Yesterday, we had a training session during lunch; so, my company brought in boxed lunches from Panera Bread. Yum! All of the lunches were half salad and sandwich combos, which was great. I ate my salad, ate the meat from my sandwich and I ate half my bag of chips. That would have been a good lunch, and at 221 calories, at a great calorie count. However.
You see? There was this chocolate walnut duet cookie in there, too. (Insert movie music indicating danger.)
I ate half the cookie and congratulated myself on eating only half. Not so bad, right? Huh.
That HALF of the cookie had 220 calories! TWO. HUNDRED. TWENTY. As much as the whole rest of my lunch!
When I got home, I walked/ran 1.3 miles in 18 minutes. I burned about 150 calories. I was gasping for air, sweating like a horse, and smelling like a goat herder. And I didn’t burn off that half cookie. It was a good cookie, don’t get me wrong, but, sugar, ain’t NO cookie THAT good. I should have done what I used to do which was to check the cookie’s nutritional information BEFORE I put it in my gullet.
Plan food. Check the nutritional information before eating. Spend your calorie budget wisely.
Now THAT’S a smart cookie.
The Daily Doty 
I only realised how many calories from sweet treats I was actually intaking when I went through a period of logging in my calories – it was a difficult sacrifice to make but it IS ridiculous how calorific (but nutritionally poor and unfilling) some treats can be! I definitely don’t deprive myself completely but agree we have to stay smart about these things… I at least hope the cookie was a damn good one to make up for it 😉
I’m not gonna lie, it was a freaking fabulous cookie and I did break it into little morsels rather than take full bites. I hid the uneaten portion immediately after breaking it in the hopes that out of sight would mean out of mind. Not so much, but I did stick to just half of the chocolately ambrosia; so, I’m giving myself a gold star!
Isn’t it crazy to look at nutrition facts and realize how many calories things can have?! Especially at restaurants! But good point about being a smart cookie 🙂
Thanks! You know, you expect to find huge calorie counts in things like cheesecake; so, I’m not disappointed in the food industry with those things. But, when they tout a salad as a healthy option and load it up with too much cheese, croutons, sugared nuts and a gallon of dressing, it’s both horrifying and disappointing to see those cheesecake-like numbers.