Ok, so talk to me, please, food guru's - calorie counting etc.

[Dace]

Speaking as a converted former sweet potato hater, spice that thing up! (Thanks to Wifezilla & Dace for convincing me to try them )
I really, really, really, really dislike the sweet dishes from sweet potatoes, pie, casserole with the marshmallows
Don't like them plain either.
But, I love them spicy with some butter, garlic, cayenne, sea salt & maybe some sauted onion. Smooshed up like mashed potatoes or like home fries/skillet potatoes, either one.

Cajun sweet potato fries.....

 

[TanksHill]

Good Morning Dace!!!

 

[Dace]

Good for your Miss the North

She is right folks....carbs are really the key to weight loss.

Fit day is great but it is dangerous as well....you don't want to catch your self worrying about fat intake as we all have been brainwashed to do....you also don't want to catch yourself limiting calories.

On important thing to keep in mind is that this is NOT A DIET, this is a lifestyle change. Focus on abundance not on restriction. Change can be hard and there can be some set backs, but each day is a new day so don't hang on to slip ups, just keep moving forward.

Quail, my hubby loves my sweet potato fries and roasted (toss with EVOO, salt & squeeze of lemon) ....but is not a fan of baked sweet pots. I put butter, sea salt and a glop of yogurt on mine.

So we are posting meals?
Yesterday:
Carrots,
Coffee
Smoothie
Salad
Stirfry no rice & cuke salad

 

[Dace]

So are we posting what we ate?

I made the kids scrambled eggs with ham & cheese this a.m. I had about two bites while choking down my coffee and making lunches. For lunch I finished some cucumber salad I made for diner last night. I figure it counts. Dill, cuc's, Daisy sour cream and vinegar. Oh, poop I think ther was a bit of sugar in the sauce. I will leave it out next time. I also ate two handfuls of nuts.

I did improve my 7yo dd lunch a bit. She had sliced cuc's and carrots with ranch. Cubed ham and cheese bits an apple and ???? I forget what the last item was. Oh a yogurt.

I did go to my health food store where I buy most of my veggies. I bought...
Fresh lettuce Green beans
cucumbers a spaghetti squash
tomatoes carrots for snacking
cantaloupe
watermelon
apples
aged cheddar, small piece(major splurge)
heavy cream(going to add vanilla and try to sweeten for coffee)
Oh I also bought nuts, cashews and peanuts. But I do remember reading somewhere that peanuts were evil. Any input???

I guess I just need to start planning meals around our veggie choices.

I can't eat first thing, so I choke down a few carrots, while making lunches and waiting on my coffee. But then again I am up at 5.....I don't eat until I get home from driving the kids all to school at a little after 8.

Peanuts are fine...i have recently read that there is some 'potential' link to cancer my son takes them everyday in his lunch though.

The cheese does not have to be expensive, just choose one that does not have unnecessary crap in it....try to keep what you eat as minimally adulterated as possible.

Go easy on the watermelon, banana, mango & pineapple...all high GI. Doesn't mean that you can't have them just be aware.

I made spaghetti and meatballs using spag squash instead of pasta....DH liked it, I thought it was too sweet for with the sauce. Used it again to make shrimp scampi and it was much better. Even scampi-ized chicken would be awesome with it....something about the butter and garlic with the squash that was really good.

Edited to add.....don't fret about hidden sugar, it takes a little time to get it all together, just don't give up! Baby steps

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks Dace, I know small steps. I made no carbs at dinner last night. We had roasted chicken, carrots and Broccoli steamed. (i know the carrots are high) then a big salad with tons of veggies tossed in, The watermelon was for the kids. Something sweet to finish their meal off. On that chart you gave us the watermelon is a 4. I figured I had to keep the kids happy with something.

So this morning I used cream I flavored with vanilla in my coffee. I am trying to break the French Vanilla coffee mate habit. Very difficult but I need to get off that soy. Anyways, I used sugar in my coffee. I figured it was better than the other artificial sweeteners in the house.

It taste fine.

Hummm what am I making for breakfast??? Almost that time.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Well, I'll just skip potatoes all together, because I cannot stomach shoveling down another sweet potato - at least not baked.

I'm ok with eating some green peppers for breakfast - followed by eggs and bacon - which is breakfast this morning.

Not sure what I'm going to do for lunch.

I do have 2 tsp of sugar with whole milk in my coffee - I know, get away from the sugar - but that's actually 1/2 the amount I normally put in my coffee.

 

[Dace]

I am used to relying on GI....GL is newer to me and I am still learning :/

Here is what I found, ironically using watermelon as the subject

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low.

