Old habits die hard....

…and some refuse to die altogether!

Beth and I have been married for 12 years. During that time, we get to house sit for my in-laws when they travel. You see they have 3 dogs, a bird and a partridge in a pear tree. And we all know how hard it is to pack a partridge in a pear tree in a car! Anyway, when RJ was a baby it was a really cool thing. We pretended we were on vacation in Gatlinburg. As the years progressed, it got to be impossible having to carry all his “STUFF” with us. So, we decided on those house sitting days, only one of us would go and the other would stay home.

Now to the old habits refusing to die! This past weekend, right after the Lunch Bunch, Beth headed off for her parents house. We view this now as a mini business trip instead of a vacation! RJ stayed with me for a guy’s night out. Not long after dinner, these habits I speak of decided to rear their ugly head. In the past when Beth was away house sitting, it was a chance for RJ and I to “pig out” so to speak. It was nothing for us to grab a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream, hot fudge sauce and all the other necessities that Satan has surrounded us with, and finish the half gallon in one setting. So what did I do? As soon as dinner was completed, I headed to the “aisle of shame” as RJ calls it. That’s right; I went to that “den of sin” known as the candy and ice cream aisle at K. Rogers

I decided to stay away from ice cream, but hit the sugar free candy hard! I walked away with 3 bags of sugar free candy and one bag of sugar free cookies! When I came home, RJ was on the couch watching TV. He immediately knew what this was, a chance to have a “boys night out”. We picked a good movie and picked our first object of obsession, the Russell Stover Caramel Drops.

Let’s put it this way, we finished the bag within 20 minutes and that was all she wrote. I felt terrible. Mel was not a happy camper! Oh yeah, Mel is the name for my pouch (stomach), as in “Mel’s Diner”. Beth’s’ pouches name is Alice, from the same TV show! Anyway, Mel was not doing well. I never had the gastrointestinal distress that a lot of people have from sweets. This was the first time since surgery that I did have an acid reflux attack. If you have never had one, they are painful. The rest of the candy was disposed of. What was so supposed to be a fun night out for the guys, turned into a disaster of epic proportions!

What did I learn from this episode “Boys can be pigs”? Once again, surgery was done on my stomach, not my head! I feel like I have come a long way in making good food choices. But I also figured out that it’s a long and winding road that leads to a healthier me!

So, what “old habits” are you dealing with? And most importantly, what are you doing about it. For me, it’s “Food for thought and moderation”. In other words, before something goes into my mouth, I will think about it and remember this night! I’m gonna try my best anyway!