Sometimes, I just want to eat junk…

In our world, weekdays are pretty busy. So when the clock strikes quittin’ time on Friday, the Mr. and I make it a point to go kick it. Now “kickin’ it” takes on a variety of forms for us. For example, we welcomed this weekend with dinner (for us) then a little sandal shopping (for me) at one of my favorite malls.

As we walked through the mall food court, I was immediately swept away by the mixed aromas of fresh baked cookies, waffle fries and an array of other deep fried foods – the likes of which I haven’t indulged in nearly two months. Before I knew it, we were right smack through the center of it all, and y’all I thought I’d pass out. I’m not totally sure, but I think I felt heart palpitations. And even though I really enjoyed my earlier simple, yet savory meal of rotisserie chicken and grilled zucchini, I could’ve sworn my mouth began to water at the sight of a plate of orange chicken and a slice of mall cheese pizza.

Cheese pizza FROM A MALL, people…

So, at that moment I announced to my husband that sometimes I just want to eat junk. Junk. You know – fatty fried foods, salty snacks and oh yes REFINED sugar. Ohhh the refined sugar. Yes, occasionally, all that greasy, artery clogging, inflammation causing junk food beckons me, like a siren’s song, to come. And sometimes I want to answer the call. I want to just close my eyes and scarf down a piece of cake with really sweet frosting then wash it all away with a nice, strong, ice cold coca cola (which, by the way, I stopped drinking years ago).

I made my declaration and then, oddly enough, I felt better. I was done. Which leads me to one of the most valuable observations I’ve made while on this healthy eating journey – sharing my raw thoughts and feelings about food, cravings and such is pretty liberating. There’s something about simply acknowledging that seems to strip my cravings of their evil hypnotic powers, at least for the moment. And, for the moment, is usually all I need.

Could work for you, too. Maybe your struggle isn’t with maintaining a healthy diet. Maybe it’s something else that taunts or tempts you. Have you ever considered shining a spotlight on it and sharing it with someone else as a way of severing its annoying grip? Think about it. 

In the meantime, I continue my journey one day at a time, one meal at a time, often one moment at a time. Choosing blueberries over butterfingers isn’t always easy, but somebody’s gotta do it. Stay tuned for other valuable insights and wisdom gained from my healthy eating journey.

Oh btw, the sandal shopping came up empty that day, but the next day… #score