The cobbler is holding me hostage
 

So I participate in a language exchange group and last week the other members were talking about food from different countries. They asked me about some American foods and I mentioned apple pie. They all said they had never tried it. I told them I would make them some apple cobbler instead. True to my word, on Tuesday I made a pan of apple cobbler for the group. I made too much filling so I had enough for a second smaller pan which I used to "test" the cobbler before I brought the bigger one to my group. The big pan is gone but the little pan is still in my kitchen and I can hear it calling my name. I live in a tiny little loft style apartment and for the last two days I have been pretty much just staying upstairs so I don't have to deal with it.

I know the easiest option is to just throw the damn thing away but then I start to feel guilty about wasting the money (apples are EXPENSIVE here). Then I try to think of who I can give it to but none of my friends are really into sweets. Normally I would just bring it to work and my problem would be solved in thirty seconds, but we're still on winter break. I keep making excuses and avoiding the kitchen and the living room(proximity).

I hear it calling my name right now and it's also telling me how wonderful it would taste with ice cream from the mart downstairs...:s:

Help! I should just throw it away right? The money isn't worth a possible cobbler and ice cream binge, right?

Chuck it! Let's say the cobbler cost 5 bucks or so- atleast that portion does. Would you pay 5 dollars to keep from regaining a pound? Or to lose a pound?

Conversely- if someone paid you 5 dollars to deliberately gain a pound, would you do it? I know I wouldn't.

Next time don't offer to make your trigger foods for other people.

Just chuck it. Problem solved.
A.

Freeze it - take it to your next meeting. :)

THROW IT AWAY!!! lol Really, just throw it away. You have no one to give it to so why keep it? Are expensive apples worth the guilt you KNOW you would feel after the fact??? I am willing to bet however much those apples cost that it is not worth the guilt.

Ask the elves to set you free? :D

Seriously, either throw it out or freeze it in individual portions so you're not tempted to binge. I noticed you're short like I am - if you're just waiting to find someone to give it to, try putting it on a high shelf that's hard for you to reach.

I am shocked how readily a lot of people throw out food. I would say divide it into individual servings and freeze them. I am sure it will come handy when you have somebody visiting etc.

Is there anyone else in your building? Maybe you can leave it at someone's doorstep with a "from your friendly neighbor baker" note (and your name/apt # so they know you aren't a psycho). :P

Whenever I have an urge to make cookies, I freeze a few for the kids' lunch, then put the rest in a tin and ship it off to the office with hubby. Where's your language exchange course? If it's on a campus, college guys always appreciate random treats.

ETA another idea: Give it to whoever owns the "mart downstairs." :P

But y'all, she admits the tendency to BINGE and not only binge but go out and buy ice cream especially for this occasion... In that case, I see no other option than get it out of there. Some of us would do fine dividing it out and freezing but I got the impression from her that it could lead to sabotage. I don't like the idea of throwing out food either, but for her what else can she do?

Originally Posted by Niecy:
But y'all, she admits the tendency to BINGE and not only binge but go out and buy ice cream especially for this occasion... In that case, I see no other option than get it out of there. Some of us would do fine dividing it out and freezing but I got the impression from her that it could lead to sabotage. I don't like the idea of throwing out food either, but for her what else can she do?

Yup. Chuck it.

I would freeze it until winter break is over then bring it in for the others to enjoy. If it still tempts you just throw it away and chalk it up to an expensive lesson learned.

Originally Posted by Niecy:
But y'all, she admits the tendency to BINGE and not only binge but go out and buy ice cream especially for this occasion... In that case, I see no other option than get it out of there.

The only reason I disagree with this is because allowing a behavior to control you doesn't solve the behavior. If you have a tendency to binge eat, and simply remove temptation when at home, it won't allow you to fix the issue for when you have no option to remove temptation. Like with quitting smoking: a lot of people lock themselves up in a facility until the full withdrawal has passed. Once they get out, they have a huge tendency to relapse, because they never learn how to do day to day activities without it. Ditto on weight loss "programs" like the Biggest Loser.

I do agree with you there Altari, at some point she is going to have to learn the same self control all of us have. I'm going by her 3FC join date and the amount of weight loss she has logged so far and maybe she just hasn't had time for all of this to come together. But again, I whole-heartedly agree with you, she can't spend the rest of her life "running from food".

There were times when my mom would make my bday cake and offer me what was leftover, often-times at least half and I would happily lug it home and eat it over the course of a few days. Then I began only taking a piece. Now I just have one piece and leave everything and let her deal with it, LOL

Originally Posted by Altari:
The only reason I disagree with this is because allowing a behavior to control you doesn't solve the behavior.

By this logic, alcoholics should keep plenty of booze around the house.

It's true that alcoholics can't avoid all situations in which alcohol is served, but that doesn't mean that it helps to seek out those situations or make them permanent by living surrounded by booze.

Research consistently shows (regardless of the particular temptation) that removing the temptations from your home actually increases your ability to resist that temptation outside of your home. I suspect, because of extinction (cognitive behavioral psychology - it essentially means the reinforcement or reward for a behavior has been removed long enough to weaken it's strength as a temptation or habit).

In essence, not giving in, becomes your norm (even if it is because you've changed your environment to remove the temptation).

Originally Posted by kaplods:
By this logic, alcoholics should keep plenty of booze around the house.

First, I'm not saying she should keep trigger foods around the house purposely. I'm saying that pitching a food to avoid eating it is simply letting the poor behavior control you. I don't keep cookies around my house as a rule, but I can bake a batch of cookies for my kids or guests without binging on them. Most importantly - and why I'm so baffled by your comparison - I know that the binge on cookies isn't going to turn me into a mad drunk, intoxicate me to the point that my car is a deadly weapon, or land me in the hospital with cookie poisoning.

Alcoholics have to totally restart their lives to recover. They ask friends and family to kindly avoid bringing alcohol to events to aid in recovery - and, if said people won't, they don't go. How many of us have completely cut out enablers and food pushers? How many of us ask Great Aunt Erna to not bring her world famous triple-chocolate cake to Christmas because we're a recovering obese person?