The Battle

A little disclaimer before I begin: Everything I am about to discuss in this post in no way relates to me thinking I need to lose weight, trying to lose weight or thinking I’m overweight. It's about my quest to be healthy. So no need to call me and tell me what a “skinny mini” I am…….HANNAH!


There is a constant battle raging in my mind. It is the timeless fight between good and evil, good and evil food that is. See, I was raised to know a lot about what is healthy and what is not. We were never and I really mean NEVER allowed to have sugar cereal growing up. Friends would actually give me Honey Nut Cheerios as a gift for birthdays and Christmas because they knew how much I loved the forbidden food. So because my mother made us eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from birth, I never lived in the fantasy land where Coke and candy were somewhat ok. I always knew they were bad for me. This taste of knowledge fueled me to learn more so I majored in Health and Education in college. My Medical Terminology professor once told us “Sugar is like shards of glass in your veins, it shreds them”. That visual has really stuck with me and ruined many desserts.

So now you might understand why last night as I’m sitting on the couch watching the A&E Biography of Britney Spears (What?! It was free in my On Demand library) I felt this strong craving for a Chic-fil-A Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake at the same exact moment that I felt a strong sense of guilt for having the craving at all. I went back and forth, back and forth at least 100 times before I finally got up, threw a sweatshirt on over my PJ’s and ran out the door to satisfy the craving. I ordered a small and only drank half. I’ve found that sometimes if I just give myself a little taste then it’s not such a big deal anymore and I can move on to eating healthy again. When I got done with the shake I atoned the sin by eating some kale chips... I know it doesn't really work like that but somehow it made me feel better.

Since moving to Texas in June it has been a little harder to eat healthy when we are out. Texas is known for Mexican food and BBQ and both are very good but also very evil! BBQ is basically beef smothered in sugar. Two things that I KNOW are bad for the body and Mexican is nothing but fried flour and cheese. I wish I didn’t know what those things do to the human body, but I do. I can never go back to the innocence of naiveté. When I eat Mexican food and BBQ (which I often do) I can’t get “flour turns to glue in your digestive system, cow’s milk was only meant for baby cows, sugar is like shards of glass, fried foods cause cancer and heart plaque” out of my head. AAAH! Make it stop! Let me eat my cancer causing glass glue in peace!


My ongoing war has actually taken several hits since moving to Texas. Working at a wonderful place that provides us with all the coffee and syrupy flavored creamers we want isn’t too good for my cause either. Caffeine is basically a drug and that headache it causes when you don’t drink enough means you’re becoming addicted to the chemical. The creamers are nothing but sugar and we’ve already covered how I feel about that. I’m also often faced with the temptation to partake in the most wonderful sweet tea on the planet from McAlister’s. Oh, and did I mention that there’s a Sonic on every corner and those Sonics serve my beloved Cheddar Poppers? They are basically jalapeno’s (inflammation causing little demons!) filled with artificial cheese goo then deep fried! OH THE HORROR!