Sweet Sweet Limitations | Limiting Our Sweets to the Weekend | Strouse House Rambles
"After we finish this batch of cookies, then no more sweets in the house" was a common phrase uttered in the Strouse House. Allie is known city-wide for her unending search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie (or so she thinks) and I like to think I'm a connoisseur when it comes to mint chocolate flavored things (specifically cheesecake), but these things catch up to you sometimes.
Our love for sweets went unchecked in the Fall of 2015 because Allie was eating for two and I was training for a 1/2 Ironman so the calories meant nothing to us. After Stella's birth, we both realized we needed to reign it in and the new year gave us the nudge we needed to implement the Strouse House Family Rule #17 -"No Sweets During the Week".
We know what you're thinking, "Will this blog series just be a slow list of the fun things they are carving out of their lives until we find them living off the grid in a log cabin in the middle of the wilderness?" We promise we still have joy in our lives, Ha. It was just time to take drastic measures in the fight against all things sweet.
The first few work days, we begrudgingly packed lunches without cookies and fought the urge to partake in surprise doughnut parties at work. The sugar withdraw headaches were annoying and there may have been a few terse words exchanged on the car ride home, but apologies were accepted and soon we realized sweets were losing their appeal. We didn't want our new workout plans to be nullified and we also didn't want to be the first spouse to break the house rule so we soldiered on.
The first Saturday was so full of sweets we made ourselves sick. Cookies were consumed immediately upon waking up, followed by chocolate chip pancakes, orange rolls, and then cookies for dessert. We had so much fun eating carefree that we soon ended up on the couch with tummy aches! "Everything is good in moderation" right?
We soon found the happy medium and within the last few weekends we've even had multiple meals go by without partaking in a sugary delight. Last night's Super Bowl party was full of brownies, cannoli dip, and cookies, but we left said cookies with our friends and today we begin anew with a countdown to the joyous treats this Saturday will hold.
Stay strong fellow people of moderation! What are your house rules for staying healthy?