Food for Thought: December 6th

Stretching

If we do only what feels good and what is comfortable, we do not grow. If we do not stretch our minds, we vegetate intellectually. If we do not discipline our bodies, we become physically flabby and weak. If we do not exercise our goodwill, we stay emotionally immature.

To settle for minimum achievement is to miss the satisfaction of accomplishing more than we once thought possible. It is trite but true that we never know what we can do until we try. Abstaining from all refined sugars and carbohydrates may have seemed impossible to us at one time. Accomplishing this, through the help of our Higher Power and OA, makes possible other achievements that we formerly may have considered to be beyond our reach.

In this program, the only way we can fail is by not continuing to try. By abstaining from compulsive overeating and working the Twelve Steps, we can stretch ourselves to a fuller extent of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual potential.

May I not be too lazy to stretch as far as I can.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.

My Certified Health Coach Website

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My version of abstinence is to avoid eating sugar in any form.  Period.  That is ALL I have to do in order to maintain my sanity & remission from the disease of compulsive overeating.  It's really quite simple, actually, and a small 'price' to pay for freedom.  Although I've been on this journey for over 5 1/2 years now, it wasn't until July 31st that I swore off sugar permanently.  Since I made that vow to God & to myself, I've experienced a whole new level of joy & peace in my life.

Trying to handle sugar 'in moderation', for a COE, is like a heroin addict thinking he can shoot up 'occasionally'............ridiculous.  The disease of compulsive overeating is sly, cunning & baffling. We continue to fight against the 'rules' and THIS is what keeps us sick & 'using'.  When we fight, we give power to the DISEASE while stripping it from ourselves!  The vast majority of us cannot handle sugar in ANY form, yet we continue to revisit the possibility that we've been 'cured' or have somehow transformed, miraculously, into 'normal eaters.'

A cucumber can choose to become a pickle, but once he's become a pickle, he can never go back to being a cucumber.
~AA

I crossed over into Pickle-hood sometime during the night, while eating cake from a box with my fingers, while the rest of the household was sleeping.  I can't go back to being a cucumber, no  matter how hard I try and no matter how badly I'd like to.

So......in the end, it's easier to deal with the addiction for what it is than to deny it and/or fight it.

For today, I will not eat sugar. Period.