On maintenance... some choices to make?

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johnb41 said:

So, if it mainly comes down to "calories", does it matter which I
choose, as long as I maintain a low "calorie" diet?

Or should I stick with the almonds because the carb content is much
less?

Thanks for your advice!

It comes down to calories eventually, but calories matter differently.
Some calories keep you satiated longer, while others prompt you to feel
hungrier and to eat more at your next meal; there's a lot of research
demonstrating that the high carb meal stimulates increased appetite.

OTOH, you're at goal, you want that banana, and it may be worth
experimenting. But I'd suggest having a small almond snack with half a
banana and cut the calories if you're adding carbs; they make you
hungrier and they prompt fat storage. See how it goes.

Susan

"johnb41" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm at my goal (and then some!), thanks to my own "winging it" version
of low carbing.

Today I was thinking about my normal morning snack: 1-2 servings (1/4
cup each) of dry roasted almonds. (I've been losing fat while doing
this for the past 9 months)

Assuming i eat 1/2 cup of almonds (2 servings), the total net carbs is
around 5. BUT what shocked me is the total calories is 340! Now, i'm
learning that low carbing is just one way to eat less calories in a
day. So what if I substituted the 340 calorie nuts with, say, 2.5
large bananas.

According to www.nutri-facts.com, the calories would be about 340...
the same as the almonds. What I hate about almonds is that I consume
them quite quickly, and barely have the opportunity to enjoy them! 🙂
(I eat them roasted and lightly salted)

But the carbs from bananas are quite high: 2.5 bananas are about 85
carbs!

All of these carbs in the am might be a very poor idea.

Why not pick another LC food for a morning snack?

Keep doing what you've been doing to maintain your success.

Quoted message said:

So, if it mainly comes down to "calories", does it matter which I
choose, as long as I maintain a low "calorie" diet?

Or should I stick with the almonds because the carb content is much
less?

Or some other LC snack....

Quoted message said:

Thanks for your advice!

John

Calories kinda remind me of the Wizard of OZ when the wizard is hiding
behind the curtain with his levers and his PA system. "Ignore the man
behind the curtain" he says.

Well ignore the calories. They are just a silly distraction and do not
help in any way whatsoever. Calories mean squat. If calories really
mattered, anyone who tried even a little bit to restrict food would
easily lose all the weight they wanted to.

TC

johnb41 said:

I'm at my goal (and then some!), thanks to my own "winging it" version
of low carbing.

Today I was thinking about my normal morning snack: 1-2 servings (1/4
cup each) of dry roasted almonds. (I've been losing fat while doing
this for the past 9 months)

Assuming i eat 1/2 cup of almonds (2 servings), the total net carbs is
around 5. BUT what shocked me is the total calories is 340! Now, i'm
learning that low carbing is just one way to eat less calories in a
day. So what if I substituted the 340 calorie nuts with, say, 2.5
large bananas.

According to www.nutri-facts.com, the calories would be about 340...
the same as the almonds. What I hate about almonds is that I consume
them quite quickly, and barely have the opportunity to enjoy them! 🙂
(I eat them roasted and lightly salted)

But the carbs from bananas are quite high: 2.5 bananas are about 85
carbs!

So, if it mainly comes down to "calories", does it matter which I
choose, as long as I maintain a low "calorie" diet?

Or should I stick with the almonds because the carb content is much
less?

Thanks for your advice!

John

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I'm at my goal (and then some!), thanks to my own "winging it" version
of low carbing.

Congratulations!

--
Saffire
205/132/125
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

*** This post originated in alt.support.diet.low-carb -- its appearance
in any other forum is deceptive and unauthorized. ***

johnb41 said:

I'm at my goal (and then some!), thanks to my own "winging it" version
of low carbing.

Excellent.

Quoted message said:

Today I was thinking about my normal morning snack: 1-2 servings (1/4
cup each) of dry roasted almonds. (I've been losing fat while doing
this for the past 9 months)

If you lost eating that, then if you continue doing it you sure
won't gain. Something to consider.

Quoted message said:

Assuming i eat 1/2 cup of almonds (2 servings), the total net carbs is
around 5. BUT what shocked me is the total calories is 340! Now, i'm
learning that low carbing is just one way to eat less calories in a
day. So what if I substituted the 340 calorie nuts with, say, 2.5
large bananas.

According to www.nutri-facts.com, the calories would be about 340...
the same as the almonds.

Try that. See if you get hungry. By the time of maintenance the
biggest advantage low carb has is more low carbers are never
hungry than low fatters at the same calorie level. So long as you're
not hungry with whichever one you're doing, stick with it.

Quoted message said:

What I hate about almonds is that I consume
them quite quickly, and barely have the opportunity to enjoy them! 🙂
(I eat them roasted and lightly salted)

Chew longer. Eat them one by one instead of by the handfull.

My process - I tried different types of nuts. I pretty much like
all types of nuts but I eat then differently. With cashews I open
the container and then throw out the empty. Taste great but
no portion control. With pecans/walnuts/filberts I open the
container, eat one or many or a handfull, snap the cover back
on. Taste great but yes portion control. So I only get cashews
in those tiny little bags were when I snarf the whole thing I
still haven't over eaten.

My suggestion - Try other nuts and see if some other type is
as good and as satisfying but you also have better ability to
eat them slowly.

Quoted message said:

But the carbs from bananas are quite high: 2.5 bananas are about 85
carbs!

So, if it mainly comes down to "calories", does it matter which I
choose, as long as I maintain a low "calorie" diet?

If it all came down to calories no one would ever be fat. It comes
down to hunger. Does the banana make you hungry or not? You
know the nuts don't.

Quoted message said:

Or should I stick with the almonds because the carb content is much
less?

Definitely worth the experiment and see how it goes. You can
always return to the almonds.

Thanks everyone!

Actually, after eating the 1/2 cup of almonds, i'm still hungry. For
me, it doesn't affect my hunger all that much. That is why i was
concerned.... all those calories eaten, yet still hungry. But it does
hold me off till lunch.

I was thinking substituting the nut calories with the same calories
from a different food (e.g. bananas, or other fruit). That's why i
posted the message. I wasn't sure if it's an even tradeoff.

So from these responses, it looks like the disadvantage of eating a
high carb food vs low carb (assuming they're equal in calories) is that
the high carb food "may" make he hungrier in the long run.

It'll be hard for me to experiment because i've been avoiding carby
foods like the plague! But I will try substituting some fruits in
place of the nuts. Also at midnight i usually have 1-2 servings of
peanut butter (that does a good job of stopping the hunger). Maybe i'll
substitute something in it's place also. Then i'll see in a few weeks
if i've maintained or gained.

Thanks!

John

johnb41 said:

It'll be hard for me to experiment because i've been avoiding carby
foods like the plague! But I will try substituting some fruits in
place of the nuts. Also at midnight i usually have 1-2 servings of
peanut butter (that does a good job of stopping the hunger). Maybe i'll
substitute something in it's place also. Then i'll see in a few weeks
if i've maintained or gained.

If you want to experiment with fruit, lower-carb fruits include berries
and melon. This incldues pretty much all kinds, strawberries,
cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries... and cantalope,
honeydew, watermelon.

I manage some fruit every day and still keep under 60 g/carb per day.
Seems worthwhile to me. Fruit is *really* sweet after having broken
your sweet tooth via low-carbing - like a decadent dessert.

One of my favorite breakfasts is to rinse some cranberries, nuke until
they "pop" and then stir in some yogurt and sweetener. Man, is that
good.