours of study...I am not hungry, but in the kitchen wishing I could eat something sweet. When something sweet was not an acceptable choice I tried to think of something salty that would do the trick. As I paused to consider this, I realized that I am not hungry, just bored. However, instead of realizing this fact and jumping right back into the homework, I am here, writing this. There is more than one way to avoid homework!!

I am proud of myself though. This morning I made cinnamon rolls with frosting for the kids for a special Valentine's Day breakfast. Had fun heart covered plates covered with some chocolates and other special candies and although the aroma of the cinnamon rolls was almost more than I could take, I gave the little scrap of cinnamon roll to the dog as a Happy Valentine instead of listening to the voice that said it was a "special day" and it would be "OK" to have it.

So that is Lent day 2 or day 39 which ever way you want to count it. Some pretty big stuff to pay attention to, but I am excited to see what God is going to do as He turns my attention away from sugar and towards Himself...always a good thing!

Lent

It's that time of year again, the season of Lent. I have decided to go with the one thing that plagues me every year and finally be successful...Sugar. So for the next forty days sugar or sugary treats are not to pass my lips. So because I have made this decision all i have thought about all day long is chocolate!! I keep telling myself it's not as good as my mind is trying to tell me, but then my mind being ever so cleaver, reminded me of Dove chocolate. Smooth and tasty...ah well it will have to wait because this year I am going to overcome my addiction!!

I am going to do my best to not torture my family with my grumpy attitude as I begin to detox as I have discovered in the past is an unpleasant process. I figure I will journal on here as I go and hopefully there will be more gained from this than just me saying, "I did it!" So here we go...I am looking forward to crossing off day one!

In other news I took my first Anatomy and Physiology II test last night. I think I did well. It was pretty intense. I had a moment where I looked at the questions and was actually amazed that I understood what all of these huge words meant!! It's kind of exciting!! I have to wait allllll the way til next week for my grade...that is not great...I am dying to know now!! I have a lab test and a medical term test to finish out the week. Medical Terminology should be an interesting test because i haven't looked at the material yet....this is not good. Must go study...