What if those cookies really aren’t as delicious as think?

Many of us have fond memories around Girl Scout Cookies – eating them, buying them, perhaps even selling them.

We tend to have our favorites. Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefolis.

They’re only available for a limited time, which makes us want them even more.

They might be good, but are they really all that?

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t downed a sleeve myself in a single sitting. So trust me, no judgment here.

But, the last time I ate a Thin Mint I did it very mindfully. Slowly. One bite at a time. Fully experiencing the flavors. The textures. What changed from one bite to the next. How it melted – or didn’t melt – on my tongue.

I was more than a little surprised to notice that they weren’t as good as I’d imagined them to be.

Actually I found them kind of waxy. At least for me, I didn’t find them to have that lovely melt-in-your- mouth chocolatey deliciousnesses.

Which brings me to a story I want to share with you.

My client, Hannah, was telling me about her week. A bit frustrated that her weight loss had stalled.

She said she was “doing all the things”.

And, she made a point of telling me, “By the way Tobi, YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG about those Thin Mints. They are absolutely delicious!”

I asked her to tell me more about what she loved about these cookies and an interesting thing happened. The plot thickened…

She said she’d had a few on Monday late in the afternoon.

And, upon reflection, remembered having some more at the same time on Tuesday.

And, then daily at the same time in the afternoon up until we met on Friday.

Suddenly what became clear is this.

She’d gone back to an old habit of snacking at the end of her work day which is something she used to do to help her unwind after a busy day.  

It wasn’t really that the cookies were actually as delicious as she was telling herself – or telling me – they were. It was more that she’d slipped back into an old pattern of emotional eating.

She was indeed “still doing all of the things”. It’s just that she was ALSO doing some additional things that were likely the reason for her stall. And, as it turns out, those extra cookies were more about an old habit than they were about their irresistible flavor.

So maybe I hadn’t been so wrong about those Thin Mints after all…

In the end, I’ll keep buying the cookies and supporting the girls. I’ll just stop telling myself they’re so irresistibly delicious.