diet foo

[lilamp]

so this was my second week on this diet, and i'm working on figuring out good snacks and good stuff to put in my two shakes/smoothies a day. the biggest challenge doing the shakes is keeping the carbs down and getting enough protein and fat (and fiber, but i just got some psyllium for that). i was looking for relatively low carb but highish fat snacks that won't leave me feeling unsatisfied, and i picked up a bag of sesame sticks at trader joe's this afternoon. these things have 12g of fat in just 170 calories. and only 14g carbs. these things are the perfect snack! higher fat and lower carb than hummus and pita chips, and almost as much protein.

it's kind of fun figuring out how to make a good filling shake that's not too high in calories. i wasn't getting enough fat, so i thought i'd try lowfat instead of nonfat yogurt, but this makes the shake too rich and creamy; i really like the tang of the trader joe's nonfat french village yogurt, which also seems to help mask the sucralose taste in the shake mix. best thing seems to be to use nonfat yogurt and then put in some peanut butter, avocado, or milk for fat. trader joe's also has a whole grain drink (brown rice, amaranth, millet, and quinoa) that's lower carb, lower calorie, and slightly higher fat than the almond milk. (don't want to use soy milk b/c the shake mix already has soy protein in it.)

i've also discovered that leafy salads suck when you're doing shakes. even eating a gigantor salad that fills me up and has enough fat and calories to be a decent meal, i'm hungry again soon and really want to eat real food. on the other hand, i can eat some pretty decadent stuff in my one real food meal if i plan right!

oh, and there's nothing like counting calories to make you supremely horrified about how much you were actually eating when you weren't caring...

p.s. in case anyone is wondering, i'm shooting for 1600 calories/day for weight loss.

p.p.s. i'm also getting some confirmation on just how low cholesterol my normal diet really is... and i'm becoming more and more inclined to think that my high cholesterol may not be something i need to worry about. i eat barely any animal fat, and i don't think i have a history of heart disease in my family except one grandfather who died of a heart attack. i need to further investigate family history.

Comments

[thatgirljj.livejournal.com]

For tang, try TJ's unsweetened plain kefir. It's got a good bite, no swweteners, and it's not as thick as yogurt.

[anemone.livejournal.com]

You're doing two shakes and one meal a day plus snacks? I might have to try something like that eventually.

[lilamp]

yah, well snacks or not depending on how i make the shakes. they're ending up anywhere between 300 and 600 calories, so if it's at the upper end of that then no snacks for me! :)

[spitgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been trying to limit my diet as well, though I'm not doing the shakes thing. I think my current calculator has me at 1300 calories if I don't exercise, and I can probably add up to another 500-600 calories if I put in a good workout session. Good luck!

[lilamp]

1300 is very low for someone as active as you! if i go under 1400 i basically can't move the next day. :)

[spitgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think it's supposed to be 1300 calories "adjusted," so I get to eat more if I work out.