Here we are on the cusp of the day when more candy is consumed than any other day of the year.

Most people fall into one of two camps:

1. I will eat ALL the candy, because well it's a special day and it doesn't "count" and no one will judge me for indulging and it's everywhere and everyone else is doing it....

or

2. I will not eat candy. I will lust over candy and suffer in silence as I watch my kids and everyone else eat as much as they want. I will obsess over the candy that I'm not eating that is calling my name, but I won't give in. Candy is evil and I cannot have one piece because if I do all bets are off and I will eat all the candy and I won't ever stop eating candy...

Am I right?

What if there was an Option C?

What IF it didn't have to be all or nothing?

We live in a culture of nutrition absolutes. There are a lot of always and nevers. I used to buy into that mentality myself. ALWAYS eat 5 meals per day. NEVER have a cheat food during the week. ALWAYS eat breakfast within 30 minutes of working out. NEVER combine carbs and fat. I could go on for days.

When I became a Mom a lot of things changed for me. I had been a "runner" and "dieter" for many years and then I became a "fitness competitor" and "meal plan" advocate. All of those things take a lot of energy and time that I no longer had.

I spent some time figuring out what worked for my body and exploring a lot of the grey area. I also started working with a lot of real-life clients that had other goals besides walking on stage in a bikini. They wanted to feel better, look better, stop the dieting cycle, heal their guts, fix their hormones and much more.

I began to adopt moderation.

That means that rather than trying to fit my life into my nutrition I fit my nutrition into my life.

Yes I eat really clean by most standards, but I eat a lot of things that many nutrition/fat-loss pros might scoff at. I know which foods work for my body and which don't. I know how to satisfy my own cravings. I know what hunger feels like, what hydration feels like and what cravings feel like. I know that in my first-world life food is never scarce.

Essentially that means that I began to listen to my body and make choices- sometimes on the fly- rather than plan and plan and plan and prep and prep and prep. Now- don't get me wrong- I think that most women do best by following SOME guidelines when getting started, but if we're never learning to listen to our bodies and we're never learning how to function when our "plans" get messed up then we'll never truly grow and we will remain stuck.

The big thing here.... just like every other walk in life we have to LET GOD WORK. We have to trust Him to help us make choices. We have to ask for help to not make food an idol. We have to be vulnerable and willing to put ourselves out there. We have to be willing to put in the detective work. We have to embrace our weaknesses and allow God to use them to WORK.

2 Corinthians 2:19: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

So... today I want you to do 3 things:

1. Pray. Search your heart and ask God to help you identify any areas of obsession or over-indulgence. Ask for the help that only HE can provide in overcoming those obstacles and idols.

2. Practice. What IF you actually had JUST ONE miniature Snickers bar this Halloween. Could you enjoy it? Would you obsess? Would you be able to stop? What's the worst thing that could happen? Give it a try! Let go of that "control" and just give it a try. OR maybe candy isn't your thing really. That's cool. If candy doesn't make you happy then by all means don't eat it just because everyone else is indulging. Maybe you would rather wait until this weekend's football game and sample a few savory treats instead. I bet you can eat just a small handful of chips and salsa without losing all control!

3. Repeat. Just like anything in life practicing moderation takes prayer and practice.... lots of both. You will not be perfect. Not ever. You will not eat perfectly. That said you can make good choices. I know you can. Do you know you can? Speak words of encouragement to yourself. Read scripture to yourself and apply it to your nutrition. THIS is the process where the magic happens time and time again. You can apply it to EVERY area of your life too! Isn't that fun?

Are you ready? Get that Snickers and let's start practicing.