A 3-day Headache

Sometimes you know something. You know it darn well, in fact. It may have been proven to you many times, over and over again. And yet, your brilliant mind finds a way to deny that knowledge.

Aren't our minds a wonder?

When it comes to simple things like diet, you know what's good for you and what's not. If you have ever tried cutting sugar from your diet, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that sugar is bad. I have been almost completely sugar-free since September 1st. But my brilliant brain decided that I should give myself a little break. After all, this is the holiday season! And what is a holiday without sugar?

My writers' circle meets at Panera Bread. I arrived for our last meeting hungry. Right away, you can tell I was making bad choices. And I continued in this vein. Did I order a bowl of soup? (They probably have soup, right?) Did I get a sandwich? Did I order something from their Hidden Menu which is purely Paleo? No.

What did I order, you ask? A hot chocolate and a peanut butter chip cookie.

I should have just ordered an ice pick to the head. Because consuming that much sugar after months of none meant an instant headache. Instant AND tenacious. Non-responsive to ibuprofen, despite the increasing dosages I used. Literally a three-day-long affair.

And to add insult to injury, the hot chocolate was expensive ($2.89) and quite ordinary. Tasted like a package of Swiss Miss instant. The peanut butter chip cookie ($1.79) did not seem to contain any actual peanut butter, only those fake-tasting chips in a plain, sugar cookie base. Disappointing, all around.

You may be wondering if I learned my lesson. I think I have sufficiently satisfied my curiosity about the baked goods at Panera. It is easy to feel deprived if everyone around you is munching down cookies and you feel that you can't. Or shouldn't. But once you know the pain of a headache that will not quit, you probably won't be tempted again for awhile.

This is what I'm hoping, anyway.

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