Addictions and Such

So, I quoted this on my bloggerpickle blog the other day, but just read them again since I was pondering a bit about addictions and such after our LDS general conference:


"Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to talk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ , because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist."
-C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity Book 3 - "Christian Behaviour, Ch. 11 - Faith"
 

During conference, I made a cake. I ate quite a few pieces until a speaker started talking about addiction right when I started into my fourth piece!  So, I know very little about goodness in the food department. So, now I have cake anonymous to add to the cookies anonymous, brownies anonymous, peanut M&M anonymous.......

But, isn't this a beautiful quote?

Nestle Cookie Dough

Recall on Toll House

Wouldn't you know - my luck - the first time I buy a tub of Toll house Chocolate Chip cookie dough...it would come to this.

I did make a batch of cookies last night and I did eat an entire cookie worth of raw dough because I hadn't done so in such a long time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_re_us/us_nestle_recall

Gray Hair Anonymous

I would like to announce that I produced far too many gray hairs today. They were all earned, but not sure that I actually wanted to earn this type of reward.

I'm still debating in my mind whether being part of cookies anonymous is better than gray hair anonymous or not.

Hmmm?

I'm going to go eat some cookies and milk and think about this a bit.

Cookies make me gain weight, but getting the hair done is now a $150 plus ordeal.

Tagged

I got tagged! I usually tag myself because some of the tags I see are interesting on other blogs, but this time Kathy tagged me and I will comply.

Here are the rules:
1- Post the rules on your blog
2- List 6 random things about yourself.
3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4- Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
5- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

6 Random things about Me

1.) I don't like to share. I had bad luck as a child with people never returning things or returning them ruined. However, I will typically go buy the item for the person OR give them the item instead of sharing. It has sometimes cost me a bit of money, but gave me much piece of mind.

2.) Technology gadgets are my weakness. I love to buy them. My latest was a little tiny speaker to plug into my iPOD. Now when people ask if they can hear a song I'm talking about, I just plug that speaker in instead of letting them try out my ear gear. Gross and like I said ...I don't like to share.

3.) I de-junk my house every single week. I don't have anything stuffed into closets or anything now. I'm getting to be fairly simple. I just have no interest in spending a lot of time taking care of stuff.

4.) The older I get the less tolerance I have for laziness or people who want to receive things on a golden platter. It's even harder to be the boss of people of this sort. They fall into the category of "there is no time for people like that" and I honestly have a hard time looking in their eyes when really ...wouldn't it be the opposite?

5.) I am one of the few people that likes to sit in the back row of church and see all the children antics. Since I don't see any children during the week, it is fun for me to see them grow, pout, smile and fixate on my boyfriend's head. Haaaa. (Kids like round heads I think)

6.) When it comes to cookies, I have no self-control. So, I now unofficially run cookies anonymous, graham crackers anonymous, peanut M&M anonymous, chocolate cake anonymous, and brownies anonymous. Ok, so my problem is bigger than cookies. Sometimes I will sneak into salt after eating the cookies thinking that will stop the behavior. I think it actually works.

Yes, those six things were pretty random.

Here are six people I'd like to hear about:
1 - Ann
2 - Renaye
3 - Patti
4 - Elise
5 - Pam

Health Tip - for a cookies anonymous relapse

In an effort to make myself feel better for purchasing some chocolate chip cookies the other day, I added some healthy cashews, almonds and peanuts to the bottom of the cookie. I couldn't quite cram them into the cookie, but they held long enough for me to take a bite and a swig of milk. It counterbalances it, doesn't it?

Klondikes Anonymous

Well, my cookie and graham cracker woes have come under control, but I purchased a huge Costco box of Klondikes right in the middle of my supposedly effective hypnosis efforts. So, yes, I'm eating less of other food, but ate an unhealthy number of Klondikes this week.

Here goes Klondikes anonymous. Hopefully my next additiction will be carrots. Then I'll be skinny and...orange.

Graham Crackers Anonymous - 2 hours clean!

