Snacks

[samantha209 19]

I am trying to break this stall...so I am trying to up my calories and eat more than 3 meals...i am kinda getting sick of cheese

what high Protein alternatives do you have for Snacks in between your meals

Thanks

[2bslimkim 11]

I love tuna salad on a few healthy (small) crackers. I make a Mediterranean style tuna salad that has Olive oil with lemon juice instead of mayo. I include chopped black and green olives and capers. It is very light and refreshing. the tuna and olive mix is so dense that i fill up very quick.

I rarely eat cheese.... the fat from calories scares me since i'm on reg. food now. cheese is not something I want to learn to maintain on.

I also like Pacific brand Beef and/or Turkey Jerkey. Becareful... onc ounce is 70 cals. So a quick Protein pick-me-up but not good filler food. I keep in my purse for emergencies...

I've tried that whole "add more calories" to lose weight theory... Didn't work. Bottom line, it's calories in verus calories out. It's simple math. If you are eating plenty of Protein and not losing you are probably taking in more calories than you are burning.

AND keep in mind. It takes 3500 caloreis burned to lose a pound. So, one must burn in addition to what you body needs daily in caloric intake an additional 500 calories per day just to lose one pound per week. I put in about 5 hrs per week of exercise and i'm averaging about 2 lbs per week. Some weeks 1 lb, next week 3 lbs for example. I'm at week 12 (I think) and i've not yet had a week were I didn't lose something. The least amount (which has happened once) was 1/2 a pound.

Good luck.... make sure you are keeping a food diary.

(

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Hi Samantha:

Some options I've found helpful are Fage Greek Yogurt, small half serving of nuts (low sodium - don't want the Water weight), Tb of chunky Peanut Butter (this really curbs snackies), fresh fruit smoothies make with splenda (berries are great with low sugar and AOX), a piece of fresh fruit.

HTH

[swizzly 901]

I totally agree with the Tbsp of chunky Peanut Butter -- it's very satisfying and quite filling. I also eat yogurt for a snack, walnuts (just a few halves, they are great for fatty acids), beef Jerky, or a hard-cooked egg.

[samantha209 19]

I am using fat secret on my blackberry and definitely track everything that goes into my mouth.

I know stalls are part of the process...but I am getting frustrated, and quite honestly depressed. Everyone keeps asking how much weight I have lost, and it's hard to say nothing. I just want to capitalize on the "honeymoon period" and it seems like time is slipping away and this is only going to get harder and harder.

My mood has noticeably changed...i am at work almost to tears....

[samnyc 5]

Fruits (watermelon in particular - comparitively lower carb and calories) and nuts (but I don't eat more than an ounce a day, one ounce of pistachios is around 160 calories). Beef Jerky if I'm running low on calories for the day.

From my experience, the "starvation/add more calories to loose" more theory has worked. I was eating around 600 calories till about a couple of months ago and had a significant stall. I upped the calories to around 800 and the weight started coming off again. I've been thinking about moving it up to around a 1000 now as my weight loss has slowed down again. I guess different things work for different people. You just have to try it out.

[samantha209 19]

Hi Samantha:

Some options I've found helpful are Fage Greek Yogurt, small half serving of nuts (low sodium - don't want the Water weight), Tb of chunky Peanut Butter (this really curbs snackies), fresh fruit smoothies make with splenda (berries are great with low sugar and AOX), a piece of fresh fruit.

HTH

thanks so much.

[samantha209 19]

I totally agree with the Tbsp of chunky Peanut Butter -- it's very satisfying and quite filling. I also eat yogurt for a snack, walnuts (just a few halves, they are great for fatty acids), beef Jerky, or a hard-cooked egg.

Thanks

[samantha209 19]

Fruits (watermelon in particular - comparitively lower carb and calories) and nuts (but I don't eat more than an ounce a day, one ounce of pistachios is around 160 calories). Beef Jerky if I'm running low on calories for the day.

From my experience, the "starvation/add more calories to loose" more theory has worked. I was eating around 600 calories till about a couple of months ago and had a significant stall. I upped the calories to around 800 and the weight started coming off again. I've been thinking about moving it up to around a 1000 now as my weight loss has slowed down again. I guess different things work for different people. You just have to try it out.

i was between 600-800...last week i was told to up it to 1000, which is honestly hard to do, in between drinking Water etc

the highest I have been able to do is 900 and something. and still no movement.

