They say that it takes 28 days to make or break a habit.
I’m here to tell you that it’s true.
I’m here to TESTIFY!!!!!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a sweet tooth.
My little brother and I used to save our lunch money (sorry mom, it’s true) and buy candy at Ed’s Mini Mart on the way home from the bus stop every day–my earliest memories are in that tiny candy shop, buying the bite-size Laffy Taffy candies and Jolly Ranchers for 5 cents each. (No, I did not grow up in the 1950s, this was back in the 80s, when a regular size Snickers bar wasn’t $1.29). We’d go home and play Mega Man III and eat our candy while trying to beat Snake Man. Ah, those were the days…good ole original NES.
Unfortunately, sweets were not reserved for a special occasion, they were a part of everyday life. I have the cavities and the overweight pictures to prove it. I ate way too much sweets…candy, cookies, anything I could get my hands on. It certainly tasted better than vegetables!
Then, in the latter half of high school, I discovered that I could control my weight directly with the amount of food I ate–kind of like how people shrivel up on Survivor, except by choice. This was not a great time in my life…it was the ultimate control-freak rearing its ugly head. I made a lot of people miserable during that time with my neurotic desire to be in control of my weight. It was only compounded by the fact that I was working my first official job at a local bakery, and spent the summer there 8 hours a day surrounded by sugar, sugar, cookies, sugar, donuts, and more sugar. OH, and I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted while I was there. Holy cow, that was a rough year. I’m pretty sure my mom cried through half of it…(sorry, mom!)
I was pretty healthy in college, and I exercised a lot…yay. I still ate sweets, but I ran a lot, so it seemed to even out. Plus, I was young…oh, so young and spry. During my swimming class, we measured our BMI (body mass index). At the end of my freshman year of college I was at 6% body fat–I think olympians are about 3%…yeah, I was hot and I didn’t even know it. I was so young and naive.
Then after moving to San Diego, I started indulging those sweet-tooth cravings again and with the birth of children and a full-time job to which I was compelled to be wholly committed, exercise and health took a back seat.
Fast forward ten years (goodness, I did not mean for this to turn in to my life story…) and desserts are still a big part of life. Day in and day out, after most every meal, I craved dessert. I was definitely addicted.
It wasn’t until what I like to call “The Great Candy Gorge of Easter, Aught-Nine” that I realized that I HAD to make a life change.
So I stopped.
I just…STOPPED.
No dessert for four weeks straight. Not one bite…not one nibble..cause that’s how I have to do it, folks. All or nothing. The years of “trying” for moderation are over. For addictions, there is no such place to be found.
And after a month of being without, I didn’t want it anymore. It’s true–28 days and the habit was GONE. Even after years, and years, and years, of being addicted to sugar–all it took was 28 days of being dessert-free to break the habit.
If you’re counting, Easter was a lot longer than 28 days ago…and I’ve kept up the no-dessert habit since. I’ve had dessert once or twice on special occasions, but nothing regular. 99% of the time, I’m dessert-free.
And you know what? It feels great. I’ve never had more consistent energy or stamina than before now. I don’t have blood-sugar spikes and crashes…nooooo sirrrreeee. My body feels great and I feel healthier than I have in a long time!
So…
All this to say…
You can do it.
Whatever lifestyle change you want to make for yourself, just GO. Don’t wait for the motivation, just do it and stick to it for 28 days. You’ll kick the habit. It works.
Can I get a witness?
