I snack. Sometimes it’s nerves. Sometimes it’s stress. Sometimes it’s boredom. Sometimes it’s habit. But I snack.

I know that I probably shouldn’t be bored, that I shouldn’t be stressed. I know that the ‘right’ thing to do would be to pray more, to trust more. And I’m growing in that.

But in the meantime, I snack.

I’ve done a lot of reading in the last few years about willpower and habits and goal-setting. I’ve learned several things.

• I know that I am more likely to follow through on a commitment if I state it as an intention: “When i am in this situation, here is what I will do.”
• I know that self-control is a finite resource.
• I know that as I begin to think of myself as a person who eats smarter,  I am more likely to eat smarter than if I think of myself as someone who can’t.
• I know that I am more likely to not eat chocolate if I have small slightly sweet replacements.
• I know that if I eat more fiber, I am more likely to lose weight.
• I know that if I eat good protein for breakfast, I will snack less during the morning.

So every morning I eat an egg for breakfast. Some mornings I take almonds to work in a little bag. Some days I buy an extra box of bite-sized shredded wheat to keep under my desk. Some weeks I buy string cheese to keep in the refrigerator at work.

Did these changes happen all at once? Nope. I started with frosted mini-wheats before graduating to the plain kind. But given the choice between donuts and frosted mini-wheat, between snickers and cheese, between “don’t do that” and “do this instead”, I’ve made progress.

Sometimes following Jesus is about living wisely.