Night Cheese No More

For a long time, this was me:



I've put in some long, hard hours workin' on my night cheese. And the night cheese had been workin' hard at me! It seemed such a simple pleasure, coming home after a long day to a nice block of cheese. But, it wasn't doing me any good and after awhile, I couldn't deny it anymore: I needed to quit the night cheese.

So, I started to ween myself down on the cheese, and last week when I finished the last of my block, I decided to declare my apartment a cheese-free zone. I had previously done this with chocolate, so I knew there would be some crazy withdrawal, and that the method is effective.

The withdrawal has not been as crazy as it was with chocolate (everything did not turn into cheese when I went to the grocery store this time), but it is pretty strong. I decided to get myself some olives, since they have that same salty taste but are a much healthier option. That has helped, and I haven't developed a crazy olive habit like I thought I might.

My rule is not that I cannot eat cheese (or chocolate), but that I cannot keep it in the house. When I did this with chocolate, the result was that I'd get myself a piece of cake or a cookie or something when I was out to satisfy the craving (I've moved on from that now, kind of). So I figured that whenever I went out I'd be all over the cheesey snacks. But that hasn't been the case. Thursday evening I took advantage of some cheesey snacks, but I honestly did not find them particularly satisfying. Friday I was considering getting a cheesey lunch, but found myself craving a hearty grilled vegetable salad instead.

Turns out, kicking cheese to the curb has really started to change the way I eat, particularly with regard to carbs. My quick and easy food fixes were often things like pasta with cheese, rice with cheese, grilled cheese sandwich, or just straight up cheese. Without cheese in the house, I have to pause and think about what it is I'm going to eat, leaving me with the options to make something decidedly healthier, or not eat.

And I've really noticed the difference already! I feel a lot better, healthier. I still crave the cheese, but, it seems to be more of a mental addiction than a physical one (chocolate is much more physical). I feel like I've taken a really positive step forward.

And you know what else? This morning I decided to see how I'm going with my slow, steady, sustainable weight loss. I hadn't weighed myself since my birthday and I wasn't expecting to find much difference. I had set myself a target weight to get down to, with the promise to myself that I would never allow myself to get over that weight again. And today, officially, I have reached that weight! And that feels fan-bloody-tastic!