Yesterday hubby took the fam on a nice little road trip down the coast, or was it up the coast? I don’t know, but it was certainly full of opportunity to eat my way through a small part of California. Good thing I had already decided that I would not be overcome by my sweet tooth, or my fat tooth, or my carb tooth on this trip.
Fortunately for me the first stop was an organic cherry grower. Those made for a nice little snack in the car. Next stop, a bakery – uh oh. Again, remember, I am in control. Breathe deeply, relax, and choose ONE dessert. For those of you who know me, you know that normally I would leave this place with a shopping bag full and think nothing of it – calling it research for Sweet Tooth Therapy (warning, do not click that link unless you can handle sweet tooth porn). But today was a new day. I was overjoyed to find a surprisingly delicious cherry walnut oat cake – kind of a granola bar. I’ll be trying to duplicate that soon. (note to self – remember to take a pic before you start eating.)
Next stop, a spot that reeked of grease and salt and all things fried. Thank God we left in a hurry. We found a more suitable establishment up the road, where they greeted us with a huge hunk of sourdough bread and butter, to which I politely said no. I must have been feeling particularly strong this day, because I also said no to fish n’ chips, AND the blackened fish sandwich. Instead I went for an absolutely wonderful smoked albacore salad (so good I forgot to take a picture before it was all gone – sorry).
As we headed back up the coast, we noticed the streets lined with candy shops. The devil was busy folks. Anyway, we went in and came out without me tasting or touching one piece.
Our final stop was Nation’s. I innocently went in planning to get a veggie burger. I forgot about the pies, and the fries. Of course the cashier enthusiastically offered fries, pies, AND a shake. I don’t ever recall the service at Nation’s being this friendly and thorough. Happily I can report that I left with no more than a veggie burger on wheat, as planned.
At the end of the day I took a moment to count how many small foxes could have spoiled my plan for clean eating for the day – NINE. Think about it – If you face many little innocent offerings of one cookie, a handful of chips, a little mayo, or extra mayo all in one day, that stuff (y’all know what I wanna say) adds up. What if you make it a habit of welcoming the small foxes on a daily basis? What would happen if you choose to refuse the small foxes, and make that a habit?
Nobody means any harm when they offer, or at least I hope they don’t. Really, sometimes people see you being stronger than they are and want to sabotage, but that’s a post for another day. Anyway, it’s your responsibility to stick with your plan. And of course if you fail to plan, then you’ve already planned to fail.
I, by no means, have this down pat. This was a great day that I hope to use to motivate you as well as myself. I want you to know that we’re in this together. But if I can do it, you can do it, one day, no, one small fox at a time. So do me a favor and take notice the next time a small fox comes your way – probably within the next hour after you read this. Be strong, kick that fox to the curb, and keep it movin’. I promise you’ll be so glad you did.
