I Can't Believe How Easy it Is to Pass by the Sweets Now

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I have a sweet tooth. I always have had. Chocolate pie with whipped cream? Bring it on! Caramel corn? Yum! Oatmeal, chocolate chip, brownies, or any delicious cookies? I'm in. But I'm changing. I'm finding it easier to eat healthy now by learning to appreciate the tastes of whole, minimally processed foods. Now I can walk through the bakery and cookie department of a supermarket or Costco and almost ignore it -- until I get to the dark chocolates. It's still hard to pass by those treats in the photo -- my favorites -- but I did avoid buying the coconut dark chocolate almonds last time I saw them. Why? Because last time I had that big bag I went through it in less than a week. That treat is my absolute favorite, but it has much more sugar than any of the other chocolates I enjoy. I do want to be healthy. I do want to lose weight. I don't want to get diabetes and deal with those horrid needles all the time. I don't want to have a heart attack and spend time in my least favorite place -- the hospital. I have to ask myself if that delicious sweetness, a temporary pleasure, is worth the misery that it may later cause if I make a habit of indulging. Every time I pass through those tempting sections of the grocery store now, I tell myself how much cheaper, tastier, and healthier it will be to make that baked treat at home. The one exception is the pumpkin pie that Costco sells for a price cheaper than I can make it for. It's only sold seasonally, and we don't eat the crust. And it is one of the more healthy pies. When I get home, I never do the baking. I decide I don't want the treat bad enough to make the effort and I remind myself that if I do make it, I will also eat it and I will put on weight. So I don't eat many baked goods unless I encounter them as refreshments somewhere, and I don't go out enough to make much of a difference. It's almost as if I'm becoming blind to the temptations. As I pass them, they don't even look good anymore. I tell myself I will be disappointed as I consume those empty calories. Do you have things you tell yourself when you are tempted to eat unhealthy foods or do other things that aren't good for you? Does this self-talk help you resist what might otherwise be tempting? In what situations do you do this? What do you tell yourself? Does it help?