Hello there! Well I weighed in on Monday and lost .2 pounds. I wasn't surprised since I went on that eating rampage last week. Nothing I ate left me satisfied and I felt hungry constantly. Hopefully this week I can get off of the eating rollercoaster and back to eating right. Staying in control of my apetite has proven really hard. I keep having these cravings. Maybe because I have cut my sugar intake down by more than half? I haven't had fast food or Dr. Pepper in 30 days and I feel that this a great accomplishment, but do I still crave it? Yes!! Will the need for these horrible sugar and fat filled foods ever leave my system? Or will I be plagued forever? I sure hope not!! Weight loss is not supposed to be about deprivation but more about eating the right combinations of foods to aid in fat burning. However, some days I feel so deprived! Am I alone, here? Snacking in the afternoon is breaking my calorie bank! Plus to make matters worse, I keep hearing food words when people talk. For instance, I have mistaken booklet for chocolate and "take that" for Big Mac. I try not to think about my cravings or I try to do things to curb my cravings without breaking the calorie bank. If anyone has any snack recipes that are low in calories, please share!! One resource I use is www.hungrygirl.com. Lisa Lillien started the website and what she does is take high calorie, fatty snacks and modifies the recipes to make them healthier and lower in calories. If you have some time, peruse the website for some tasty treats, plus she has a list of snacks that you can buy online or in grocery stores that are healthier than most processed snacks out there. There is a newsletter than you can get by email everyday, too!! Let me know what you think!! One of my favorite recipes from the Hungry Girl Cookbook is Bacon and Cheese Bell Pepper Skins. These are faux potato skins, but they are soooo yummy. Please leave me a message if you would like the recipe and I'll be happy to email it to you since I'm not sure if I can post it here because of copyright issues. There is also a recipe in the cookbook for Southwestern Egg Rolls (like you can get at Chili's) and they are unbelievably good!! By using these tips and tricks I hope to be able to make better snacking choices going forward. By the way, have you tried that new popcorn at WalMart. It's called Popcorn, Indiana. There are three varieties of this wonderful kettle corn. Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate Drizzle, and Wasabi. I have not tried the cinnamon or wasabi yet, but I will. The Dark Chocolate Drizzle only has 140 calories per 1.5 cups. It's a nice sweet snack for when the sweet tooth kicks in. I can't wait to try the Wasabi because you can have 2.5 cups for about the same amount of calories. Yummy!! I have one last idea to share with you because I tried it and it worked!! If you must have a sugary snack, eat a couple of small pieces of french bread with a bit of olive oil. You can dip the bread in the oil, but I put the oil on my bread and then bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. Eat the bread, then the sugary snack. The bread and olive oil slows your stomach digestion so your blood sugar stays level instead of rising to fast and then crashing which will drain you of your energy. I did this before eating some chocolate I desperately needed (okay...wanted) and I didn't feel that horrible crash that normally happens making me want to sleep all afternoon. Alright, thanks for listening to my rant and my ideas for happy, healthy snacking. I feel better now and ready to take charge of my appetite!! Wish me luck!!
Tracie
