Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Time to give it up...and give it away

No, I'm not giving up on the blog, though it may seem that way at times. Or, all the time really. I know.

Anyway, a little history. At the beginning of Lent I decided to give up chocolate. Not for religious reasons, but to see if I could and Lent seemed like a good timeline to use. I figured if I could make it through Lent it would be a big deal for me. Really, it is. You don't know how many M&M's I normally eat.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you, it was tough. That first week was like giving up drugs. From what I've seen on TV of course. I wasn't stuck in bed hurling into a garbage can or anything, but I certainly kept looking for some chocolate that first week.

I guess the best comparison would be to giving up tobacco. I used to chew tobacco in college (I know it's gross, that's why I don't do it anymore) and I remember how tough that first week without it went. You get used to having it at certain times like after a meal, or a snack or while watching TV, etc. Sure, chocolate doesn't have nicotine in it, but I was still used to having some after I ate, or I was bored. It was a bad scene.

So, I gave it up for Lent and I did really well. After that first week it was much easier to go without it. Franky, I was proud of myself. Until Good Friday, I was sick, and I decided to stop that day. Remember, this wasn't for religious reasons so I wasn't worried about getting struck by lightning after eating a piece or two. Or more.

I think I did pretty well the first two days being able to eat chocolate, but yesterday I decided I need to stop and get rid of the stuff in the house. Why? Two words: acid reflux. A while back my doctor had told me some things that can trigger acid reflux; tomato sauce, chocolate and alcohol. Being an Italian, beer loving, chocolate fiend, that was some pretty tough news to take. I have done well with holding back on the pasta sauce and the beer, but not so much on the chocolate. So, long story a little shorter, I had my first acid reflux attack since I gave up chocolate for Lent last night and that's when I decided I need to keep off the stuff for the most part. I can't keep M&M's here in the house, that's for sure. Those things keep calling me back and I end up regretting it later in the night. I need to get rid of them. Now.


I have three bags that I got for Easter. Do you want them? Yes, you! If I'm going to get rid of them I might as well give them to someone that actually reads this thing. So leave me a comment if you want them and tell me why you should get them and I'll chose who gets them. If nobody leaves a comment, I'll bring them to work or something like that. But, I'd rather give them to you. Make sure to leave an e-mail address for me to contact you if you don't have a link back to your blog or website.

Go tell your friends. I know they like chocolate even if you don't.

4 comments:

Cookie said...

OMG... you really are an old guy.

/ahem

I mean, that's terrible! Mike, I'm so sorry! If I didn't hate dark chocolate, I'd be your girl. Errr...

You know what I mean. :p

Florinda said...

Getting old sucks, doesn't it? I've been advised by my doctor to cut back big-time on carbs - and as a fellow pasta-loving Italian, I'm sure you can understand the difficulty there.

I'd take one of those bags off your hands, but not all, and I'd give it to Paul. He loves those dark-chocolate M&Ms.

See, you survived Lent - and learned something, too! :-)

Mike said...

Cookie: Thanks!

Do you want the peanut ones? I'd be glad to give them to you.


Florinda: I can send you the dark chocolate bag. Or, one of them since you don't want both. I have to see if I still have your address. If not, I will email you for it.

Cookie said...

If now else comes forward wanting them...