Perfect Husband knows that on nice days, I like to walk with the dog and the baby to Esso (except sometimes I call it “the Irving” because apparently my brain has still not adjusted to three years outside of the Maritimes), buy myself a chocolate bar, and walk home.
The round trip is about a kilometre walk, which probably doesn’t burn nearly as many calories as a chocolate bar puts on, but the important thing is, I’m rewarding myself for walking. It builds positive associations in my mind, and eventually I should be able to wean myself off of the chocolate. I’m already buying smaller/fewer bars than I was originally, and now I actually miss the walk on rainy days (which have been most days, the last couple of weeks).
So that’s good.
Well, Perfect Husband came home the other day with a 16 bar assortment pack, with Snickers and Twix and Mars bars in it. His logic was that if I had the bars at home but used them as rewards, I might walk to places OTHER than the Esso.
We call them Walkolate bars.
So, where should I go today?
Hmm. We’re out of pop.
Maybe I’ll walk to the Esso.
If By Yes 
I love rewards.
This week I decided that I don’t get dessert unless I have done physical activity that day. Um, not using the elevator totally counts, right? Right?
Ooh, a trick question! It totally does, but only if doesn’t mean you skipped going outside.
And if you don’t live on the first floor :-p
Also might only count of you skipped elevator for going up and not just on your way out. I am so I excited I am going to go buy gummy worms now.
Btw, keeping the chocolate at home might be more harmful the helpful. While passing through some groups discussing addiction: it seems a pretty common misconception that being able to visualize the enemy by opening the kitchen cabinet door and checking out the bottle of vodka is a better, more hardcore version of abstaining then pouring the vodka out and throwing the bottle away. Apparently it’s just a setup for failure. Absence of temptation really does work better.
Ahem. Moralizing aside.
Two thoughts:
1) What keeps you from going somewhere different now? It must be something other than simply habit since your husband is trying to solve the problem. Perhaps if you knew, it will be easier to deal with.
2) Gradual change seems to work for you, ie the smaller bars, perhaps there is some other place a bit further away, on the same route even, that you can go to?
1) Everywhere else is at the bottom of a steep hill, and walking back up with baby isn’t fun
2) Not really, but I probably will go down the hill next time. When I don’t need pop 🙂
It just about killed me to NOT buy that chocolate bar at the grocery store checkout tonight. (There were a LOT of chocolate bars in my life last week. =)
When Babby starts walking, go to the PARK. Seriously best place ever. Like Disney Land, but without hordes of people or junk food. =)
We have two playgrounds within walking distance – one visible from our window. Babby and I will have no excuse to stay inside!
walking down the hill and then back up again might be closer to burning all the calories…. but really, who cares about the calories… in my experience babies enjoy laying their heads down on a little cushion instead of bones:)
😀 I figure the walking is more important than the fat burning, right? At least it’s getting moving!
Ohh! That is what I need! A chocolate motivator halfway through my walk! I’ve been doing it all wrong walking in an area without a chocolate distributor. I just have ponds and Canadian Geese.
yeah, that’s not so fun.
Walkolate bars! Excellent idea!
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