One of the reasons I picked on candy specifically is because for some reason, when I get to the Middle East, I go candy CRAZY. It's all well and good to enjoy a timely Toffifay now and then, but in all honesty, I could eat the entire pack in one day, no problem. Which means it WAS a problem. So I swore it off entirely.
(Here is where I should mention that I am not doing this to lose weight. I'm doing it just to see if I can. I went four years in high school without eating candy and although we all know how THAT turned out, I want to make sure I still have some willpower left in my life.)
Since every goal has to have clearly defined parameters, I decided that ice cream and homemade baked goods are still allowed. I considered allowing chocolate as well (in its unadulterated, non-recombined form, like Galaxy chocolate bars) but I know myself too well. If I hadn't included chocolate in the ban, I would be eating it at any and every given moment.
You see, even when we're not in the Middle East, I have a crazily active sweet tooth. I'm one of those people who suspects herself of being an alcoholic if only I ever drank alcohol. I don't really like junk food. I just like CANDY. You know how Jerry Seinfeld always joked that as children, the main goal of our lives was to obtain candy? Well, in many ways (until this year), that was still my goal. Let's just say I was never one of those kids whose Halloween candy lasted much past the first week of November. I can't have candy in the house and not eat it. In fact, part of the reason I exercise a lot is to support my candy habit. True story.
Anyway, the Year of No Candy was going along swimmingly until earlier this month. Never has my resolution been so tested than when we were traveling in Qatar. I never realized how much I depended on candy when we're on the road in a foreign country. Maybe it's because candy will never give you food poisoning, and it's familiar, and you can always find it at even the tiniest local store. Plus, Snickers have a lot of peanuts in them, don't you know? Then there were the duty free shops at each airport packed with Milka chocolates in all their delicious variations. It was really, really hard to go without candy in Qatar, BUT I DID IT.
And I still don't regret making this goal. Even though I love candy, I recently realized that it doesn't taste so good, even right after you eat it. Seriously. It only tastes good right when it's in your mouth, and after that, it's kind of ewwwww.
Having said that, in ten months, be sure to look for the post where I rave about York peppermint patties and those oversized holiday Reese's peanut butter shapes with all the extra peanut filling. Oh, and Good & Plenty. Mmmmm.