I said no to a cookie!

Last Sunday I bought a container of chocolate chip cookies for a co-worker's birthday. For the rest of that day, those cookies were in my apartment, hidden in a re-usable grocery bag, yes, but I knew they were there. I could have easily swiped a cookie without anyone knowing. But I didn't.

On Monday morning, I put the container, total number of cookies intact, on my co-worker's desk with the card that we had all signed. A few minutes later, I noticed that the cookies had been placed in the communal snack area, by the printer in the office services section of our department. Usually when someone has a birthday we bring in treats to share, and that's where they go, so you can grab a cookie or a handful of goldfish or a piece of Godiva chocolate as you pick up papers from the printer, or grab a stack of envelopes, or a notepad, or a new pen that doesn't leak.

My work for the day necessitated several trips to Office Services. I had printed documents from the Internet and Microsoft Word. I had sent addresses to the label printer from our patron database. I had to make some copies. At least four or five times I found myself in that area, staring at those cookies. Some had disappeared, but definitely all. In the blink of an eye, one of them could have found its way into my hand, then in my mouth, on the way to my stomach. But each time I said no, and kept on walking.

At the end of the day, I went back to my apartment, and I made myself a sugar free chocolate protein shake. I was very proud of myself for avoiding the cookie.

Several months ago I wrote a blog post about sugar. My decision at that time was that I enjoyed my sugary snacks, and I didn't want to give them up. My afternoon cookies or brownies were one of the highlights of my day. Sugar is a staple of the average American diet; can it really be that bad for you?

But since then I have read more, especially about the link between sugar and metastatic breast cancer. Now, I am on a birth control pill, so I am already at a higher risk for breast cancer. I will probably have to go on hormone replacement therapy when I achieve menopause, so that will also increase my risk. And even though I am trying to reduce my sugar intake, I believe I will never completely eliminate sugar from my diet. So why am I trying at all?

I guess I'm hoping that reduction is at least better than no change at all. Since I started to reduce my sugar intake in early January, I think I've only had a sugary snack three times. I had nutella once, a cookie once, and yesterday I indulged in chocolate cake when I took a friend out to lunch for her birthday. The cake was amazing, and I did enjoy it - but not as much as I would have before this new year. I feel better about myself when I avoid eating something high in sugar.

I have been pretty successful with the daily treats. I actually like the taste of the sugar free shakes. I also like the taste of honey in tea instead of sugar. But I am struggling with giving up my daily fruit bar, which has a lot of sugar in it. I haven't found a worthy substitute. I also like yogurt, but I am trying to eat cottage cheese instead.

I miss the carefree days of ignorance. But making healthy eating choices is beginning to feel as satisfying as that chocolate chip cookie hitting my taste buds. I know I won't always say no to a cookie or a piece of cake or scoop of ice cream. But if I can limit sugary treats to special occasions, that would be the new normal I would like to achieve. For now, I would be happy with that.

Time for a shake!

librarianintx