Don't go to Corner Bakery hungry....

I know...I know...why else would you go to Corner Bakery if you weren't hungry but really don't go there hungry. 

Some of you may be aware of my sweet tooth (thanks Dad) and anything chocolate really makes me happy. BUT over the last year or so I have tried to learn to control my sweet tooth. At first I decided that I wouldn't eat sweets. LOL What a joke that was, I think I lasted like 10minutes before I had a bite of chocolate cake. Obviously that did not work so I decided that I would eat low fat desserts. This to some extent worked but I admit I would eat three 100calorie ice cream bars because they just didn't satisfy my sweet tooth. 

Eventually I eased my way into a balance that I still use. When I want something sweet I have a bite or two immediately and I don't beat my self up for it. I simply enjoy it and move on with my day. Learning that I was able to have sweets almost every day and still loose weight was such a great lesson for me. Portions are my enemy not food itself. With this I have been able to enjoy most anything I want. The great thing for me personally is that after a year I no longer crave sweets as often-but I still do crave them :)

I worked a very long day yesterday and neither Travis or I wanted to cook. Plus it was so hot-who wants to turn on the stove at all. We decided to go out to dinner. Travis (for once) could care less where we went so I had to choose. First we drove to Chillies, but the wait was to long so we went to Chipotle but that wait was long too. We decided to go to The Corner Bakery which was right across the path from Chipotle. By the time we walked through the doors we were both really hungry. 

Do you know what they line the path to the cashier with??? BREAD!!!!!!! And the first thing you see when you get to the cashier.....DESSERT!!!!!!!!!! I thought how am I suppose to combat this. So we order our meals and Travis and I order a Pumpkin Gingerbread Baby Bunt Cake. It was fabulous. Should I have ordered it and taken a bite before my dinner...probably not....but it was so good!

This got me thinking about sweets in general. Is it necessarily bad to eat dessert? Does it mean that I have fallen off track and that I cannot be healthy? My answer: Absolutely not! What I eat is a very large part of my health, but it is not all there is to my overall health. Physical activity is also a huge factor and what I do with my time also impacts my health.

What I have committed to doing this past week is going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time. This week I have noticed a huge difference in my overall energy and attitude. I used to take a nap in the middle of the day because I just was not getting enough sleep. This past week I have been planning out when I will go to bed and preparing to do so. For a while I was suffering with insomnia-which was not fun. There is nothing more frustrating then being tired and not being able to sleep. By focusing on more than what I eat and how I exercise I have been able to feel better during the day and make better use of my time :)

Lesson learned- don't feel guilty about eating dessert and go to sleep at the same time every night.