Candy Won’t Fix Your Bank Account

The recent headline in the New York Times was: “When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls.” When the economy goes down, candy sales go up, the newspaper reported. “Sugar is comforting,” one candy buyer told the newspaper.

Candy sales are up 30 percent for Cadbury and more than 10 percent for Nestle's. That’s great news if you’re a candy company, but just another lousy excuse to overeat if you’re a food junkie.

I was addicted to overeating and weighed in at more than 200 pounds. Was a recession my excuse? I didn’t need an excuse. I ate when I was broke, when I had money in the bank, when I was sad and when I was happy.

Candy? I loved the stuff. But here’s what happened. I made the decision that I wanted to lose weight. If you think you’re addicted to overeating, your mirror is your proof.

I threw away the candy with the candy bar wrappers and stopped eating a lot of other unhealthy foods, too. Now I’m no longer fat, and I love it. I’m not afraid of looking in mirrors, and I don’t think up dumb excuses to start overeating again. I quit. You can, too.

Are you a former fatty? Share your story by responding to this blog.

Good Intentions Are Not Enough

I was talking to someone the other day about their struggle with losing weight. She told me that every day she gets up she intends to eat a certain way, but when she goes to work there are donuts and she "has" to have one. If there is candy on someone's desk, she has to take a small handful. It's just too difficult for her to pass that bowl.....or donut.

Good intentions are wonderful but look at the reality of the situation. You are in charge of whether of not you take the donut or candy. It seems so many times that people don't take any responsibility for eating the crap. But it IS your responsibility.

I remember doing these things too. It was almost as if I had the diet plan in place, then I hoped something wouldn't sabatage my day---like someone offering me cookies---because if they did, it wasn't my fault and I would eat them.

Responsibility! That's the key to quitting your addiction. And the thing is, when you take responsibility and pass the donut, candy, cookies---whatever, you will become stronger and your goal is within reach. You are running your own show!

Good intentions are not enough.

Are You Willing to be Uncomfortable?

I was at the gym today listening to a great, uplifting tape I had downloaded on my ipod about how anyone can change their life and become who they want to be. The person running the teleseminar was saying you have to be able to get out of your comfort zone in order to move to the next level. I got that right away. And I know she's right.

She went on to say that she thought it would be good for everyone to write down on a piece of paper 5 situations in their life where you achieved something great. After a few moments (since I was at the gym I thought of a few things) she said "didn't each one of the things you listed require you to get out of your comfort zone?" Yes, each one did.

If you don't learn to be uncomfortable you won't be able to accomplish the big things in life. If you're reading my blog I think you are probably dealing with an addiction. I think in knowing you MUST be uncomfortable at times will give you a freedom now. In the past you may have thought that something was WRONG because you were uncomfortable. Now you can consider that it isn't just normal, it's necessary in order to take that leap and do the thing you need to do.

What It Means to Be Done With Addiction

Santa Barbara is going through a horrific fire right now, although it appears at this time things are getting better. The fire has burned approximately 80 homes. It was over 5 miles long. I was evacuated for 2 days. I never went through that before. I was outside talking with my neighbors around 9:30 on Thursday night and the police with their bullhorn went through telling everyone to get out immediately. I went to my mother's house, but she was in a fire warning area so we could have been evacuated from her house as well.

I didn't think about it until this morning, but years ago (when I was drinking) the fire would have given me one of the BEST reasons to drink. No one could say anything to me because I "had a reason to drink."

But I'm so far past drinking now, knowing I'll never drink again because I really don't want to, so I never even entertained those old thoughts.

I had a boyfriend at the time I quit drinking and he said "once you quit drinking, you quit no matter what."

He was right.