Birthday Blunders

Happy Birthday kaligurl! I am glad you got this off your chest as well! Let's look at all you have accomplished - you have lost 15 pounds (YAY!!!!), you have changed a lot of bad habits (YAY!!!!) AND you recognize that indulging in a lot of sugar and junk food is something that is not good for you and that you don't want to do (YAY!!!!). You did not undo all that good work you have done since January 1! You have made great progress. Yes, you fed the sugar monster and as you noted, it is an addiction that once you start to feed it, it wants more. So you aren't crazy or out of control and bad, you are dealing with and BREAKING an addiction. A birthday can be a HUGE trigger - so since you already know that you shouldn't feel guilty, look back, etc. I am going to ask you "what did you learn from this and what can you do differently next time?" Because that is what you need to figure out for yourself. There will be more challenges/triggers to deal with and you will keep getting better at dealing with them - eventually honestly if you keep at it, your palette WILL change, your cravings will subside and you will begin to crave different kinds of foods (mine is often raw cashews). Syl's suggestions of learning substitutions that you like is KEY! The first year I was focused on my weight loss, my birthday hit at the 6 month mark and I planned it in advance. I had a bunch of family coming over and I KNEW someone would insist on a cake. So I planned a healthy cake and I didn't tell anyo