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04/02/2004: "doughnuts, you taunt me so..."
A notice went up on the company message board yesterday proclaiming that the shop had not had a loss time accident for three months in a row. All things considered, that's a great accomplishment. Management decided that to reward all the workers for their efforts towards a safe working environment, they would buy doughnuts for everyone today. Sure enough, about two dozen boxes of assorted Tim Horton's doughnuts appeared in the lunchroom, at least half of which started taunting me. Bloody doughnuts.
You see, I don't eat doughnuts anymore. Doughnuts were one of the earlier casualties in my effort to reduce the amount of recreational food I eat. It all started in the fall of 2000 when I decided that French fries simply didn't have enough food value to allow my flabby, sedentary self to consume them anymore. It was tough going at first, but I've not eaten a French fry since. Flush with this success, doughnuts were the next on my list to go, and were added as a 2002 New Year's resolution. The following year I added deep-fried snack foods such as chips and nachos, and this past New Year's resolution saw the axe swing on carbonated beverages, specifically pop.
One friend of mine from church didn't know this about me until recently, and he was floored. His reaction was something to the effect of, "I live off those things!" I can't really say the same, as none of them were staples of my diet at any point in my life. Truth is, I chose French fries and doughnuts because I had them infrequently enough that I knew I had a much greater chance of success cutting those out than I would cutting out something like chocolate or candy bars. That would truly be an effort.
Every once in a while doughnuts show up again to taunt me. On average I'd say that doughnuts show up in the office once a month, usually proclaiming someone's birthday. I've been sorely tempted over the past two years, and have come really close to blowing the whole deal for just a Timbit. However, my will has persisted, and I've remained doughnut-free. They are still very tempting, and just knowing that a box with four apple fritters is just steps away from me almost hurts. I try to keep a longer perspective than simply wanting a quick dough-and-sugar fix right now. So far, being able to say, "I haven't eaten a doughnut since 2001," gives me slightly more pleasure than sucking down a chocolate glazed would. Hopefully as my doughnut-free time continues to elapse, it will far outweigh any desire for a fried sugar fix.
Meanwhile, I'll munch on some carrot sticks, try to ignore the fritters, and hope that lunch arrives soon!
