This challenge thing is pretty awesome. I’ve been issuing challenges to myself, and, oddly, not only have I accepted them, I’ve also been successful with them. Go figure.

Today it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I was starting to experience a shift in my mindset. I found myself reaching for a tangerine as a snack (or clementine… what’s the difference? anyone?) and I thought to myself that I was actually shifting my thought patterns.

The old me would have deemed a tangerine (or clementine) too much of a hassle to eat. After all, you have to peel it. The current me finds that line of thinking absurd. It’s not more difficult than opening a package of chips. Ok, well, maybe slightly more effort is involved, but really, it’s not much. Besides, the tangerine (or clementine) is so darn sweet and delicious.

Sweet. That’s my big issue. I’m pretty much a sugar junkie. I have to stay away from the sweet stuff, because when I start I have a hard time stopping. I’ve written about my Hot Tamale addiction before, but it’s really not an addiction… it’s more of an issue. If I have them, I eat them. If I don’t have them, I rarely go out of my way to get them. The truly addicted would move mountains to get a fix, but that’s not me. Know why? Because there are so many sugar-laden alternatives. It’s not the Hot Tamales that are the issue, it’s the sugar.

Yes, I know that tangerines (or clementines) are full of sweet, delicious, natural sugar. I’m okay with that. It’s the processed stuff that makes me nuts. I know this, and slowly I’m facing this particular demon.

No, it’s not crack. It’s not meth, or a fifth of vodka, or a needle full of heroin (do you even say that? a needle full?) but still, it’s an issue. I’m working on it, a little at a time. Every day it gets a little easier to make better choices. Every day I move a little closer to a full-on commitment to becoming my best me. Every day I make decisions that are becoming easier and easier. One challenge at a time, one week at a time, I’m working my way to a better, healthier, slimmer, fitter, more amazing me.