Taking Stock, Dreaming of Junk Food

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According to Catholics, Lent ends today (I think), but because I'm Presbyterian and mostly use Lent as a good time frame for reflecting and detoxing, I take my Lenten commitments the whole way to midnight Saturday/Sunday. So today I spent an inordinate amount of time looking at sweets at the grocery store, thinking about what treat I'll splurge on when the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night. Brownies? A piece of cake? Some chips and dip? The possibilities are endless.

Any blog readers will already know this, but I didn't do so hot with my 40 posts in 40 days this year.  Sorry 'bout that. What I did do really well with was not eating junk food and not reading the equivalent thereof (i.e., Facebook). I should feel bad that I couldn't stick to my writing goals, but I'm actually quite thrilled with my success in the other areas. Giving up junk is HARD WORK, folks. It takes planning and cooking and, for me, and whole lot of will power. After a few rough weeks, the sugar left my system and my cravings subsided. My belly shrunk a bit (I estimate I lost about 10 pounds. Whoop!), my skin looks better. I'm slowly becoming more active. I began rehabbing an ankle that a month ago could barely support me, but now I can walk for hours on it -- without my bondage brace! 

But the best news is that for the first time since 2013, my hemoglobin A1C test came back normal! NORMAL! Not even "prediabetic," where I've been hanging out for a while now. With all the vertigo and tiredness I've been feeling, I thought for sure I'd developed the Big D. Full on, dye-a-beetus. I even spent a few minutes looking at glucometers in the drug store, assuming I'd need to buy one. But the results are in and my pancreas seems to be doing a pretty good job. Way to go, pancreas!

Given my weight and family history, I assume the one thing that knocked my numbers down was my no-sweets, no-junk Lenten Lifestyle. (I had my blood tests about a month into Lent, and while the A1C tests your blood sugar over a three-month period, the last month plays a bigger role in the total score. Or so I've read on the internet.) Because of that, and because I'm sick of feeling like crap all the time, I'm going to continue my Lenten Lifestyle beyond the glory of Easter. Sure, I have big plans for some indulgence on Sunday and in the week coming up. But after that, it's back to no cookies or scones. No chips or snack crackers. I wish I could be all "Oh, everything in moderation!" But I've been in this body 40 years now, and I know that abstinence is way easier than moderation. One cheat day a week should suffice. And if I start packing on pounds because of it, that'll have to go.

I still don't know what treat I'll eat tomorrow night. But it will be well-deserved. And I will relish every minute of it as I log in to Facebook, realize I've missed nothing in six weeks, and tune in to Weekend Update.

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