THE DONUT NOT EATEN

Remember when you were 8 years old and you got to school and found out it was a classmate's birthday? It meant only one thing - TREATS!!! So when I walked into the break room on Friday, placed my spinach salad in the fridge, and turned around to see a box of Dunkin’ Donuts on the table – my inner child reared it’s frosting covered face and screamed TREATS!!!!!!! But almost immediately, the sensible and not-so-sweet voice of adulthood chimed in and I found myself staring at the box of donuts. Anyone else ever stared at a box of donuts? Don’t lie - you have. And with head slightly tilted you started to think:

“Oh. Donuts. Who brought in donuts? That was really nice of them. I wonder who bought them. Oooo - That chocolate one with the sprinkles looks really good. Mmmm…I haven’t had a donut in a while. I think that’s a bear claw tucked in the back there. Huh, and look at that. No one’s taken the cinnamon roll yet?”

Then you tilt your head to the other side and switch to third person as if your voice of reason begins talking to your inner self.

“Oh no you don’t. Come on. You’ve already had breakfast. You’re not even hungry again yet. You don’t need a donut. You don’t have to eat one just because they’re free. What about your whole trying-to-eat-healthy goal? You know you’d feel gross after eating that.”

All of a sudden you realize that about a minute has passed and you’ve been staring at a box of donuts. A little embarrassed, you look up from gazing at the glaze and wonder if anyone has seen you. Then comes your moment of truth. To take or not to take – what will you do?! It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure book. What’s going to happen next? Will you turn to page 28 where your inner child is pacified by sugary goodness, or will the sensible adult in you flip to page 42 and conquer the craving? And which one is really the better choice here? Is there a wrong or a right?

I can’t answer that for you, but I can tell you that for my choose your own adventure on Friday (entitled “The Donut Not Eaten”) two options diverged in the breakroom, and I—I chose the option less sugary, And that has made all the difference.

Because even when the day got stressful and frustration set in, I chose not to give in to temptation. Yes, I starred in my very own nutra-grain commercial where one good choice led to another. I was that girl who took the stairs instead of the escalator. I actually let go of my “donuts every Friday at seminary” habits of high school. And yes, I truly was the Biggest Loser….er…wait…that last one didn’t come out quite like I meant it. But I, Kimberly Sigety, on April 09, 2010 stared a doughnut in the face and decided to walk away. So I guess you could say that in the end that makes me the bigger person. Or in this case I guess that would be the thinner person? Whatever. I exercised my self-discipline. Can that count as my exercise for the day? ;)

Baby steps to a better me.