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Take Your Finger Off the Trigger

WLC Day 6

Triggers. They're everywhere.

Specifically I have noticed how many triggers there are in our sugar-addicted world. A children's book talks about ice cream, a Bible story video has a cupcake truck, vending machines contain nothing sugar-less, etc., etc. It seems that everywhere I turn I see sugar, which makes me want to eat sugar.

For the first week of the WLC, Katie and I have been finding success through a couple determined steps:
1) Make a plan, and
2) Stick to it.

It is easier to avoid addictions when I put together a plan preemptively. I go through tomorrow's plan in my head in detail and think of all the places I might encounter a trigger. Then I think of when the scheduled meal times are, what we will eat at those meal times, and I remind myself that I don't need to act on any of those temptations. Empty calories won't make me happier in the long run.

And yet the smell of bread baking in the oven, or the smell of a BBQ rib on the grill can be such a tantalizing smell, it is hard to resist! That's why, at least for this stage of the game, I am staying away from restaurants where I would be super tempted to eat the wrong foods. By staying away from triggers, I can equally stay away from the behaviors that I don't want to have in my life.

This challenge is all about breaking old habits and creating new ones. At first that means avoiding triggers. Eventually I hope to break the power of those triggers in general.

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