My Saturday has been me on the couch with the remote control in hand. I am trying to get plenty of rest so that by Monday when I have to go back to work my cold will be hopefully gone. I am going to be dragging my butt to the grocery store tomorrow to stock up on healthy foods for my week.

Well....blew it today. Not horribly, but still. Back on track for Superbowl Sunday - not watching the game or going to parties.

Thanks Elizabeth for emphasizing our need for sleep and it's value which prompts me to recognize my success: In a firm commitment to myself, I did not bring home any of my mother-in-law's home-made cake yesterday! I am surprised how much this was a conscious decision and the effort involved.

I had a family event in which I was asked to bring pizza from the family's favorite pizza place while my mother-in-law made my favorite cake. I enjoyed 2 slices of the pizza with water and put-off having the cake until it was nearly time to leave. I had a moderate slice of cake which I ate as slowly as possible - very hard to not just inhale it - and did not have a second piece although I swear the cake was telling me I deserved it! I left the table and forced myself to start another conversion with a family member in the living room to distract me from the cake "talking" to me.

The biggest deal and most important factor is that I made the decision to not bring home ANY cake although it was expected that I would. It's been a year and a half since I have made a cake which I love to do (the family loves the cake I make) and about six months or longer since having cake at all. Hard to not bring any home. How I did it: I reminded myself that I would not sleep well for two nights in a row; that I would drift off to sleep and think about the cake all night - I would then toss and turn until I got up and ATE IT ALL. I would then feel low self-esteem and a need to exercise to overcome it late at night and screw up my sleeping pattern as well for the next night. And all that sugar will screw up my digestion! Also, I have not had stomach pain in a long time and I associate that pain with sweets in general.

While I was at my in-laws I really focused on the emotional pain I would feel about taking the cake home and its impact on my sleep. Until I read Elizabeth's comments on the value of sleep I did not put value on the process that I had undertaken.

My wife asked me in the car on the way home, "You did not bring home any cake?" "I'm surprised esp. b/c Mom has not made you a cake in a long time." And I just said no, I did not want it, but I did not realize the internal discussion and avoidance strategy I had implemented to achieve that goal until now. It is interesting that I did not focus on the calories of the cake which surprises me - I focused on how my behavior would be impacted - how I would experience the cake in my home and how painful not being in control of my eating makes me feels and its impact on my immediate future - cake = poor sleep. - Jonathan

martinezkrauss wrote: »

Thanks Elizabeth for emphasizing our need for sleep and it's value which prompts me to recognize my success: In a firm commitment to myself, I did not bring home any of my mother-in-law's home-made cake yesterday! I am surprised how much this was a conscious decision and the effort involved.

I had a family event in which I was asked to bring pizza from the family's favorite pizza place while my mother-in-law made my favorite cake. I enjoyed 2 slices of the pizza with water and put-off having the cake until it was nearly time to leave. I had a moderate slice of cake which I ate as slowly as possible - very hard to not just inhale it - and did not have a second piece although I swear the cake was telling me I deserved it! I left the table and forced myself to start another conversion with a family member in the living room to distract me from the cake "talking" to me.

The biggest deal and most important factor is that I made the decision to not bring home ANY cake although it was expected that I would. It's been a year and a half since I have made a cake which I love to do (the family loves the cake I make) and about six months or longer since having cake at all. Hard to not bring any home. How I did it: I reminded myself that I would not sleep well for two nights in a row; that I would drift off to sleep and think about the cake all night - I would then toss and turn until I got up and ATE IT ALL. I would then feel low self-esteem and a need to exercise to overcome it late at night and screw up my sleeping pattern as well for the next night. And all that sugar will screw up my digestion! Also, I have not had stomach pain in a long time and I associate that pain with sweets in general.

While I was at my in-laws I really focused on the emotional pain I would feel about taking the cake home and its impact on my sleep. Until I read Elizabeth's comments on the value of sleep I did not put value on the process that I had undertaken.

My wife asked me in the car on the way home, "You did not bring home any cake?" "I'm surprised esp. b/c Mom has not made you a cake in a long time." And I just said no, I did not want it, but I did not realize the internal discussion and avoidance strategy I had implemented to achieve that goal until now. It is interesting that I did not focus on the calories of the cake which surprises me - I focused on how my behavior would be impacted - how I would experience the cake in my home and how painful not being in control of my eating makes me feels and its impact on my immediate future - cake = poor sleep. - Jonathan

Now I want your Mother in laws cake as it sounds good and you didn't even say what kind of cake it is. LOL. I realized after reading your post that all I was focusing on is the cake. I seriously have a sweets addiction. Awesome job on passing up taking cake home. I am sure it felt good to say no to bringing it home.