My Daily Cookie Test

I tend to think in extremes a lot of the time, especially when it comes to eating and exercising. For example, if I'm not going to be sweaty, exhausted, and starving at the end of a workout, why bother? Or, if I can only have one cookie, not 3, why bother?

I decided I want to practice treading in the waters of moderation a little more, rather than always jumping in the deep end. I think I've mastered the task of making myself workout when I don't want to, now I want to master the task of taking a rest when I need to (more on that later). I also want to be able to trust myself enough to actually make cookies without eating half a batch. When it comes to cooking, I make dinner, but that's about it. I pretty much steer clear of the baking. Not because I don't want to make my husband's day when he walks in the door to a house filled with the sweet smell of home-baked goods, but because I don't trust myself in a house filled with home-baked goods. Let's be honest, he'd end up getting maybe 1/4 of them, and I'd end up eating the rest for breakfast and lunch the next few days while he was working. 

St. Augustine said it well with this quote, "Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation." 

I think that's very true, and since I love a good challenge, my goal this week is to practice some moderation. I won't say perfect moderation because that would be extreme of me. Even moderation needs to be moderated. Does that even make sense? It does to me anyway. 

Last night I took a step in the right direction. Here's what happened...

At 10:15 p.m. I got a craving for something sweet. The gluten-free cookie mix inside my pantry from my friend Stacie was calling my name. Then the extremist in me kicks in and says, "You can't have a cookie. It will ruin all the healthy things you ate today. Go do an hour of pilates instead. That'll satisfy your craving." Great. So now I have to choose between an hour of pilates, or a cookie. (At 10:15 p.m. nonetheless.) It's like I want to set myself up for failure and a guilt trip. It's times like these that moderation can save the day. Moderation can make both those little voices inside my head happy, and I won't have to spend the rest of the night on a trip to guilt-land. 

Here's the new plan...

Make the cookies, but only eat one (and a little cookie dough). You gotta have a little dough. 

Then do 20 minutes of pilates instead of one hour. 

Then practice sharing my precious cookies so I won't eat them all by myself after breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next few days. 

See, moderation makes everyone happy. I got a cookie, (not 4). It didn't ruin everything healthy I ate that day. One cookie never hurt anyone. I also got a little pilates in. It wasn't an hour, but 20 minutes is better than nothing. 

That may have been the first time I've eaten just one cookie when they are hot out of the oven. Although, I almost ruined it with the famous picking method. You know the drill...I'll just cut off a little corner....maybe just one more little corner....ok now I should just eat the rest because there's only a small piece left. That's the extreme way of thinking. The exact thing I'm trying to get rid of, so I stopped even though that little cookie can barely be considered a cookie anymore. But, that's not the point. The point is I turned off the "all-or-nothing" voice inside my head and walked away. That "all-or-nothing" voice that comes with three seconds of happiness in exchange for hours of guilt and feeling 3 inches tall. I tend to forget over and over again that that's not really a fair trade. 

Now I have a whole bunch of cookies leftover, so this will be the perfect opportunity to start exercising my moderation muscle. My goal this week (or at least until these cookies are gone) is to eat one and only one cookie a day. Can I do it? I really don't know, but I'm going to try. I'll let you know how it goes. 

I can't even tell you how many times those cookies called my name today, but I'm holding out until after dinner because I know that's when I always want one the most. 

Here's a quote that I should tape on the outside of the cookie jar! I love it!

"Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance."

-Epicurus

What foods are hard for you to share?
I have a lot. Actually, I was trying to decide which few to list here, and I was having trouble deciding, so I asked Scott. His response, "All of them. You only share if you're really full, or you don't like it" OK then. Can't get mad because it's true.