A Lifetime on the Hips

Yesterday I did something that I have not done in over a year. I ate a couple of bites from a donut. Not breaking news for most but for me it was a big deal. I have been under the gluten sensitivity umbrella since June. I have not had one bite of anything that would contain wheat or gluten since my diagnosis of Celiac disease. That means no pizza, bread, cookies, donuts, cake, or anything that has flour in it. I have some new tests coming up that requires me to re-introduce gluten back into my diet. So I figured what better way than with a fresh, chocolate-iced donut.

I tried to do it as unceremoniously as possible but couldn't help but notice my family starring at me eager to see my reaction of either sheer pleasure or to see if I would spontaneously combust. Well, I didn't explode and the sheer pleasure was not as pleasurable as I thought. After a year of missing "the wonder" that is a fresh donut, it wasn't all I had made it out to be. Yes it was good but it only lasted a couple of seconds, then came the dread of the unknown. How would I feel? How would my body react?

That is when I realized that many people are addicted to seconds of pleasure rather than a lifetime of good health. For the last year, I have been in innumerable situations of people enjoying foods that were not healthy in any way but were fun to eat and I had to endure the smells and sights and not have one single bite. At first it was a little more difficult but before long I had absolutely no problem denying myself of these foods and opting instead for my more simple and routine diet.

Now that I have been able to experience what I was missing, I realize that I wasn't missing all that much. I am not saying that we shouldn't enjoy life and indulge here and there but developing a habit of always indulging is what will keep you from being healthy. The next time you walk through your break room at work and see a big box of donuts just remember "a second on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!"