My Weight Loss Journey: Celebrate Small Triumphs

The sun rose today, the day after Halloween, and I smiled. I achieved two things I never thought would be possible:

1) I got through Halloween with not one piece of candy passing my lips!

After months and months of cognitive training I am better at not allowing my unhelpful thoughts (the nasty Voice) become my destiny. "There is so much candy in the house, of course I will eat it and blow my calorie budget." Inevitable, right? And yesterday was a particular challenge. I had the following in my house: ice cream, left over cherry cobler from a dinner party, made with real butter, mind you! Twixts, Starbursts, Andre mints, and Skittles.

Earlier at Wegmans while my daughter chose the candy for Trick or Treaters, my eyes fell on a display of grapes. Hmmm. Colorful, juicy, gumdrop sized bursts of sweetness! Grapes were exactly what I needed to keep the candy monster at bay. My healthy self was open to options and Behold! A brilliant one presented itself.

All evening long I gave out sweets to monsters and scary politicians (one little kid was dressed as Carl Paladino!), my husband ate cherry pastry with ice cream and my daughter and invited guests ate pizza. I munched on grapes!

The real sweetness for me is the triumph of telling the nasty Voice in my head that wants me to stay plump (because that's how I was labled in my childhood and that's how it shall ever be in omnia selcula seaculorum), to take a long hike off a short pier!