A friend I haven't seen in a long while was in town, and we met up for dinner. It was a local place, and I had grilled fish and veggies, on plan.

I went to the bathroom after dinner, and when I came back to the table Craig had gotten 6 cookies (the Otis Spunkmeyer kind). He told me he got them for us, and I could have whatever I wanted. He's not a food pusher, he was just being his normal, sweet self.

Well, I thought about it. The white chocolate/macadamia kind and the oatmeal raisin were easy to resist, as I've never liked them. But there were 2 chocolate chip cookies, and Otis Spunkmeyer and I have had a relationship that stretches back to high school. I knew my calorie count for the day, and I had the calorie room for sure, so I went ahead and had a cookie.

It was NOT worth the 180 cals. It was OK, of course, but it wasn't anything special. I would much rather have had 180 cals of strawberries and dark chocolate, or a good piece of bread with jam. So Otis Spunkmeyer cookies are off the list now - not worth it.

On the other hand, I will ALWAYS make room for my mom's magic cookie bars (some people call them 7 layer bars - the graham crust/chocolate chip/butterscotch/coconut pieces of heaven). Thank goodness she only makes them at Christmas, or I would be in serious trouble with those. Every time I have one they are just as good as I remember, if not better!

So, what foods have you decided are and aren't worth it for you?

1. You make me hungry!
2. Before I decided to REALLY get in control of my weight I bought a ton of girl scout cookies.. Thin Mints.. and They're still in my freezer staring at me. I think they are not worth it all the time. Sometimes I reqard myself with 1 or 2.. but for the most part.. I know I will feel better after some carrots or any apple. I think one thing that I can never give up is Dr. Pepper. I LOVE fountain drinks.. and I know they're empty calories but I ALWAYS leave room for them in my week. I try not to drink them daily anymore. But at least 2 days a week I reward myself if I have had a good weigh in.

Cake. Don't get me wrong I love a piece of chocolate cake but It just isn't worth it to eat a 300 calorie piece of cake when I can a whole meal with that!
French Fries- You eat them and then just want more. I again can eat a whole meal with how many fries I would eat haha

Since I have chosen the low calorie / low carb road, I am going to say PASTA! A big bowl of spaghetti just doesn't do it for me anymore. And back in December I could have easily gone through 2-3 pounds in a week -- with meatballs. Pizza is on my list too along with beer and soda. (I'm thankful football season is over!)

Congrats on saying no to the cookies! :-)

Haha, that's so funny about the magic cookie bars, because when I saw the title of this thread, the first thing that popped into my head was "My aunt's 7 layer bars that she makes only at Christmas time!" hahahaha That qualifies for me, for sure!

I love this thread, because I have really started making that distinction. I went out to dinner for my sister's birthday last week, and they wanted ice cream from this new place in town called Jeni's. It was expensive, and the flavors were so gourmet and unique! You can get a 1/2 cup serving in 2 different flavors, so I had fig and goat cheese, and salty caramel with smoked almonds. Now THAT is ice cream. 1/2 cup of Jeni's ice cream on a special day IS worth it. Breyer's on any old day really isn't.

Work potluck -- NOT. Thanksgiving dinner -- YEP!

I love, absolutely LOVE food. Cooking it, smelling it, eating it. And this approach has really helped me to feel like I can lose weight, get/stay healthy, and still enjoy one of my passions.

not worth it anymore: orange cupcakes, lasagna, enchiladas, alfredo, french toast, pancakes, ice cream, bagels w/ cream cheese, muffins, frozen dinners, spaghetti, philly cheesesteak sandwich, sweetened tea, crackers, regular sausage.

still worth it: hamburgers, tacos, thin crust pizza, popcorn, nuts, turkey/tuna/chicken/ham sandwiches, frozen yogurt, peanut butter.

worth it on very rare occasions: pie, biscuits and gravy, cookies, beer, chocolate.

I definitely do not think that candy in general is worth it. It is too many cals for too little enjoyment. Ice cream sits on the fence-on some days it might be worth it, if it's special, but right now, heck no! Also, bread that is more than 50 or sixty cals a slice. Pastaries and junk food that doesn't fill you up-like chips or doughnuts are not worth it anymore. Basically anything that is calorically dense that doesn't fill me up isn't worth it!

Drinks with calories (soda, juice, Gatorade, vitamin water etc), muffins/pastries, mediocre/average desserts. I have a tendency to go nuts with sugar, so I don't like to open that can of worms unless it's something really awesome.

The only thing for me that is still "worth it" is chocolate. Any chocolate (doesnt mean i go and stuff my face with it). So yeah. That or avocados. If I get told I need to give those up too... I'll shoot someone.

Drinks with calories, I agree. Also, any cookie/muffin/danish that's store bought/comes in a package. Homemade might be a different story. Regular blah pasta. I might eat some pasta if it's a really good Italian restaurant and I haven't had it in a while and I might be going biking later.

Burgers from any fast food joint? Not worth it. I'd rather have a good one, home made with sirloin or at a fine restaurant/burger joint.

I'll add bread to the list too. Unless it's home made or artisan, it's not worth it to me anymore.

Not worth it: Pretty much anything that isn't on my plan.

Worth it: Cocktails!

sugary beverages and cocktails, white bread, candy, cereal, restaurant pizza

Still worth it: tacos, homemade pizza, mozzarella sticks, ranch dressing

I married a mediterranean fella, so wine has always been a part of our nicer dinners. They are so not worth it. Plus, they taste metallic to me now, bleck! That's #1. #2 are all rice dishes, breads, and most potato dishes. Any pasta dish that isn't a high protein, fresh egg noodle type. And any candies or chocolates.

But, I will partake in family holiday things - I will have cakes on birthdays, a full thanksgiving meal (and following leftovers) and will enjoy holiday treats each year. That's part of my life and culture, so I will not give them up. Every other time of the year, fine.

It's very ironic I've given up simple carbs because I'm an amateur cake decorator and an artisan bread maker (make all our family's whole grain bread) and I'm a gourmet cook. I now make the bread and don't eat it and make the cakes and send them off. Fortunately, being a good cook has allowed me to adjust my meals to be low carb and still very tasty (basically giving up the carb part of the meal and leaving the veggies and protein on my plate).

BerryBlonde, that's awesome! I love to make lower carb recipes that taste good as well. My favorite thing is to make my 'weird food' for my friends and have them either be surprised that they like it, or not know the difference!

Not worth it: Beer and high-calorie cocktails, breads, butter, oil in excess (hate when I order something healthy in a restaurant and it comes swimming in oil, I could just as well have ordered pizza!), pastries, any drinks that contain calories (aside from wine),

Worth it: Chocolate (only the really good, dark gourmet kind), wine, nuts, peanut-butter, real hummus, feta-cheese


I am a calorie-counter so I work into my plan the high-calorie things that are worth it! In moderation ofcourse