I was doing so good being off of sugar for four months. During that time I was working from home, so I had tight control over my food surroundings. My home job could not withstand this economy, so I did what a lot of people are having to do these days; I got a job at a supermarket. Sugar is everywhere there; People come through my line with sugar ideas I had never thought about. When I take my 15 min. breaks and hour lunches, I have an entire supermarket to choose food from. There are even 2 vending machines in the break room. So, I started being sweet again, and got so sweet that I stopped buying regular food at break times. Yesterday, I took a pint of ice cream and a can of whipped cream into the break room for lunch. Everyone stared at me in amazement as I sprayed more whipped cream every few bites. It really is impossible to be the 1 cookie after a meal type of person. When I start eating sugar, nothing else holds appeal. As of today I must start back on my quest to stop being sweet. I will be off for the next two days, but going back to that supermarket, and ringing up the groceries of all of those seemingly normal people is going to be tough.

Audra, here’s what I hear: You were in control until your at home business expired due to forces beyond your control and you had no choice but to work at the supermarket. There, you purchase sweets and eat junk food. You’re out of control. No wonder, you don’t want to be there! How can the job at the supermarket be a temporary stepping stone that gets you back to your home business? What can you learn from the sweets, the checkout, and the whole situation that in the future will be a purposeful story you will tell while being interviewed about your successful home-based business? It’s an ongoing process and you’re in the middle of it. Shift your thinking and your actions and get back on the ball right where you’re at now. As a struggling self-employed person I’m counting on you. We’re in this together!

I remember being very impatient to get home and unpack the groceries so I could have a snack of some sugary kind. Now, if I’m not careful, I’m apt to leave my shopping in the trunk of my car; not meaning I don’t look forward to some yummy meals, but that sugar-driven manic need to get it NOW is gone. Although, I have occasionally opened a package of Trader Joe’s prosciutto to snack on on the way home (the store is a long way from my house). I will be thinking about you at Halloween while I watch my grandchildren trick-or-treat.

Snacking after the supermarket is a slippery slope but not as dangerous as shopping while hungry.