So, my Cookies Anonymous has been really successful over the last month and a half. However, I figured I'd buy graham crackers to fill the cookie void. Yikes. It didn't work. I just ate a whole box with a couple of glasses of milk in far less than 24 hours. So, here we go on another personal support group.

I have given up peanut M&Ms which happened to be my first crutch after giving up the cookies.


However, it is looking like the root cause is milk. I thought it might be in a prior blog entry - http://rebeckeronline.blogspot.com/2008/04/cookies-anonymous-over-31-days-clean.html and so this is further confirmation of a deeper problem.

Milk Anonymous is next.

Cookies Anonymous - over 31 days clean!

Ok, I've left cookies alone for a while and don't suspect that I'll have to keep up the posting about them.

I have allowed myself some animal crackers and graham crackers in the past week, but this is primarily because the word "crackers" replaces the word "cookies." However, they may be next to go because there is a certain dangerous-ness with combining these types of crackers with large glasses of milk. After all, cookies were far more tempting to me when a glass of milk was accessible. I have a similiar addiction with cereal.

Hmmm! I'm not sure which direction to go with this - should I give up milk or crackers, cookies, and cereal?

Cookies Anonymous - 28 days clean!

Yep, I haven't eaten a cookie in 28 days. I've even cut back on peanut M&Ms until the weekends. With a little more walking everyday, some yoga (about 15 minutes a week - it's kind of boring), and lifting some weights...I've trimmed off about 8-9 pounds. It's a good start, but at 6 feet that doesn't amount to much.

I'm just very proud that I got this far. The most amazing thing is that I'm not tempted to have one. I suspect it has something to do with a pre-occupied and stressed mind, but that will be in another blog entry.

Cookies Anonymous - clean for 20 days!

Yep, been clean for 20 days now. I've found some other snacks. But, the peanut M&Ms have been added to the hands off list now. It's difficult because that's also the treat of choice at the movie theater.

Side benefit - lost about 6 pounds. Not visible progress, but progress.

Cookies Anonymous - clean for 14 days

Yep, I've made it 14 days without cookies. I've also lost a total of four pounds over the last couple of weeks which isn't really anything on my frame. The real trick is substituting with something better. Today I brought a big bag of pre-cut and pre-packaged carrots and celery to work along with yogurt and an orange. I ate some of all of them. However, I did take a break to go buy a big BLT for lunch so I could truly fill up.

The next item I have to omit from my intake would be peanut M&Ms. I bought a massive bag at Costco and ate it all in one week. So, the cookie thing was great, but I think I was able to do it only because I had another crutch.

Hopefully this week I'll be able to have celery and peanut butter as the crutch instead of all these tasty substitutes. And, I'm done walking Pepper and so this means more creative exercise options and obscure walks to fill that requirement.

Pressing forward!

Cookies Anonymous - clean for 6.5 days

My name is Rebecca and I am a cookie -oholic. I think it started in the 8th grade when I took a home economic class and learned how to make good chocolate chip cookies. Cookie making became the default treat I would bake at home when there was nothing in the cupboards. I made quite a few "chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips" and "peanut butter blossoms without the Hershey kiss."

This past two years I've very frequently (3-4 times a week) purchased a row of little cookies and a carton of milk to be the treat along with my lunch. Well, you can see where that leads.

Anyway, this past weekend I ate two boxes of Girl Scout thin mints on Saturday and carried with me an agonizing headache for all of Sunday and Monday. No amount of drugs would help. I've experienced this in the past when I've downed high quantities of thin mints or mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Regardless, enough was enough. I decided to admit I had a problem and go into rehab. Right now rehab consists of cookie avoidance, but soon I may need to go to hypnosis, start a Cookies Anonymous meeting and join an online support group. Numerous cookies have made their way into my line of sight, but I have been clean for 6.5 days.

I do have a sponsor - a co-worker that is supposed to stop smoking. So, I check up on her and she checks up on me. Surprisingly, I've been clean longer. Let's see how long this can last.