Why do foods have different GIs? Much of the reason has to do with how quickly the food breaks down during digestion, and therefore, how quickly blood glucose levels go up after eating. Lets take a look at some foods and see how theyre classified:

Low-GI Foods
Oranges
Whole-wheat spaghetti
All Bran
Peanuts
M&Ms peanut candies

Moderate-GI Foods
Pineapple
White rice
Multi-Bran Chex
Popcorn
Life Savers

High-GI Foods
Watermelon
Instant mashed potatoes
Cornflakes
Pretzels
Jelly beans

You may be surprised to see that M&Ms have a low GI, while watermelon has a high GI. Does this mean that you should be eating M&Ms and not watermelon? Of course not. This is one of the flaws of the GI. The point is not to completely avoid high-GI foods and only eat low GI foods. Not only is that not practical, but it would mean forgoing many healthy foods that contain important nutrients. Also, many factors can affect the GI of a food, including the following:

The variety, the ripeness, and the origin of the food. A boiled potato from India has a higher GI than a boiled potato from Australia!
How the food is cooked and for how long. Spaghetti cooked al dente has a lower GI than spaghetti cooked until its soft.
How processed the food is. Old-fashioned, steel-cut oatmeal has a lower GI than instant oatmeal
Whether a food is eaten alone or with other foods. A high-GI food eaten with a low-GI food turns the meal into a moderate-GI meal. In addition, adding an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar, to a food tends to lower the GI of that food.
Other factors can influence how a particular food affects blood glucose levels, too, such as the amount fat and fiber in it (both fat and fiber tend to slow the rise in blood glucose levels after a meal).

One other downside of the GI is that fact that the ranking system doesnt take into account the amount of food one eats. Heres an example. People are often surprised to see that carrots, much like watermelon, have a high GI. The inclination is to stop eating carrots. But think back to your nutrition class in schoolcarrots are good for you! Besides being low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in beta-carotene, a half-cup of carrots has just 8 grams of carbohydrate. So why does it have a high GI?

The GI was originally developed by researchers for research purposes, and it was calculated from servings of food that contained 50 grams of carbohydrate. In the case of carrots, youd have to eat about 1 1/2 pounds to get that much carbohydrate! Would you eat that many carrots at one time? Probably not. The GI doesnt take into account realistic serving sizes. However, the glycemic load does.

Glycemic load (GL) is the amount of carbohydrate in a food multiplied by that foods GI. The GL is also a ranking of how foods affect blood glucose levels, but unlike GI, the GL takes serving size into account. Like GI, the lower the GL, the lower the spike in blood glucose levels. Low-GL foods have a value of 10 or less; moderate-GL foods have a value of 11-19; and high-GL foods have a value of 20 or more.

Back to the carrots, then. Carrots have a GI of 71. If we multiply the 8 grams of carb in a half cup by .71, we get a GL value of roughly 6. Therefore, carrots are a low-GL food. This means that, unless you truly are going to eat a pound and a half at a time, carrots dont have a big impact on blood glucose levels.

The concepts of glycemic index and glycemic load can be overwhelming for some people, and may not be practical for everyone. Keep in mind that these are adjunct, or supplemental, meal planning tools to use if youre already carb counting or following another meal planning method. You need to master the basics, first!

Is there a way to easily integrate the GI/GL into your day-to-day meal planning? Yes. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

Choose fresh fruits and vegetables over canned versions or juices.
Eat more beans and peas, such as chickpeas, kidney beans, and lentils.
Limit refined grains, such as white bread, white rice, and processed, low fiber cereals.
Choose whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, and rice whenever possible.
Make your own salad dressings using vinegar or lemon juice.

 

[Dace]

Well, I'll just skip potatoes all together, because I cannot stomach shoveling down another sweet potato - at least not baked.

I'm ok with eating some green peppers for breakfast - followed by eggs and bacon - which is breakfast this morning.

Not sure what I'm going to do for lunch.

I do have 2 tsp of sugar with whole milk in my coffee - I know, get away from the sugar - but that's actually 1/2 the amount I normally put in my coffee.

I was wiling to give up all other sugar, but I must have morning coffee! Work on eliminating it where you can, but keep you you have to have to survive

Edited to add....the reason that I always have salad for lunch is that is the only way I will get in my 10 servings of veg. otherwise I just won't hit that magic number. That is an easy 4- 5 servings I can cross off my list, after the 2 1/2 -3 at breakfast I only have to cram in another 3 or so at dinner and with cooked veg that is not too hard, but someday I do come up short, although still ahead of the USDA BS.

 

[Javamama]

Dear diet gurus,
yesterday I got serious again and ate mostly veggies, protein, and fats. Tiny bit of sugar in my coffee and the Asian dressing I fixed up, (Do they make a sugar free sambal?), and very low carbs. I was hungry ALL day long. I didn't feel bad, just hungry. What gives? Do I probably need more fat? Or do I just need a few days to adjust?
Signed,
hates to be hungry

Also, are veggies a "neutral" ie., not a carb? (I should know this, it's just not coming to me right now.)

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

breakfast menu change - I found ham steaks in the freezer!! we're having ham steaks, eggs, green peppers, and carrots!