Do too many M&Ms constitute gluttony?

[Lucky_Scrunchy]

I am 42 and since I was a child I have always had a huge sweet tooth. I suffer from scrupulosity and constantly accuse myself of this sin. My husband thinks I’m wrong on this. How do I know if I have “crossed the line” when it comes to sweets? For example, how do I know if two handfuls of M&Ms are a sin but one isn’t? I honestly don’t know where that line is.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

The Modern Catholic Dictionary by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., gives this definition for “gluttony”:

Inordinate desire for the pleasure connected with food or drink. This desire may become sinful in various ways: by eating or drinking far more than a person needs to maintain bodily strength; by glutting one’s taste for certain kinds of food with known detriment to health; by indulging the appetite for exquisite food or drink, especially when these are beyond one’s ability to afford a luxurious diet; by eating or drinking too avidly, i.e., ravenously; by consuming alcoholic beverages to the point of losing full control of one’s reasoning powers. Intoxication that ends in complete loss of reason is a mortal sin if brought on without justification, e.g., for medical reasons. (Etym. Latin glutire, to devour.)

It might help to quit scrupling over how many M&Ms you’re consuming and to examine instead why you are eating. Are you eating because you are hungry or because you are bored? Would a taste of chocolate be sufficient or are you “overdosing” on this particular pleasure? If you are not hungry or if you find that you’ve consumed far more chocolate than was necessary to satisfy a reasonable desire for something sweet, then you might consider whether or not you have sinned. But keep in mind that eating too many M&Ms likely is only venial matter and so you should not worry that you have committed mortal sin.

Recommended reading:

Understanding Scrupulosity by Thomas M. Santa, C.Ss.R.