A Very Familiar Struggle

Desserts by Jacquelyn West

I had the pleasure of attending a tasting party on Saturday evening to celebrate Jacquelyn West's expanded menu. Jacquelyn is a friend and baker extraordinaire. I have enjoyed her cakes in the past at a couple of different parties, so when she asked me to attend this event I knew I was in for a treat. She had two layer cakes and six cheesecakes for us to sample and evaluate. It was really tough duty! But I dutifully sampled all eight desserts and tried to provide helpful feedback. Honestly, I liked them all. Her cheesecakes are spectacular; the texture is heavenly. I thought I didn't really like cheesecake, but that was before I tried Jacquelyn's. I'm planning to order a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. I thoroughly enjoyed myself Saturday evening. Eating dessert and hanging out with good friends -- two of my favorite things.
I was a little nervous about eating all that sugar; afraid that it might set me off on a no-return sugar binge. While it didn't send me on a binge, I have craved sweets everyday since. Rather than getting right back on track the next day, my eating was a little sloppy. And a little sloppier still the next day. I started to feel cranky and blue. I began to focus on everything that I don't like about myself. I turned into a pessimist almost overnight. Yesterday I found myself wondering around Whole Foods, talking to myself [ in my head ;-) ], and fighting the temptation to buy something sweet. It was a real struggle. A very familiar, very real struggle. The craving won. I bought a chocolate bar and ate the whole thing. The package said it was three servings. Yeah, right.

So I'm done with the sugar for a while. I was reminded again that I am very sensitive to sugar, and that it is way too easy for one splurge to turn into days of indiscretion. No regrets though. I had great fun on Saturday. I'm back on track and feeling better already now that I have decided I will not have sugar or other refined carbohydrates today. Pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving, yes. But sugar today, no.