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One of the constant struggles for me in the world of health is that I’m hyperglycemic.  In practical terms, this means I need to snack – a lot.  My blood sugar spikes and drops weirdly, and if my blood sugar starts to go down, I get really sick, really fast.  So I have an extremely necessary habit of snacking.

The problem is that most easy snack foods are super-high in two things: carbs and fat.  Not that there’s anything wrong with either of these things.  It’s more that too much of them (as anything) is a bad thing.

But I’m making changes.  I’m revolutionizing my eating habits once and for all.  So I decided to get a healthier snack for once.  Fresh fruit and vegetables aren’t always convenient – they’re hard to store at an office, and not readily available at the mini-mart across the street.  So, I decided to invest in two bags of almonds to keep in my desk.  One is a bag of roasted low-salt almonds for when I just have the munchies, and the other a bag of cinnamon-sugar almonds to curb the sweets cravings I sometimes get or to give me a quick dose of sugar in an emergency.  Much healthier than a bag of Doritos (my usual go-to snack)!

Alas, the best-laid plans of mice and men…

There’s one particular client who comes into my office once every couple weeks – one of the sweetest ladies in the world.  And every single time she comes in for an appointment, she brings me a huge box of cookies.  And every time I see these cookies, I know that I am going to end up eating every single one.

I have nothing against one or two cookies, and I don’t think I should.  What fun would life be if we didn’t indulge every now and then?  But my body doesn’t need to eat an entire box of cookies, and when I do end up eating the whole box, it fills me up and leaves no room for healthy food.

So here’s what I’m doing.  I’m eating one cookie and throwing the rest away.  I’ll give mysef a little bit of indulgence and then cut myself off – remove even the temptation.  Snacking is fine, and cookies are fine, but I need to balance the pure sugar with protein and fiber.

Baby steps, you know?