Cream, Crunch and Challenges

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Whosoever spoke these golden words certainly epitomized and lived by the virtues of patience and endurance. But how long should you endure toughness and exercise your will power?

One of the easiest ways to slide your heart into some of the richest carriers of calories is to park yourself in front of a screen and binge on the myriad colours of M&M's, Lindt, Lay's and Doritos. As someone who is blessed with the natural talent of attracting kilograms with the mere smell of fats, I can boast about spending upwards of one lakh Indian rupees in my lifetime on satiating my salt and sugar cravings. Choosing between maintaining a healthy weight and this calorific combination of crunchiness and creaminess is where most of my life's challenges lie.

For a long time now, I have struggled to keep my obsession with chocolates and chips in control.  These two big C's have ruled my appetite for a good part of the last decade and a half. Many of you who know me know that I'm often in the sometimes-on-and-sometimes-off mode when it comes to my sugar consumption. A few months ago, I also tried to completely cut off chocolate desserts from my diet. To give you an idea, I can easily relish 3 to 4 tablespoons of Nutella alone in one go, and still feel the temptation to scoop out the same amount again. Considering the extent of my sugar appetite, successfully eliminating sugary cocoa from my diet was no mean feat for me. However, I got back to galloping desserts and chocolates soon after the sabbatical. 

In the case of chips, no matter how hard I try to stay off Lay's, Doritos or my favourite yellow banana wafers, I have rarely ever gone more than a couple of weeks without feeling like I can eat a dozen packets of these chips right now. Ultimately, I always end up falling in the trap of guilt eating and sending condolences to my diet.

Despite having a more-than-average understanding about nutrition and healthy food options, I continue to struggle with implementing the idea of mind over matter. Just a little secret here I didn't intend to share, but sharing anyway, I have recently started following my self-imposed plan of one dessert and one cheat snack per week, to prevent any withdrawal binges. I'm hopeful I'll be able to sustain it this time around. Please send across your positive thoughts. And shh...don't share this with anyone as yet!