Candy, Candy and More Candy

When I began to ponder the idea of starting a blog to document my new lifestyle journey, the first dilemma I was faced with was how to title my blog.  When I look back over the ups and downs of my roller coaster weight loss and weight gain, I thought long and hard about what exactly it was that got me to where I am.  I also thought about what other people might find as interesting topics to read about.  So for myself, I know that there are many contributing factors that have been a source of my weight gain. Most of those factors where formed from habits that I have continued to feed throughout most of my life, childhood and adulthood.

Thus the "Habitual" part of my blog name was formed. There are many habits that a person develops throughout their life time.  Some good, some maybe not so good.  I looked up the definition of habit in the trusty old Merrium-Webster Dictionary, this is what I found.

¹hab·it

 noun \ˈha-bət\

: a usual way of behaving : something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way

: a strong need to use a drug, to smoke cigarettes, etc.

For me, a habit is something that has been ingrained in my mind after repeated exposure or continual desire to partake or participate in.  For others it is a strong need to partake in or participate in.  Some habits become much more difficult to break than others.  A determination or desire to overcome the habit is often required for success.  Lets look at smoking, when one decides to take that first puff from a cigarette it is an experiment with something unknown.  After repeatedly puffing on a cigarette a habit is formed and sometimes people associate that habit with other activities they are doing throughout their day.  Thus is part of the reason, habits are sometimes so hard to kick.

Enough about habits, lets take a second to look at the rationale behind the last word in my blog title, "Cravings". According to Merrium-Webster, this is how it defined.

crav·ing

 noun \ˈkrā-viŋ\

: a very strong desire for something

For me, cravings are an unbearable desire to partake or participate in.  Cravings can be anything from food to objects.  Again, similar to a habit, many times cravings become difficult to curb.  Sometimes to the point of obsession.  Thus came the name for my blog.  I want to use this space to help myself and others overcome the strong habits and cravings faced.

Anyone who truly knows me for who I am, know that I have a huge weakness for candy.  Sour candy or chewy candy have been known favorites of mine. Chocolate is another, however, I must admit that my desires for chocolate are often nothing in comparison to the sour and chewy options available. I have had to separate myself from candy with this new lifestyle and quite honestly, the cravings for candy have not been tempting me much to this point. This lifestyle requires abandonment of all sugar in food.  Stevia and Xylitol have become my new friends.

Here is a recipe that I have recently discovered. It comes from the Trim Healthy Mama compilation of recipes and I believe that there are many variations that can be concocted with this very basic recipe. I think that this recipe is going to be a saving grace for me. If you have  made this and have a variation, please share in the comments. The coconut oil in this gives the flavor of an almond joy.  If you are following The Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle, this Skinny Chocolate (p.371) should be used in an S setting.st emphasize that when making this, you should run the sweetened through a blender or grinder.

Skinny Chocolate

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil (Melted)
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 T Xylitol and 1 doonk Stevia Powder (Grind)

Stir all together and pour onto wax paper covered 8 x 8 pan. I have ice cube trays with silicon bottoms that make it great do  popping these out. Put the mixture in the refrigerator until it sets up.

Hope to be able to support others through this blog.