Just like many of you, I ate a lot of cookies and candies over the Christmas holidays. I received most as gifts so I really could not throw them away for fear of hurting someone’s feelings, of course.
I stuck said treats in the freezer but still could not resist the temptation to eat them even if they were frozen and hard as a rock (thank goodness for the microwave). My sugar intake was sky high and the only antidote seemed to be chips and the saltier the better.
After spending days eating in the sugar/salt/sugar world, I finally had enough and got my healthy eating habits back. Salads and more salads replaced the cookies and candies. I began to feel better, too. My weight even started getting back to normal.
Then disaster struck again in the form of chocolate fudge. I received two containers of the most delicious, creamy chocolate fudge that I have ever tasted. I started out with one piece, which grew to my finishing one container in less than hour. I had my neighbor keep the other box at her house for fear that I would devour the second box, too. I was fine with that until she returned the half eaten second box. Seems that she could not resist it either.
I decided to take the more than half finished box back with me to work. The people with whom I work will eat just about anything and the fudge was no exception. I did sneak into the break room to have a piece or more and by the end of the day the fudge container was empty.
On my way home from work, I was struck with the worst stomachache that I have ever had. I spent most of the night feeling totally nauseous and sick to my stomach. This awful feeling continued through the next day. Nothing I ate made me feel better. Why was I feeling so lousy?
A colleague and I were chatting the next day about the state of my stomach. She listened to my tale of woe and told me what exactly was the root of my indigestion: too much butter. She had worked for many years in the food industry and
was well aware of how much butter was used in food preparation to achieve the delicious, creamy texture of so many foods. I was suffering from an overdose of not sugar or salt but butter. It made sense because I eat so little butter to begin with and my overindulgence with fudge was too much for my stomach.
I learned my lesson. I have not eaten anything with any butter since and have felt much better. I will also stay away from fudge, at least for the time being.
Guess that is what happens you eat healthy all the time and have a holiday binge on fudge but that binge really did taste great! I promise to do better next year…I hope.