Today someone brought back chocolate chip cookies (my WEEKNESS) but they were generic store brand and I knew they wouldn't be very good. That's all I needed to not crave/want any! It seems lately that if I know something is not going to be the very best (fill in the blank) then I can easily skip it. If I'm going to go off plan then it'd better be WORTH it!

Yay! That's such an exciting thing to be able to do. I've been doing it a lot lately too. It's so much easier when I think about how I don't actually like (insert food here) that much, so it's not worth the calories. It's helping me build willpower. Just yesterday, someone brought cookies from the best cookie place in town to our church softball game and I was able to turn them down! It felt waaaaaaaaay better to be able to play in a game of softball than any cookie has ever tasted.

That is so great!

This is one thing I LOVE about CCing. There is so much that I just am not willling to waste my Cals on. If I am going to eat a lot of Cals on a splurge, the food better be worth it. Last weekend I was able to pass on some donuts, because I knew they were not worth blowing the 45 min on the elyptical over. Thanks to daily CCing, I am able to bring a lot more balance into my life.

Yes, you know how it is funny how much really bad food (low quality, greasy, super sugary) that I used to eat! Now it is the same with me: if I'm going to spend the calories, it must be something special and usually a once a week treat.

Wooohoooo! way to go!

I totally agree! I went to a child's birthday party and there were really generic cupcakes. I don't mean that rudely to the hosts -- just that they bought the kind of cupcakes that kids generally like and that could sit outside on a hot day without the frosting melting. It was so easy to turn one of those down.

However, my DD's party was two days later, and I'd bought an ice cream cake from Coldstone -- and for that I planned and ate carefully all day so I could indulge -- and it was worth the planning!

I feel the same way about store-bought cookies, like Chips Ahoy or something. Totally not worth it. If I'm going to eat a cookie it's going to be homemade with real butter and it will be soft because it is fresh, not because of 10 chemical preservatives added to it!

Oh yes - it's got to be a 10 before I even think about it...

Actually, I think about that quite a lot---it's one of the complete advantages of growing older. I'm in my fifties now, so there's not very much stuff that I haven't eaten: I've eaten *years* and years of doritos and chips and cupcakes and ice cream, et al.


So when I hear that wee voice in my head:"ooo. That food really looks good. Wonder what it tastes like" I remind myself that hey, I *already* know what that tastes like. I've either eaten it or its first cousin a couple of thousand times in the last half-century...

Yes, I ask myself the question, "Is it worth the calories?" all the time! My calories are like my budget and I need to spend wisely.

I love fresh, healthy foods. I also love decadent, unhealthy foods... but not "junk food." Think bread pudding or foie gras or real butter. So, I eat copious quantities of the healthy stuff and limit the decadent stuff.

Like ncuneo, I will not eat a store-bought cookie. No, thanks. If I'm going to have a cookie, it better be something that I made or was prepared this morning at a bakery.

It's weird. Most people will look at my "meals" and think they look odd. Yesterday for lunch, I had 3oz of leftover filet mignon, 1/3 of a plain sweet potato, mixed raw bell peppers (orange, yellow, & red -- on sale!), and 6 strawberries from the local farm. Does it "go" together? I have no idea. But it's all fresh and high-quality foods.

I'm not sure if I fall into the "food for fuel" camp or if I'm truly a "foodie."

I'm amazed how long it's taken me to judge what I put into my mouth & into my body by the same high standards that I have routinely applied to other areas of my life.

In general, obvious cheapness & shoddy work makes me wince.

I don't like cheap shoes that don't breathe or pinch parts of my feet, or clothes that are mostly synthetic & fall apart after a couple wearings.

I don't like crummy furniture made of pressed sawdust or compressed cardboard or badly stained pine.

So why did I eat so much cr&@p? Why did I "settle for" bad food for so long?

It's about time that I turn things down because they're just not worth it, and they're not up to certain standards. As I said, it's a wonder that it took so long for the light bulb to turn on.

I did that yesterday with cheesecake. It was a small piece and I easily could have fit into my calories for the day, but, grocery store cheesecake? Really? I can taste the icky artificial taste and that alone says it's just not worth it. I find focusing on flavors really helps me determien what's splurge worthy and what isnt. My mom's white chocolate Bailey's Irish cream cheesecake? Worth fitting into my calories. The 9 dollar Safeway special- not so much.

Wow guys this is a really good realization and I notice I kind of do it as well. especially when balancing out my calories. Never thought this deep into it but I am definitely going to do that now.

I am learning myself and my worth and I've currently gotten to the place where there are just certain things that I don't tolerate like bad quality in anything lol. Hey why not apply that same mindset to food. Very good tip!

Very Good one

You're all so right! I never thought about it before, but I've passed up things that I would have eaten before just because. But now I don't eat because i know they aren't the best of the best!

Don't get me wrong--I still LOVE my Doritos! But because I'm counting the cals I can indulge and, with some planning, not ruin my day.

The water weight from all the sodium is a whole 'nother issue....