The Sweeter Side of Lent

I should probably start by letting you know that I was raised Protestant. Lent is a season of reflection, but for the most part this is done at Church every Sunday; therefore, it was never a part of my Easter tradition to give something up or do something extra for the season of Lent. As a child, I was particularly happy to not keep Lent; as all my friends gave up chocolate, swearing, or what have you, I casually cussed and indulged without a thought otherwise. However this year I decided that I wanted to give something up for the 40 days of Lent.

I didn’t shoot for the moon. I knew giving up “sex, drugs, and rock roll” were all off the table, so I decided to go for sweets. I had originally thought I would just give up chocolate, as it really is the only sweet I love, but I decided to do it up and give up desserts. I gave myself one small tiny loophole: I didn’t give up sugar completely, so things like breakfast food did not qualify as sweets and were therefore fair game (not donuts and danishes, but breads or muffins were OK). Also cocktails, mixed drinks, and diet soda were considered strictly as beverages rather than sweets, in my mind. (Despite the fact I knew each Margarita I drank was probably loaded with more sugar than some cookies.)

I wanted to mix up the norm, give up the habit of the after dinner treats, and not give in to every craving or spur of the moment instinct to mindlessly eat a piece of candy while sitting at my desk. It was about putting the focus on one thing, even if to avoid it, so I would think about it. I wanted to practice that conscious eating that I always go on about.

Wolfing down a quick snack on-the-go is one thing when we are all in a hurry. (Although I do try not to do that.) But taking the candy from bowl, unnecessarily and then not even taking the time to enjoy it, is a habit that I want to break. Not the habit of eating junk — mind you, I think junk food can certainly have a time and place, i.e. comfort food — but rather the habit of senseless snacking on junk.

Now that I am on Day Two of post-Lent glee and my body is protesting the sudden intake of sugar. While heightened sugar consumption is a health issue, it is also a mental issue of treating food as something different then what it actually is: nourishment and energy. I didn’t give up sweets because I think there is anything bad about them, though moderation is still a good thing to practice, rather I think sweets are something to be appreciated, enjoyed and limited.