Here I was…..About to walk into the lion’s den! This is the place where weeks of abuse started. This was the place where countless dollar bills were wasted for simple cheap delights! This was the place I once considered my favorite place on Earth. This place provided childhood memories of me glancing at the naughty pictures. This place provided memories of my college years where I realized I had what it takes to become a man.
This place is the sexy…..curvy………tantalizing……. Grocery Store!
Recent Infidelity
Every since the holiday seasons, any encounter I had with a grocery store involved me getting some type of dessert or snack related food. It was always a spur of the moment type of deal. I would be driving to a fast food joint and stop at a store for some sort of cake to pair with the food like a wine connoisseur.
I could be reading a book and see the word cheesecake in a paragraph. Two hours later, I’m at the grocery store with a variety pack of cheesecake that’s only meant to be a one night stand. I can not think of one single moment that I had went to the grocery store for real shopping these past few months. For those that have been keeping up with my Countdown to 195, you see that there are healthy meals being eaten by me. How are those healthy foods being bought?
Well, my wife does our grocery shopping. We have a mutual agreement that she does the grocery shopping. That habit developed in our five-year marriage due to my work schedule. My work schedule usually involved me traveling or being gone for 10-12 hours of the day. My wife’s work schedule revolved around later evening hours, so she had easier access to the non-crowded hours of the grocery store.
The Tipping Point
As I recently reached a boiling point while rereading Release The Beast: Conquer Mental, Physical & Diet Challenges To Unleash The Champion Inside , I got tired of my unnecessary binging. It’s a cycle that happens almost ever season. The cold winter months are the worst offenders for me.
So for the past week, I got my cravings back under control. In Week 13’s Countdown to 195 check-in, my measurements did not drastically change when compared to Week 12. What did change was my mentality. I know that I’m back to my normal sane self. I know that because of what happened on Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day Cheater!
As my wife and I prepared our meal planning for February, we both agreed to do a brunch for Valentine’s Day. In my mind, that meant I was going to have a cheat day. Based on my current realistic goal, I’m trying my best to aim for a 80% or better monthly compliancy when it comes towards eating. That just means 80 out of 100 meals for the month need to follow my normal eating plan. If I do that, I’ll be on the way towards my current goal of getting down to 195 pounds.
The days prior to Valentine’s Day, I did not stray from my diet. I even reduce my calories two days before Valentine’s Day and felt completely ok. Despite the reduced calories I still attacked my workouts like a monster! The sessions made me feel like Godzilla roaring!
When Valentine’s Day came, I sat down at the restaurant and knew exactly what I wanted! It was Eggspectation’s California Dreaming eggs benedict.
Look At That Sexy Plate of Goodness!
As I glanced at the menu, I also wanted to add another item to the dish. Eggs and grits sounded like a good addition!
As soon as I thought about adding them, I thought to myself …
“Do I really need it?”
It was like a light bulb went off. Somehow I was very rational and just told myself to go ahead and just get the dish as it was.
I planned on getting something sweet once I finished my main meal. I had seen the restaurant had coconut cream cake and today was a cheat meal so why not! As the waiter placed the check on our table before I could ask him for a slice of cake, the light bulb went off again….
”Did I really need it?”.
I left the restaurant with no cake and proceeded to a nearby Dunkin Donuts. I had seen them advertising for the past week and subconsciously wanted a doughnut. When my wife and I walked in, a light bulb went off again…
”Did I really need it?”
If this had been a month ago, I would have went crazy with a dozen donuts. Today, I only picked out just 3 for myself.
Trip To The Store
Once we got back home, we determined that we should just go ahead and go grocery shopping today due to a expected snow storm on President’s Day. I told my wife that I would come to the grocery store….and then a light bulb went off again!
As we approached the grocery store’s entrance, I realized that this was the first time I had been grocery shopping in months! What I had been doing these past few months was basically use the grocery store like I was a drug addict going to my local dealer. On this day, I was back to using the grocery store like it should be used!
Guess Who’s Back
When I walked down the aisles, I was amazed at how focused my vision was. Anything sugary and non-diet compliant was off my radar. I was so tuned that I parked my shopping cart next to some chocolate Easter bunnies on display! I’m talking over 200 big sized Easter bunnies! This past Easter I went to this grocery store looking for a chocolate bunny and could not find a single one! Yet, today here was over 200 of the delicious bunnies and I could care less.
Anybody that’s reading that’s new to my world probably doesn’t realize that I love grocery shopping. Judging by the tone of this post so far, it comes across that I only go grocery shopping when I need to. That’s the furthest from the truth! The truth is that I love grocery shopping! It’s one of the things I look forward to the most. I’m a huge fan of cooking. One of these days I hope to start posting recipes on this blog site, that’s how much I love it.
So as I walked out of that grocery store I felt like my old self. I felt like the guy who’s completely in control of his life again. No more constant temptations! I feel my winter blues have ended. A hurdle has been jumped over, and that I’m back on track to finish my race!
