Remember when I told you I was going to try to get a handle on my candy addiction in January? Boy, am I glad that’s over!
You might be wondering, how is this an organizing or decorating story? Trust me, it is both.
The thing about organizing is that if you have a plan, a system, and the right tools on hand, you can be successful. Without any of those things, well, you get more of what you’ve always gotten before.
My plan was to cut out my candy binges. Not calories. Not candy entirely. Just the 3 o’clock and 8 o’clock binges. That’s where I sit down and eat half a bag of M&M’s or an entire box of Girl Scout cookies. My system was to have some substitute sweets on hand, including frozen fruit, oranges, Greek yogurt, and roasted vegetables. And the tools, well, that’s where you came in. Every time I went into the pantry, I thought about this post I was eventually going to have to write, and so I thank you for being there for me.
My goals were SMART: specific, measurable, applicable, realistic, and time-bound. There was absolutely no reason I couldn’t be binge-free for thirty days.
Things pretty much went as planned. Not having my daily sugar dose, some mornings I definitely woke up less sluggish. Sugars that come from processed foods and candy really do gum up my works, which is way more noticeable than in my twenties.
Oh, and I remembered that I needed to drink more water. Not just pour it and let it sit nearby, but actually drink it. Osmosis isn’t a good way to get your hydration.
Then, near the end of the month, I took on a two day staging job, and my system failed. (That’s the decorating part of the story.) I fell back on chowing through an entire bag of Skittles to get me through the job instead of taking sensible breaks for water and real food. Skittles are so seductive, I even got my assistant hooked on them. Sorry, Jill. Although the Skittles.com site is one of the biggest wastes of time ever, I have to agree with the tweet/quote, “Where there are Skittles, there’s a way.”
OK, one slip is not bad. But then I had a weak moment in the evening, which began with me reaching for a box of chocolate drizzled popcorn that I bought as a hostess gift in case I was invited to a holiday party.
Note to self: buying candy just in case is probably a bad idea.
I struggled with this one, so close to the end of the month. So I flipped the box and checked the stats. 10 servings in the box. 130 calories per serving. Are you kidding me? Stalling, I pulled out 9 plastic baggies, intending to eat just one serving. It works for those Nabisco hundred calorie packs; it might work for me. Here’s what one serving looked like.
Pathetic. Hardly worth the calories.
That particular night, my better nature won out. I opted for a tub of Greek yogurt instead and saved about a gazillion calories. ‘Cuz you know I was not just going to eat one serving of that popcorn. You know I was going to eat the ENTIRE BOX, right?
Organizing my pantry and my thoughts help me stay on track. I have no idea if I lost weight or not, but I can definitely say that one of my favorite shirts feels more loose. Yeah!
So, it all ends well. Borrowing a title from my blogger friend, Stephanie over at Intentional Girl, I’ve become a bit more intentional about my snacks. Which is good, because candy season never really seems to end, does it?
HeartWork Organizing 