No Sweets December

And I'm serious.

I'm on a team at work for the Wellness Program. September we donated blood, October we wore pedometers and counted the number of steps we took, November we didn't drink soda, and December we're not eating sweets/treats/desserts: cookies, candy, cake, etc.

Now I know what you're thinking. Why in the world are you participating in this?! Well, I was recruited to be part of this 8-person team and we're competing against other teams. I can't let my girls down! The wellness committee comes up with the challenges, and we simply acquiesce, I suppose. I actually haven't agreed on this quite so tacitly. I wrote an email to my team captain, asking her to define "treat." Would this include pumpkin bread, cinnamon bread, muffins? We were told in response that it is "up to our own conscience." Yikes! Well my conscience is telling me that dark chocolate is a health food! The committee member then went on to say that she thinks pumpkin and cinnamon breads are okay but that cinnamon rolls are a different story.

So we researched it. Pumpkin bread. Some recipes have loads of white sugar, brown sugar, butter, cream cheese; others include applesauce as a substitute. I am all sorts of confused, so I'm not even going to hover near that line.

It was a tender mercy on Tuesday and Wednesday (the first two days of the competition) because I had a headache all day and just the thought of sugar made it worse. They served birthday cake at work on the first (my favorite! Loads of frosting on CostCo cakes. Yum.), and I wasn't even tempted! It is now the fourth day, and I'm still going strong!

You have to understand that this is my first time attempting the "no sweets" challenge. And trust me, it is one heck of a challenge. I have to admit that I have quite the sweet tooth and have been known to claim that "I need a sweet each day to keep me going." Perhaps that logic comes from the fact that my mom used to say something along the lines of "work hard, get it done, and reward yourself with a little treat afterward." By the way, this strategy absolutely worked like a charm. You better believe I worked my little tail off in college and strutted all the way to Sugar 'n' Spice in the food court at school to purchase my 75-cent treat: a maple bar, of course. Thanks for the advice, Mom. :) That's why I'm so smart and fat--just kidding on both accounts.

And on that note, here's an angel and devil quote I picked up from various women:

Devilish

"There's a thin person inside me screaming to get out, but I keep her sedated with chocolate." --I saw this on a woman's cubicle at work this week.

Angelic

"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." --I picked this up from my roommate's wall a few months ago.

So who's with me? No Sweets December--sounds appealing, right? Okay, okay, when I fly home to Texas for Christmas I'll most likely consider breaking the rules, but if I have a little moral support . . . just think of the possibilities. We'll all have free-flowing arteries, healthy hearts, and a little easier time actually following through with those New Year's resolutions. It'll be great--I promise. You down?