#Microblog Monday 230: Hands Off the Girl Scout Cookies
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I am trying not to eat the Girl Scout cookies in the kitchen. (I really really really want the Thin Mints in the kitchen.) I had to buy them. My niece is so adorable that my heart started shrieking, “You must buy them all!” the second she started her sales pitch. I was limited to two boxes because I won’t donate them. I will eat them. And I will tell myself only one more, but I will really eat four more. Because. Thin Mints.
The man who invented the Marshmallow Test recommended replacement as a method of self-control. You distract yourself with something else so you don’t think about the thing you want to eat/smoke/do/etc. So if you don’t want to eat Thin Mints (but I do want to eat Thin Mints), you do a crossword puzzle. Or you go for a walk. Or you scroll through photos. Anything so your brain is occupied instead of thinking about the Thin Mints.
It didn’t work for me because, last night, I replaced thinking about Thin Mints with thinking about Pepperidge Farm Brussels. But we don’t have Brussels. So I ate a Thin Mint because those were in the kitchen. Okay, I ate two. Really, that was it. I ate two. For now.
What do you use to distract yourself?
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15 comments
My distraction is that I usually put stuff way up high where I can’t see it or easily reach it. But usually the kids sniff this stuff out and end up eating it before I have had the chance to do much damage. I’m surprised they can last that long in your house! I haven’t bought Girl Scout cookies in years…the girl I always supported went off to college, and also because they always got delivered to us just before Thanksgiving, when we had all kinds of other foods and didn’t really need cookies also. I would send a lot of what I bought to work with my husband for his office.
Plus, Aldi now sells their version of Girl Scout cookies for around a dollar a package, and they taste just the same, so I really don’t feel that whole buy them from the girl scouts or miss out feeling of the past.
I have thin mints in my kitchen too! (Uh oh. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that. I don’t want any break-ins in the middle of the night!) I’ve gotten pretty good with leaving stuff alone in the kitchen or pantry. But back when I was dealing with anxiety, I always needed distractions to get my mind away from thinking panicky thoughts. Any little thing that would make me focus elsewhere but not so much that it would stress me out would work like crossword puzzles or needlepoint.
I just eat a Do-Si-Do (’cause I don’t really like Thin Mints) and move on. But, as little restraint as I have when it comes to sweets, I know it’s better for me to eat a Do-Si-Do than to substitute stuff I don’t want until I can’t eat any more stuff. Doesn’t work that well for other stuff that you need to quit, though…
I sold Girl Scout cookies for years and my sister sold them well into high school (somehow she managed to keep enough of a following to compete with the younger scouts). Having cases upon cases of Girl Scout cookies stored in the basement pretty much cured me of cravings. I enjoy Thin Mints, but the overload from exposure did me in.
I’m wondering if you can do something similar. Not suggesting you eat all the cookies (I know you would hate me), but maybe going overboard a bit will help satisfy the craving?
That or bury them in the freezer. That worked for my grandparents.
Now I’m feeling slighted because I have no Thin Mints. Boo.
I, too, eat only one or two at a time (sleeve, that is).
Ummmm…with many things, I just distract myself to the next thing on my mind — a task or something to check off my list. But. Thin Mints, when I have them, give me a singular focus.
Oh! One trick is that I like them better frozen. So if I put them away in the freezer, I can sometimes forget about them for awhile.
I usually start trying to limit myself on my junk food splurges and then I give up and decide to just binge and get it over with and out of the house. If I could eat thin mints, I would probably try to limit myself to 4 a day, really savoring each one, no distractions while I eat, chewing slowly, feeling all the feels. Please eat one for me next time you indulge!
