Finding Your Cheerio

This morning my husband caught me in an odd position, bending over on my hands and knees- butt in the air, my arms beneath the kitchen table, swiping the floor like windshield wipers gone mad.

"Lose something?" he asked, attempting his failed sense of humor by trying to tip me further beneath the furniture.

I balanced myself on one arm, flapping him away and then going about my business of searching. I avoided confrontation. (He had been extra irritable lately since starting this diet with me.)

"An earring, maybe?" he guessed, holding back a laugh- at what must have looked to him like an horrific bag lady doing aerobics.

"Drop some medicine? A pill?" he continued to quiz- until I finally came up for air and sat glumly in kitchen floor, now suddenly focused on the dust bunnies attached to the toes of my socks.

"Well, Mister," I said, almost sweating. "as a matter of fact, I did lose something... a Cheerio."

His laughter rattled the windows for miles around and set off the United States Geographical Survey's seismograph.

"For your information, Mr. Smartie Pants, that Cheerio equals about 1/50th of a point!" I exclaimed.

He was under that table quicker than Superman from a phone booth!

********************************************

The importance of the above story was just to let you know one fact- You are not alone.
We are all struggling, suffering, learning, stretching, and agonizing. We all grasp for strength when we smell popcorn, all say silent prayers while passing the burger joints, and all hope against hope that night will fall before we are tempted to grab a forbidden snack.

To me, that Cheerio was as big as an inner tube and as sweet as a strawberry sundae.

Every dieter must find their Cheerio.
You must seek something great to replace the pasta, or fries, or hot baked bread...the pizza, Chinese, or double fudge brownies. You must push that unhealthy stuff to the back door and kick it to the curb!
Face it - you must find a new love.

There will always be at least one small, insignificant thing that you will crave about the "old" food. Don't let it get the best of you. Don't magnify its greatness. Do not give it the time of day.
You deserve better.

********************************

Just imagine yourself on a journey like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She went through a lot of trials to find her way home. It's the same thing with your diet.

First of all, we all should have stayed HOME.
We never should have strayed into the buffets, the all-you-can-eat cafes, the bakeries and the Burger Kings. But, we must find our way back. To good health and good feelings. To the best "us" that we can possibly be.

Sure, it feels like you've been caught up in a wicked tornado sometimes. Visions of the old you- the thin you- the beautiful you- flash by the window in a dizzy swirl. You wonder if you ever had a brain, if you'll ever know your true heart, and if you will really find the courage to finish the journey.

Lucky for Dorothy, she had friends to help her through the rough times.
So do you. Just follow the Yellow Brick Road. Keep pushing on- always look forward. There are only 196 steps left.

Grab hold and let's go for the ride.
But first,
find your Cheerio.