Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance:  It's a term used in psychology and marketing.  Specific to the field of marketing, cognitive dissonance is that horrible pit in your stomach after you've made a big purchase and you're sure you've made the wrong decision.  It's wondering if you should have upgraded to more memory or not paid extra for all the bells and whistles. 

And cognitive dissonance is purposefully counterbalanced in almost every purchase you make.  It's the reason that sales people are trained to say, "If you get it home and decide you don't like it, you can always take it back," as though the ability to take it back makes you want it more.  And who are we kidding, it usually does.  I imagine Nordstrom makes ten times the money they lose on their liberal return policy.

Maybe cognitive dissonance is about retaining that feeling of power, even after you're not being wooed.

I've been feeling cognitive dissonance about this detox over the past days.  To tell the truth, "detox" didn't come out of my mouth with out the word "stupid" proceeding.  I've had cravings for junk, ridiculous things really - diet soda being craving numero uno, followed in a close second by chocolate chip cookies.

There were a few neat moments over the past days that have helped me overcome my doldrums.

First, thanks to my wonderful friend, Bethany, who limits sugar in her diet, I have an amazing cookie recipe.  There's no sugar,  no wheat, no dairy.  There is chocolate, but according to the bi-laws of the detox, I'm only permitted chocolate during extreme hormonal cravings.  The main ingredients of the cookies are oats, over-ripe bananas and almond meal.

The recipe can be found at:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-healthy-cookies-recipe.html#comments
** I used butter instead of coconut oil since I don't have to be dairy-free...and I don't have coconut oil.  Also, lesson learned, when removing chocolate, use less salt.

I made the cookies over the weekend.  They were so good, so natural, we ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day!  They were amazing with whole-fruit raspberry jam. 

Second alleviation to my detoxing regrets: This weekend my Mom came up to Oklahoma to celebrate Mother's Day.  She paid me an especially meaningful complement that has encouraged me to keep trucking.  She said she noticed  that Kevin and my faces look especially bright, glowing and healthy!  (I am NOT pregnant.)  What a complement.  It's also further affirmation that this isn't a diet.  It isn't about restriction.  It is about eating what is good for us.  If the choices we are making are effecting our skin so noticably, I can't fathom how else they're effecting our bodies, metabolism, tummies and chemical reaction to sugar/sugar substitutes!

Third, I saw once again how much my taste buds have changed.  They've been realigned.  I had a small amount of mashed potatoes on Sunday and they were so rich.  It was amazing how much better they tasted when I wasn't craving them and over-eating.  In fact, my appetite in general has taken a dive bomb, most of which I attribute to my lack of sugar.  I had a little sugar cookie from Starbucks today, mostly in honor of them now carrying g.f. cookies, and afterwords I felt AWFUL.  I chewed three pieces of gum in quick succession because my mouth tasted so gross and sweet.  The cookies didn't just make me feel lethargic and shakey, they tasted gross as well.

Who am I?  Where did the old "never-me-a-cookie-I-didn't-love" me go?

In the end, my cognitive dissonance waned.  I did not return the detox for a newer, easier model. I'm happy with my purchase, content with my progress and marching onward and upward.

Oh, and full disclosure - I had some diet root beer from Pop's in Arcadia.  I took my mom there for a Mother's Day treat!