Bright and early this morning I was reminded that today is Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Tuesday. Being a hell-bound heathen, I had no idea what that means, but I like pancakes, so I was totally on board. I decided to do a little investigative research (i.e. Wiki that bitch!)

"Pancakes and doughnuts are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs."-Wikipedia

The term "rich foodstuffs" is basically sexually arousing to me and I've been drooling all day long just thinking about the fatty pancakes I'm going to mow down on for dinner. I plan on stuffing myself to the point of illness because tomorrow's Ash Wednesday, the kickoff to Deprivation Month or something of the sort. Technically, I don't have to give anything up for Lent (TGIB!!!!*) I think it's as good a time as any to try to break a bad habit.

I made a list of possible vices to try and refrain from for 40 days and 40 nights:

1. Swearing
2. Making Fun of Others
3. Chocolate
4. Caffeine
5. Driving Infractions
6. Buying Clothing I Don't Need

I might as well vow to give up breathing or drinking water.

At a loss, I actually Googled "things to give up for Lent" and learned that instead of giving something up, you can also adapt a positive behaviour for Lent. That seems a little more reasonable, but it also seems like cheating somehow. Isn't the whole point to make a sacrifice that betters you?

After lots of thinking I decided to both give something up and do something good for Lent this year. I'm going to give up dessert, and I'm going to compliment five different people every day. The compliment piece should be pretty easy. I know I'm always thinking "I like her outfit" or "He did a really good job on this project" but I'm not great at actually TELLING people what I admire about them. I know how nice it feels to be complimented too, even on something stupid. For example, at a bookstore this past weekend, two women told me my jacket was cute and I was happy for at least an hour! The dessert bit will be a little more challenging. The deal is, I eat really healthfully all day long but after dinner and in the evenings I tend to not know when to stop. I think I have it in my head that I've eaten so well all day I deserve a treat...and another...and another. It's sabotaging my efforts to get in better shape for summer and it makes me feel super full and gross. This is a perfect opportunity to wean myself off eating a salad for dinner, and then capping it with an ice cream bar, THEN a brownie, THEN a pudding, and so on. Fruit and yogurt are OK desserts. Cookies, pie, cakes, brownies, cupcakes, puddings, chocolates, sweet breads, etc. are off limits as of tomorrow.

I think I can do this. I HOPE I can do this! Last year, I gave up Diet Coke for 40 days, which you'd think would be impossible. I actually made it all the way through Lent and beyond. Even today, I might drink a couple Diet Cokes a week...I used to drink a couple of them daily. So I'm hoping that quitting sweets cold turkey will kick off a little bit of weight loss and wean me off my sugar dependence. Wish me luck!

*TGIB=Thank God I'm Baptist. (This is the only time of year I can say that!)