10/22/09

What’s your splurge? Another favorite for my food journal is my splurge calendar. While I’m trying to figure out my patterns as to when, why, and how it makes me feel after I devour too much of a good thing, it also helps to have a separate breakdown of my of my go-to “happy food” particularly when I see that maybe my habit of having just one every once in a while is becoming more frequent… and possibly even a problem.

My splurge is chocolate. Because “they” say that it takes a week to break a habit or change a pattern, I wanted to first see what my pattern was and if it was a big enough deal to break. By tracking it- honestly- I would have proof enough to make a point to myself that I either do or do not have a problem with chocolate. After all, before you can fix a problem, you have to admit that you have a problem.

Chocolate Calendar

Week 1
Monday - NO chocolate. Craved it
Tuesday - Bowl of LF mint choc. Chip ice cream- yum!
Wednesday - NO chocolate. Too busy to think about it
Thursday - NO chocolate. Craved it. Proud I skipped
Friday - Chocolate in the am, Cookies in the pm- too much. Felt depressed before and worse after.
Saturday - NO chocolate. Green tea ice cream instead. Not worth it
Sunday - NO chocolate. Warm bath with candles instead. Much better

Week 2
Monday - NO chocolate didn’t feel the need to have it after yoga class
Tuesday - 2 mini Hershey’s dark chocolate
Wednesday - Non-fat, low calorie frozen yogurt
Thursday - NO chocolate again! Didn’t feel like it- odd. Actually passed on the dessert menu
Friday - NO chocolate again! Didn’t feel like it- odd. Actually passed on the dessert menu
Saturday - NO chocolate except for a hot chocolate w/no whip cream at coffee bean
Sunday - 3 pieces Hershey’s minis

Week 3
Monday - Bowl of LF (low fat) cookies and cream ice cream
Tuesday - Bowl of LF cappuccino chip ice cream
Wednesday - Bowl of LF cappuccino chip ice cream
Thursday - 2 bowl of LF cappuccino chip ice cream- BAD!
Friday - NO dessert- finally. Feeling bad about caving in all week Saturday - 1 large peanut butter chocolate chip cookie
Sunday - Bowl of LF cappuccino chip ice cream… again. Throwing it away.

Week 4
Monday - NO chocolate. Too much last week
Tuesday - Bowl of LF cappuccino chip ice cream (didn’t toss it)
Wednesday - NO chocolate today! Had a stomach ache
Thursday - NO chocolate today. Still not feeling well.
Friday - Still feeling bad. Ate a choc. bar to feel better. Didn’t work.
Saturday - Bowl of LF cappuccino chip ice cream- treat for feeling better
Sunday - 2 slices cheesecake. NO chocolate… but cheesecake. Ugh!

In the end, do I have a problem? Well… maybe just a weakness when it comes to saying no! So here’s my intention for the month to come: To eat dessert (which includes even just a piece of chocolate) only on weekends and once during the week… We’ll see how that goes. Not to worry, I will note it. Keeping track and knowing that I have to check into my journal each night before bed is sometimes motivation enough to stop short of a sugary dessert and instead grab a dozen berries as a sweet treat to end a successfully healthy day.

Have a sweet (but not too sweet) day! xx

posted by: Laurel