Thursday, March 10, 2011

"We gain the strength of the temptation we resist." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

i don't deal with temptation too often. for the most part, i do all of the grocery shopping and all of the cooking. i don't buy dairy, anything with wheat or added sugar or irresponsibly raised protein. it's not in the house, so it's not an issue.

george has wednesday's off and usually his time is spent on the golf course. he called on the way home from golf and offered to stop at the market if i needed anything. i had forgotten to take a protein out of the freezer for dinner so i asked him if he could pick up a couple chicken breasts.

i get home and he had the chicken breasts on the counter along with 2 pieces of red meat. i figured i would roast some veggies and grill the chicken and steak. there would be plenty for supper and lunch the next day. we talked about our days as i busied myself in the kitchen.

out of nowhere, george blurts out that he got a "couple other things" at the market along with the chicken and steak. he proceeds to open the freezer door and sitting there, in all their glory, 2 pints of ben & jerry's ice cream.

ice cream is a huge weakness for me, especially ben & jerry's. i swear i get stuck behind the same ben & jerry's truck everyday when i leave work. i haven't had any in months, but when i do, i go big. i've been know to polish off a pint of phish food and not even blink.

i quickly shut the freezer door and tried to burn the images from my brain. he said that "we haven't had ice cream in a long time" and that he "got the 2 new flavors!" oh boy. for the record: i was by no means mad at george, i had no reason to be! i quickly texted my coach to get some reassurance and he reminded me of my goals and that stuff like this would only be getting in my way.

at this point my friend had arrived and we were headed out to do a little shopping. i stuffed a chicken breast down the hatch and we were off. i thought about ice cream the whole time we were out. it was sitting in the freezer waiting for me to get home. one of those pints had my name on it! trying on clothes and seeing my stomach (the leanest i've been in probably a year) helped me forget about it.

when i got home, i had more chicken and vegetables as george was finishing up some "red velvet cake" ice cream. i was not resentful of him eating the ice cream or bitter that he was having it. he chose to eat it and i didn't. the end. this is about me, not him.

i was very proud of myself for not caving. it would have been so easy (and delicious) to partake. the way i look, feel and perform outweighed how the ice cream would have tasted. i know i would have woke up and felt guilty but instead i woke up this morning ready to grab life by the balls.

am i ever going to eat ben & jerry's again in my life? of course. will it been anytime soon? probably not.

6 comments:

alibobally said...

This is awesome! I go through the same things! Only recently I have been able to do what you have done here and resist the temptations! Sticking with paleo and fitness goals and seeing the results is the best way to resist ice cream. It is my weakness too, and I hope I am strong enough to go through summer months without it as it will be my first fully paleo summer! I really enjoy your blog and your recipes, it keeps me going on my own paleo path. Thank you!

Kerri Heffel said...

it's not easy, right?! glad you find the blog and recipes helpful. i'll be back on facebook after Lent :)

George said...

hahhah its so funny you blogged about this!!!if it makes you feel any better, the red velvet flavor wasnt even that good. im sorry for teasing you like that, thats why im not allowed at the supermarket

Patty said...

Way to go Kerri!! And my husband isn't allowed in the grocery store either. :-)

Anna said...

Haha, my guy isn't allowed to go shopping for things for us to eat, either! He gets his own food (since he doesn't eat primal or paleo) but when it comes to food for me, I am still trying to teach him what's okay and what's not. It's a battle!

Calves said...

Way to Go! It IS empowering to conquer the temptations. I'm back on the straight & narrow after a hiatas of food rebellion for Mardi Gras. I knew I was just abusing my body, and I certainly feel it now. Thanks for the encouragement by staying strong!