I can do this. Or not.

NEWS FLASH: Recent experiments show that large doses of Nutella are associated with subsequent higher readings on bathroom scales. The effect is even more pronounced if the Nutella is combined with peanut butter.

Not a big surprise, huh? In spite of the articles that come out from time to time claiming that chocolate is good for me, Nutella still has 100 calories per tablespoon, half of those from fat. As a general rule, I don’t permit it in the house. Just as with other banned substances such as potato chips and prepared frosting, if it is in the house sooner or later I will eat it, noticeably setting back my weight loss program.

That means that the struggle to eat sensibly takes place first of all at the grocery store. So the question is, why did I buy it when I knew it wasn’t good for me? What was going through my mind at the time?

As I recall it, there was something about how I hadn’t had any Nutella for a very long time, and who says I can’t have any, and just once won’t hurt me. At that point I rather stopped thinking and tossed it into the shopping cart. Then the same “discussion” took place all over again at home before the jar was opened for the first time. 

Once the jar is open, it is hard even to get the discussion going.

I think the trouble comes from the rule that I can’t have any. Just like with New Year’s Resolutions, the “thou shalt not” inspires me to do whatever it was I wasn’t supposed to do. There doesn’t seem to be any way to make this tendency work FOR me, either. If I made a rule saying, “Thou shalt not walk two miles at the Y every afternoon” I would not therefore be tempted to do the exercise.

So, what? Do I stop making resolutions and rules? Actually that seems to work better! The Apostle Paul argues that as Christians we are not under the law. All things are “legal” or “permissible” for me (I Corinthians 6:12)! But here’s the catch: not all things are helpful. And I have determined that I will not be mastered by anything. Am I going to let Nutella run my life?

So each time I am confronted with Nutella I need to stop thinking in terms of a rule which says I can’t have any. I can have some, any time I want. That is not the issue. I am not under the law. It’s OK. I can have as much Nutella as I want. But it isn’t helpful.

Do I really need something that is unhelpful right now? And I know it’s habit-forming. One spoonful leads to another. It could master me. Is that what I want?

It is really funny how knowing that I can have some takes away the urge to have some. I don’t have to do it. I am free to make that choice. But I do have to come to the decision not to do it each time. Fortunately with practice the decision gets easier, and freedom comes more naturally.

What is your experience with resolutions and changing habits? Share your hard-won wisdom, do.