I always thought that if I had an addiction I’d be able to stop whenever I wanted. The truth is I can and you can too; what holds us back is not putting our willpower into play. Personally, I sometimes find myself coming up with excuses, just one more, well, I had a good day, I had a bad day, I deserve it, who cares anyways? the list can go on and on when you need to justify actions to yourself.

My self-proclaimed addiction might not be a terrible one, against the law or harmful to others but it’s not exactly great for my body. Through reading my past posts you might have figured out that I love bread, pasta, potatoes, brown rice, farro, quinoa and other whole grains and crackers. I love carbs. I’ve tried to quit them ‘cold turkey’ with some success but in the back of my mind it was just a test; I could go back to eating bread and pasta soon.

When I gave it up for 5 weeks I felt good; my stomach didn’t feel bloated and full all the time and I didn’t get that afternoon crash as often. I replaced those cravings with nuts, fruit and cheese. Then came winter. Cold and extremely snowy this year – no roadway to walk in safely (no sidewalks in my town [exaggeration] none on or around my neighborhood) I felt I deserved these comforting carbs. Fast forward to today I feel ‘carby’ and sluggish.

I started cutting back this week. I decided to cut back rather than stop ‘cold turkey’ because I believe there’s a happy medium. I’m a fan of the Mediterranean diet as well as the macrobiotic dietary theory, but I’m not bound to any one diet. I believe in mostly vegetables, some whole grains, fruit, nuts, seeds, berries, and a small amount of lean meat and fish. Getting back to a happy medium; this is where I have my issue – I can happily eat 6 slices of bread a day, plus rice etc and pasta as well as vegetables. I’m not a huge fruit eater but this week I’ve been trying to have two pieces per day – a clementine and a pear. While I haven’t cut bread out completely, I have cut back hugely to two slices a day. I’m trying to focus on what I can have more than what I can’t have.

Addictions are merely habits that we are comfortable with and often lost without. Habits are changeable. Everyone has willpower but not everyone uses it. Slow steady steps and understanding your own habits and body are the tools that will bring you to your success.

We are all in this life together and that is a good thing!