Six years ago, before the start of my most recent weight
loss effort, I was powerless against York Peppermint Patties. When I got home
tonight and discovered that my husband had bought a bag of them to pass out to
trick-or-treaters, I experienced a moment of panic. Would my living room be the
scene of a candy apocalypse later tonight? Especially as we have yet to welcome
a costumed visitor at our door.
Truth alert. I’ve already sampled the bag. Two patties to be
exact. Did they taste good? Um, yes. And no. The peppermint rush was intoxicating,
but they were awfully sweet. As in awful.
I’m not so sure I want to eat another.
No one ever talked to me about maintenance in all the years
I struggled with my weight. When I reached my goal weight five years ago, after
a year-plus of dieting, I had no idea what lay ahead. Was I doomed to a life in
which I would need to exercise endless willpower and engage in an on-going battle
against feelings of deprivation? Or, would I undergo a miraculous transformation
at some point, where eating a healthy diet would become effortless, joyful even?
So far, it’s been something in between. There have been days of agony and days
of peace and days of edgy calm before the storm.
At this moment I am at ease. The York Peppermint Patties
have not whispered in my ear tonight. I think that maybe the accumulation of
habit over the last five years is starting to work in my favor. Perhaps my
expectations have changed too, in that I no longer look to food to make
everything all right. Getting from there to here has been a bit dicey at times,
but here I am and I’m glad of it.
No one can tell a newly slender person with any degree of certainty
how to embark upon weight maintenance. You have to make the journey on your
own. Oh sure, I can give you my story, but your story will probably be
different. All I can say is find support wherever you can and hang in there. If
you do, you will eventually find what works for you. It’s worth it, even if it
takes a long time.
For most of the last five years I’ve felt like a fat person
in a thin person costume, but I’m beginning to get a glimpse of a land off in the
distance where that’s not so anymore.
Take that York Peppermint Patties!
