Lumpy Girl Claire
Why I Cheated

Some weeks you can succeed without even trying. Other weeks it's a challenge just to get out of bed.

This week had "failure" written all over it - and in my own handwriting. Yep, there was my name scrawled on the order form for multiple boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

That in itself shouldn't have been so bad. I have self-control. I can meter out snacks in a manner that won't tank my diet. I can eat salads to counterbalance the sweets. Sure it would have been a challenge, but I'm a smart cookie.

Perhaps if I had been a Boy Scout instead of a Girl Scout, I would have followed their motto to "Be Prepared." I would have made it to the grocery store and stocked up on diet friendly foods. I would have had plenty of fruits and vegetables ready to eat. I would have had lean poultry and low-fat dairy products to round out my meals.

I would have filled my pantry with plenty of whole grain foodstuffs to help satisfy my urge to snack. There would have been a diet-friendly smorgasbord of foods to counteract the cookies.

But I was a Girl Scout and before that a Brownie and all I could remember was their Promise to "help other people every day, especially those at home." So, I helped the Girl Scouts with my hefty check and then helped myself to all my favorite cookies.

On a normal week this wouldn't have been so bad. So I ate a few cookies. No big deal. I could have spent some extra time exercising to make up for the splurge. But this wasn't a normal week.

Throw in uncomfortable situations at work, too many commitments, long hours, emotions on edge, and PMS then it's not just the cookies anymore.

It's dealing with something upsetting and then searching out the chocolate to make me feel better. It's the mad dash to the next appointment and the subsequent fast food drive thru. It's the "what the heck I already blew my diet so I might as well go ahead and eat the chicken pot pie" attitude. It's comforting myself with mashed potatoes and gravy when what I really needed was a shoulder to cry on and a big hug.

So I have to report a weight gain this week. I'd like to pin the blame squarely upon the Girl Scouts of America and their irresistible Thin Mints, but it's not like they were threatening to repossess my sash and badges if I didn't eat the cookies. And I'm guessing that the cheeseburgers might have had something to do with it as well.

It has been a bad week, but I have a new week to try again. I'm going to be better prepared this time. I'm going to restock my healthy foods.

I'm definitely going to eat more salads and fewer cookies. And I'm going to seek out that shoulder when things get rough and talk it out instead of eating it up.

I can't be entirely disappointed with myself - after all, even with this week's gain I lost 3.2 pounds this month. That's a step in the right direction.

Let's see if I can do a little better than that in February. I just have to get through Valentine's Day…

Claire