Hi All!
This weeks challenge is a life learning lesson for me. Thank you South Beach Diet and this wonderful challenge to really make me focus on how to better my eating habits and lifestyle. I am really working on the sleep schedule too. That is an even bigger challenge.
Snacks have been my downfall for years. I used to eat the 1g of protein snack bars that I now know are filled with sugar and empty carbs. I could eat 3 of those during the course of a day and could not believe that I was still always hungry. I used to love the yogurt filled snack bars and handfuls of trail mix. My big challenge now is trying to phase out the high protein bars that I love.They typically have about 200 calories in them. I have weaned myself down to one protein bar in the afternoon. I love the power crunch bars. It satisfies my chocolate craving. I would love to try the South Beach Diet Bars but have not been able to find them in my area yet. The sugar alcohols in most of the bars really upset my stomach. Rochelle, thank you for listing the information. They sound great! No artificial flavors, sweeteners or sugar alcohols. I can't wait to try them! I googled where to buy them and I can not find a store to purchase them in. I'm not crazy about ordering food related items through Amazon..
I had never heard about the laughing cow cheese until I started the SBD. I tried it last week for the first time and I LOVE it! I can't believe it's only 35 calories for a wedge! I tastes like boursin to me. I have that with an apple or celery. I found that when I have veggies cut up and ready to go, I am just as happy as when I am munching on trail mix. I drive so much, I find that I graze and if I have everything packed for my meals and snacks, I have no choice but to graze on healthy snacks! yay!
Walking in the door at night is still a big challenge for me. I hit the m & m 's the other night. Not too happy about that. I knew I shouldn't be doing it and I still did it. I justified it because I missed a meal (I know, even worse)...thought I could spare the calories and knew I would be spending 45 minutes on the elliiptical. How's THAT for justification!
I had oatmeal, with a half a scoop of protein powder (Rochelle and Beach Van - are you proponent's of protein powders? The last diet plan I was on had that built into meals twice a day. I am not crazy about that idea. I love trying to wean myself off of all processed foods and eat real food all the time) and a teaspoon of peanut butter with a half a cup of unsweetened Almond Milk (love almond milk in place of skim milk). It is amazing how long the oatmeal holds me and it tastes amazing.
I had a hard boiled egg for snack.
I had one slice of whole wheat weight watchers bread with the amazing SBD tuna salad recipe with two cups of steamed broccoli for lunch.
I had the power crunch bar for afternoon snack and then missed dinner and had m & m's and a couple whole wheat graham crackers. Dinner is my biggest challenge because I get home around 8 or 9 p.m. Usually I don't want to cook dinner at that time. My husband and I both fend for ourselves because his work schedule is just as demanding and he arrives home late too.
I have been pouring over the SBD ideas for snacks and recipes. I have been printing my meal plans daily and also printing the recipes and started a notebook to refer back to for recipes. I have dividers for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. I am very motivated, but love the accountability of the challenge and love gravitating to the boards for the cheerful, understanding support of our beach buddies. I just wish I had more time to check the boards. I am getting the hang of how they work and am not having the challenges of my browser slowing me to a standstill. Internet explorer would stop half way and stall out and I could not get onto the boards. If anyone else is having this challenge, I switched to Mozilla Firefox and it is FAST! : D
Rochelle, I love you ideas for snacks. Love the idea of the turkey roll up and peanut butter. I will need to search for some sugar free peanut butter. I will check that out at Whole Foods this week. After some searching, I found some snacks that I am going to incorporate into my day. I thought these sounded really good:
* Almond apple graham crackers. 1 tablespoon almond butter. 2 graham crackers. (I found some whole wheat graham crackers at Whole Foods and 1 small apple.
* Almond cottage cheese and an orange. 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese. 1 Tablespoon almonds or nuts.
* Mexican cheese melt. 4 whole wheat crackers, 1/4 cup salsa, 1/4 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese.
* Popcorn and string cheese. 4 cups air popped popcorn, 1 low fat string cheese.
* Yogurt and apple. 6 ounces low fat yogurt (I use fat free fage) and a medium apple.
I was always afraid to snack in the past and subsequently gained weight from overeating during my main meals. I love incorporating snacks into my day. I was told that we are supposed to eat every three hours to keep our blood sugar stable. I used to get "shaky" if I waited too long in between meals. Incorporating snacks into my day has taken away this shaky, light headed feeling. I feel great now! I don't get tired after eating healthy snacks, either. I used to get unbelievably tired after eating all those sugar laden snacks in the past. Now my mind is sharper and instead of walking, I sprint when going to my car in a parking lot and run up the stairs. I feel GREAT!
I am looking for a healthy trail mix snack that I can pack. If any one has a good recipe, I am hoping you will post it! Can't wait to read everyone's snack ideas!! Have a great week, everyone! :)
-Karen
