A test in self restraint

Today, a tasty cupcake sat on my desk for more than 3 hours before I ate it.

The fact that I was able to see it there, taunting me, for more than 3 hours without eating it is a huge accomplishment.

As you can see, it was a yellow cupcake with marshmallow fluff topping dipped in chocolate, topped off by a conversation heart.

I wanted to see how long I could go without eating the cupcake. So I took pictures and tweeted this morning. My goal was not to resist the cupcake forever… it was to see how long I could resist it. You see, normally I would have eaten something like this in less than 5 bites and I wouldn’t have savored every bite. I wanted to teach myself that just because something is in front of you, doesn’t mean you have to eat it.

• #1: 9:15am Look at that beauty.
• #2: 10:15ish I pushed in the heart candy so it wouldn’t look so appetizing.
• #3: 11:15ish I bumped it (by total accident) and had to lick part of the fluff off my finger. darn.
• #4: 12:00ish I ate the candy heart and squished that fluff so it would look gross.
• #5: 12:20ish I licked one side of it.
• #6: 12:40ish I couldn’t help myself, I licked the fluff and chocolate off the top of the cupcake. And then something magical happened. I didn’t feel like finishing it. So I threw the bottom part away.

Sure the marshmallow fluff wasn’t super healthy, but I don’t want to keep myself from eating the foods I enjoy, but just less of them. Sure, I ate the candy heart, the fluff and the chocolate, but I didn’t eat the cake.

Baby steps.