Just trying to figure out how to up my calories and still eat healthy food, and stay low carb...honestly this is annoying

[swizzly 901]

I know stalls are part of the process...but I am getting frustrated, and quite honestly depressed. Everyone keeps asking how much weight I have lost, and it's hard to say nothing. I just want to capitalize on the "honeymoon period" and it seems like time is slipping away and this is only going to get harder and harder.

My mood has noticeably changed...i am at work almost to tears....

Oh sweetie. First, {{HUGS}}

This surgery is such a head game, it really does your head in if you let it. Not to mention the emotional roller-coaster it causes. I think you're probably doing just fine, sometimes stalls happen (not to everyone, but certainly to many, myself included) and you just have to push through it and have faith that it will work in the end. I think it's not productive to blame yourself and criticise yourself for a stall. You gotta take care of you!

How many calories are you getting in each day? You need to make sure you're getting enough food in you to keep your mental, emotional and physical health. If you need Snacks, you need Snacks, so find some that work for you. My plan has three meals and three snacks per day, to keep your blood sugar stable (which is personally quite helpful for my mental and emotional health, believe me). I also try for 1000 calories per day, because I don't want to be in starvation mode.

Hang in there!! Some days just suck, but you'll feel better again in no time, and your scales will move again soon too.

[samantha209 19]

:(Thanks Swizzly...I hate sounding like a whiner

So far I am averaging about 800 cals a day...i have been managing 3 meals and sometimes 1-2 Snacks

I am hoping a year from now I will look back and laugh but for now it sucks

[MegInNOLA 531]

Just trying to figure out how to up my calories and still eat healthy food, and stay low carb...honestly this is annoying

I'm right there with you! I'm having trouble getting over 500 a day, seriously. Yesterday I had 350 cals. I can't eat very much food at one time, plus can't tolerate Protein shakes, so I'm sort of stuck with the small amount of food--I'm satisfied hunger-wise, but the scale isn't moving except with regard to Water (like a pound every 3rd day or so)....

I'm hoping, like you, that a year from now we'll be able to look back and smile, but you're right, for now, it's really hard! It's hard to know that you're doing what you can but it's not having the results that you'd like; it feels like for all this limitation, we should be much further along, doesn't it!?

But at this point, all we can do is keep trying until we find the combination that works. I'm still trying to hit Water and Protein goals, but thanks to my PPI, am no longer throwing up every day (yay)... so I'm claiming that as progress and am moving on to the next stage--getting my calories up by eating a LOT of snack-type meals of protein throughout the day. I guess. We'll see. It's really hard to eat when one isn't hungry.

Hang in there!

Meg

[samantha209 19]

Thanks Meg!

it is frustrating...but we will remain focused....and you're right. I hoped the lbs would be falling off this early...didnt anticipate it being so tough this early on.

[To Be Thin 2011 80]

Hi!

Totally agree with Dee... the head games is hard on us! Your hormones are in high gear! Hang in there, it is so hard but keep reminding yourself everyone is different in the way the lose weight and what works for them.. in time you will find what works for you. There are great suggestions on this thread already!

My tastes have changed so much since WLS... I never liked beef jerkey before and now I love it! I found a small 1.5 oz package it is 97% fat free, it has 22 grams of Protein, yes, this is correct 22 grams of protien! It is 120 calories and 5 carbs. I eat a package almost every day! It is so filling for me! I really have to look for the 22 grams, its Jack Links brand which is sold all over, but hard to find the 22 grams! I have found it at Cabela's, Menards and one local party gas station in my town carrys it! Most of the small packet I find are 10 grms or 15 grams...

I also eat fat free cottage cheese every day, I love it and never cared much about it prior to surgery! I eat Adkins bars daily, they have a nice variety, and are very easy for me to grab & snack on at work. I am not much of a cook, I do not have a family to prepare meals for so my situation is different I can totally focus on my protien, calories and carbs and not be tempted by cooking "meals" for others. I too have played with the lowering calories to 600 and kicking in the exercise more and it did not work for me, it did the reverse, I lost .8 of a pound that week... I bounced my calories back up to 1000, and focused on eating every 2-3 hours and I have been much better at losing, 2-3 pounds each week,, I dont post high numbers and thats o.k... as long as I am losing, I am smiling! Good luck in your choices and finding what works for you....and remind yourself we are all different!

[mommyofLDS 52]

Cottage cheese is a good one, and I get the lucerne brand at Safeway, it comes with added Fiber. If I'm craving a treat, I get chocolate rice cakes and spread Peanut Butter. Its not a ton of Protein (only 5 grams) but its tasty, filling, and adds about 150 calories.