Fat Tuesday

Today is Fat Tuesday.  For those Christians who follow the Lenten season, this is the day when all of the fat and sugar would be eaten to get it out of the house in preparation for Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter.

While observing Fat Tuesday and the 40 days of Lent is not part of my own Christian tradition or practice, I do identify with the "Fat Tuesday" thinking of eating it up and "making it go away," because that was one of my "strategies" for years. 

When we'd have sweets in the house (which was too often in those days), my focus was often just eating them up and getting them out of the house.  My ability to eat them in moderation was nil, so I wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.  There was never any thought of just throwing the rest away, because that would be "wasting food."

What I realize now was that I was really the human garbage can. I didn't want to waste the food by throwing it away, so I ate it, whether I was hungry or not, whether I even wanted it or not.  All those starving children in India or Africa or wherever . . . how could I waste food by putting it in the trash?

Does anybody identify with this, or am I alone in this type of thinking?

Part of my weight loss journey was learning to look at food as fuel, not an object of comfort, AND learning that it was OK to throw something away.  My throwing the food away didn't impact those starving children at all (please note: my heart breaks when I see pictures of those children, so I am not making light of them). 

I learned to respect myself enough to NOT be a human garbage can anymore.  That's not an easy thing, because I grew up in a family where wasting anything, including food, was absolutely NOT done.  Those childhood tapes still run in my head, so learning to make healthier choices required - and still requires - a conscious decision to make better decisions.

When I was working outside the home, I could almost count on a co-worker or two picking up some Fat Tuesday pastries from the store and bringing them in as a treat.  I'm guessing that some of you may be facing the same temptation today.

Hang in there!  Don't lose sight of what you really want!  You've been doing great, so today is a day to recommit to staying on plan TODAY.  Today can be your THIN Tuesday, not your Fat Tuesday :-).  Like every day, the choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)