There was a study where they put kids in a room with a marshmallow. They were told that if they left that marshmallow alone and didn't eat it, they would get a bigger treat later. The kids who left the marshmallow alone, turned into adults who were able to delay pleasure for greater rewards later on. The kids that shoved that marshmallow into their mouths the second the scientist left the room, would become the adults who cannot delay pleasure.

If you were to stick me in a room with a marshmallow today and told me if I could wait until the dude comes back, I'd get a bigger treat, I wouldn't be able to do it. The second that man left the room I'd shove that puffy bit of gelatin into my mouth. And I don't even like marshmallows that much.

You think I'm lying? Today I bought some treats for my students. I included some Hershey's kisses that were to last me a long long time. I bought them at 10:30 am. It is now noon and I'm almost finished the massive bag. AND to top it all off, I feel sick. I always feel sick if I eat too much candy. I can't help myself though. I have begun to hide how many wrappers I'm going through for fear one of my co-workers comes over and reminds me how bad chocolate its for your throat and that there has been a massive recall on anything with milk in them due to the melamine scare.

It is like my love/hate relationship with chips and dip. Oh how I love Old Dutch Regular Potato Chips (the ones that come in the cardboard box) with dill pickle cream cheese dip. There cannot be substitutions in this combination. I don't like ripple chips. They must be regular and the dip must be Philadelphia cream cheese dip. And once I have these in my possession, I plough through them faster than the speed of light. Oh how glorious. Oh how marvelous. Oh how nauseous I feel. I don't buy them very often because I cannot control myself. I think it is from my upbringing (can't everything be blamed on parents?). My mom would sit all of us down with this treat and it would be a free-for-all. All four of us kids would be grabbing at chips like no one's business because if you slowed down or came and leisurely had some, YOU WOULD GET NONE. Here comes mom with the chips, elbows sharpened and out everyone. And GO! Nom Nom Nom. Eating both bags of chips and the entire thing of dip would take less than 5 minutes. i am not lying. 

This information transfers to other delicious things around the house. Once my brothers hit their teenage years, trying to get any kind of food was a constant struggle. Sorry Deb, you were too slow. All the pizza pops are gone, here is a wrinkly Macintosh apple (it is little wonder why I hate Macintosh apples). When I was working part-time during school, my mom would save my suppers in the microwave so I could eat them after I got home. Most of the time, there would be an empty plate after my brothers discovered it a few hours after supper.

I like treats. I don't want to get rid of treats. However, I would like to begin to cultivate a better relationship with them. My romance with sugar must be my most disfunctional relationship to date (and heavens knows I've subjected myself to some disfunctional relationships). I am drawn towards chocolate and candies, I then buy waaaaayyy too much, and eat them in short order to get rid of them to prevent me from eating anymore. Then I feel sorry for myself and my tummy. and to make myself feel better...