I'm pretty good at eating well at mealtime. I make those choices in a deliberate, responsible manner, keeping an eye to flavor and variety while sticking with reasonable portions of simple, light foods. I monitor fiber and fat. I use clever substitutes for unhealthy favorites. I fill up on fruit and vegetables. I savor small portions of dessert. I check restaurant websites for nutritional information before leaving the house. Control, control, control.
And then there's 2:30pm. That's when the ninjas arrive.
Usually at 2:30 I'm cleaning up the kitchen. This task, incidentally, of cleaning, dirtying, and re-cleaning the kitchen seems to take up about 78% of my day. I'm not sure how that's possible, but there you have it. Anyway, by about 2:30 I'm trying to get the clutter off the counters. I'm putting away the bag of Chips Deluxe that Joy had out to pack her lunch, when....kapow! I've suddenly eaten like 6 of them. I reel backwards, stunned by the blow.
Shaken, I hurriedly deposit the now-lighter bag of cookies in a plastic bag and take it to the garage, where I keep a Rubbermaid box with all the stuff I shouldn't be snacking on. Ninja jail. But in order to put the cookies in the box I have to open it. And when I do, I'm surrounded. Chips, chocolate, deceptively-named Nutrigrain bars, fruit snacks, and the Valentine's Day candy the kids have totally forgotten about and would never miss. Like a minefield of nunchucks and throwing stars and those curvy swords.
I make it out alive, but not before I've downed three Hershey's kisses, a little box of Nerds, and a handful of salt and vinegar potato chips. I also have a lollipop in my mouth, because...wait for it...I don't actually like salt and vinegar potato chips. They smell like feet. But such is the power of the ninja.
I'm not much of a martial artist, but I have a few trusted defensive weapons. The most reliable is my toothbrush. I've started brushing my teeth right after lunch, which makes everything taste gross for a couple of hours. Take that, sneaky ninja food.
In reality, I am actually aware that food is not my enemy, and that it's my own stupid, greedy flesh I'm battling. (Which, if it had an audible voice, would sound like my toddler: "Wannit wannit wannit!!") But it FEELS like an ambush, especially when it happens so fast that I'm eating almost before I realize it's happening.
However, as tiring as this battle is, it's one that I'm largely winning. (Insert photo of me in cool karate uniform striking confident Karate-Kid-type pose.) Since joining Weight Watchers, which imparts a lot more accountability for ninja attacks, I've broken through my 7-month plateau and lost nearly 10 pounds in about 8 weeks. The progress is really encouraging.
In the end it comes down to the same basic thing as every other struggle in my life. Am I walking in the power of the Holy Spirit? Am I allowing God to build self-control into the core of who I am? Am I acknowledging my natural inability to take on a ninja battle and trusting Him to contend for me? And THIS is the thing, more than eating or exercising or whatever else, that I need to re-learn. Regardless of the number on the scale.
I still might buy these, though, because they are awesome.
I make it out alive, but not before I've downed three Hershey's kisses, a little box of Nerds, and a handful of salt and vinegar potato chips. I also have a lollipop in my mouth, because...wait for it...I don't actually like salt and vinegar potato chips. They smell like feet. But such is the power of the ninja.
I'm not much of a martial artist, but I have a few trusted defensive weapons. The most reliable is my toothbrush. I've started brushing my teeth right after lunch, which makes everything taste gross for a couple of hours. Take that, sneaky ninja food.
In reality, I am actually aware that food is not my enemy, and that it's my own stupid, greedy flesh I'm battling. (Which, if it had an audible voice, would sound like my toddler: "Wannit wannit wannit!!") But it FEELS like an ambush, especially when it happens so fast that I'm eating almost before I realize it's happening.
However, as tiring as this battle is, it's one that I'm largely winning. (Insert photo of me in cool karate uniform striking confident Karate-Kid-type pose.) Since joining Weight Watchers, which imparts a lot more accountability for ninja attacks, I've broken through my 7-month plateau and lost nearly 10 pounds in about 8 weeks. The progress is really encouraging.
In the end it comes down to the same basic thing as every other struggle in my life. Am I walking in the power of the Holy Spirit? Am I allowing God to build self-control into the core of who I am? Am I acknowledging my natural inability to take on a ninja battle and trusting Him to contend for me? And THIS is the thing, more than eating or exercising or whatever else, that I need to re-learn. Regardless of the number on the scale.
I still might buy these, though, because they are awesome.
loved this one too! i put off reading it b/c at glance, I thought it was about making these ninja shaped snacks, and since baby boy is several years away from requesting such things, i figured I had time.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely re-post/share this with friends who need in encouragement. Applicable to many fronts.