Temptation

temptation

[ tem(p)ˈtāSHən ]

NOUN

a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise

There is nothing stronger than the pull of temptation when you are on a diet.  I don't know about you, but when I tell myself I want to eat better, I am usually drawn to the food that I was never interested in before my diet.  But somehow...when I know it is "restricted"...that is when I want to eat ten times of it.

Many of the struggles I have heard from friends and loved ones when trying to eat healthier, is the availability of the tempting food within their house.  Living alone makes this easier for me because I am the one in charge of the grocery shopping.  Avoiding the aisles filled with tantalizing delights is a breeze.  This makes it even easier to avoid when I am at home, because it just isn't there for me to eat.  When I have a craving for sweet or salty goodness, I have only fruit or nuts to choose from.  Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of sugary treats - my vice is the salty potato chip or popcorn.

Home is easy.  Work, on the other hand, is proving to be bit of a challenge.  Somehow, it is a different world altogether, and the temptation becomes more severe.  You see, at work, we have all kinds of food out for customers to sample.  It has become habit to sample it ourselves in order to better recommend them to our customers.  A bite here and there of jam on crackers can't all be bad right?  Especially when the crackers are Wheat Thins...

And so the battle within begins with the little inner voice that tells you it's ok, it's only one or two, you'll be sure to log those on your calorie counter and make up for it later.  And then someone buys a candy bar and hands it over to you to try.  And someone else bakes cookies, or cupcakes, or something devilishly sweet and oh-so-delicious and you are back to where you started...

When circumstances like these arise, I remind myself of why I am on a diet.  Why I am trying to get back in shape and be better to my body.  Unfortunately (and this is where I am currently at), there are people around us who will ultimately try to bring you back to the beginning, and not give a damn about your goals.  When you tell them, "no thank you", after they offer you treats, they will continue to persist.  And offer.  And offer.  And offer.

In the past, I used to cave in more.  I somehow felt guilty for turning people down and felt I needed to accept what they were offering so that I wouldn't offend them.  Now, I think quite the opposite.  Mind you, I am not rude when I decline the generous offer of food.  I politely decline and if asked a second time, I explain how I am on a diet.  If they continue to persist, they are the ones being disrespectful, and down-right rude.  And I'm finding this is making me angry.

I know, childish, right?  But there it is...If I cannot be honest with myself, I will never get past this.  Anger is my go-to phase when dealing with conflict.  It is only through this that I can move on.