OK, now you’ve got me craving Girl Guide cookies…! And I don’t think they’re selling them here just yet… I think they sell them later in the spring. And of course I don’t have a supplier hereabouts anymore… used to buy them from the neighbour girls, and they sometimes used to set up a table in the office tower concourse when I worked downtown, where they always did a brisk business. 😉 (Although I do think you can get them online now, year-round!) Guide cookies here aren’t quite the same as those in the States, I think… less variety (smaller market, I guess). They sell one box that contains both chocolate creme-filled and vanilla creme-filled sandwich cookies, and then later in the year (fall/pre-Christmas, I think?), they sell what they call “chocolatey mint” cookies, which I imagine are similar to your thin mints. And that’s it. I have no idea what a do-si-do is??
Anyway — I also find the freezer to be somewhat helpful as a deterrent. Although I have been known to gnaw at frozen cookies when I’m desperate. 😉
Ah, for me I can’t eat most Girl Scout Cookies anymore! I buy them for Bryce, and it is torture watching him eat Samoas (now called Caramel Delites or something like that) and the peanut butter patties (which are the Dosi-dos, right?). Last year they had a gluten free toffee shortbread that was pretty good, but crumbly so I had to stuff the whole cookie in my mouth to not make a mess. (I say this like it’s not normal for me to stuff a whole cookie in my mouth, ha.) I feel like if I have treats available in a drawer or a shelf, I’m less likely to go nuts when I see them. I grew up in a house where sugary treats were never in stock, and when I went to other people’s houses I sort of hoovered everything down like a starved thing, so I vowed to always keep treats on hand so I wouldn’t feel like I’d better suck ’em down while I can. I’m pretty good at the self control there, although I have been wolfing down the fun size Snickers in my school desk drawer after hours, feeding my stress delicious nougat, caramel, and nuts. The drawer or pantry shelf is key though, if they were in plain sight treats probably wouldn’t survive.
I love them. I don’t resist as they are only around for a short time and then are gone. I can’t gorge year round so the danger is minimal. My daughter is a Brownie and sold cookies this year. Not surprisingly, people can’t say no to cookies sold from a cute and polite 7 year old.
Many did say they would take them to work, etc.
But I’m not even going to pretend I’m giving away the boxes we bought.
I’m going to go against the grain. Eat them all now, then they won’t torture you for days from the kitchen. (Of course, I have no idea how many are in a box.) Or give them to your kids to eat them all now, so they don’t torture you for days. Or get your kids or Josh to hide them. But generally, absence of said food is the easiest way to avoid eating it, I find!
First time commenting…
Out of sight seems to be key for me as well usually. I live in Hong Kong, so the last time we were in the States my sister in law gave me 3 boxes of Samoas (her daughter sells Girl Scout cookies). They are hard to resist, but knowing I won’t be able to get more for quite some time helps me eat them more slowly.
Well, timely post! Since I’m going through deprivation a la elimination diet, I’m dealing with having to distract myself non-stop. My distraction is to list the litany of reasons why I’m subjecting myself to this torture. I’m not happy with the way I look, I’m not happy with some of my coping strategies, I’m not happy with how long it’s taking to heal from injury…those kinds of thoughts.
Depending on how big the craving is, I can see a distraction momentarily make me forget about the cookie but still end up dissatisfied even if it’s a distraction I like.
I learned something years ago that changed my world. A nutritionist friend gave me this tip right before the holiday season where lavish buffets were literally everywhere: instead of “take a little from each item” she suggested picking my favorite dishes and having normal size portions of just that. Instead of filling up on empty calories that aren’t bringing me joy, I take only the ones I want and skip the feelings of deprivation and resentment. Satisfaction without guilt is a delicious luxury.
Honestly, I can’t do it, it takes up way too much energy to continuously be resisting something that is calling to me. So I either don’t buy it, or I just eat them all and am done with it. Sweets aren’t really the thing I crave, so I can stretch out a box of Samoas (my favorite) for a couple months, eating one at a time. I actually take those to work because if left at home, they will mysteriously disappear into my husband’s belly within a couple days. I allow myself to get savory snacks/chips on rare occasions and just acknowledge the fact that I’m going to eat the entire bag.
As I sit here eating ice cream while reading this post…..