December, unsweetened, No. 6

12/7: Sweet habits

This blog chronicles the author's attempt to endure the month of December, 2019, without eating sugary foods or drinks.

I'm not quite ready to concede that I have a full-blown addiction to sugar, but I have to admit I've been used to doing things that include consumption of sweets.

Some of my sweet-eating routines are as ingrained as, say, having coffee when I get up in the morning, or buckling my seat belt when I get in a car. Things just click in my mind and I respond in ways I have thousands of times before.

Example 1: After lunching out on a black bean burger and seasoned fries at a 30Burgers restaurant, I swung into Greene's Beans, a nearby coffee shop. For some reason, coffee has become the way I punctuate meals.

I entered the shop, drew myself a hot brew and then directed my attention to the pastry case, where a piece of crumb cake was shamelessly flirting with me. Anytime prior to this unsweetened December I'd have bought the cake. No question. I took one last glance at it, winced a little, and walked away.

Example 2: I dropped in on Holly at her work, Just inside the door there's a file cabinet, upon which invariably rests a large bucket of trail mix with M&Ms and butterscotch morsels, right next to a bowl of Hershey's miniatures. Every time I walk in, I grab a handful of trail mix or chocolates. I sometimes wondered if Holly had come to assume I visited her more for the candies than for her.

This time I walked in and felt the urge to head for the candy cabinet, but I resisted. As I walked away, I looked back at the containers of sweets, as if to say, "I miss you, too," but held my ground.

Example 3: Every other week I go to a nearby Panera Bread shop to pick up 13 everything bagels. Every Tuesday is "Bagel Tuesday," when you can get a baker's dozen for $6.99. It's a great deal.

Every time I go, though, I saunter past the pastry counter and get a goodie—a muffin, chocolate croissant, bear claw, whatever struck my fancy. Last Tuesday, I kept looking straight ahead and avoided the pastry decision altogether.

Make no mistake. I wanted the crumb cake, trail mix and a pecan braid, to a degree that bordered on desperation. I successfully abstained, though, and went on with my life.

Sweet habits die hard, but I've been winning. The acid test, I anticipate, will be when I get invited to a holiday party, or if someone hands me a gift of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

If I crack at all, this month, it will likely be the fault of Michele Ferrero.