Chickpea Chat

[Plumfoodie]

I'm a scale addict! I'll live with my daily ups and downs Scale Addicts Anonymous >_<

I think I'm going to stop counting calories. Just MFP to track my exercise and weight, and measurements.

MFP is good to give an initial idea of portions etc I think, it's good that you feel confident in GL principles and ready to step out of the safety net. I think that will be very freeing!

 

[CaliSweden]

Yes I think it'll be freeing too. My guy kept making joking about me being married to MFP with tracking the calories. I agree that I was obsessed with it. As long as I keep to low GL, and make sure I stuff up on a lot of leafy greens I should be fine. I felt like a slave to the calories, and the whole eat your calories you burn off thing was just hard.

 

[Plumfoodie]

My guy kept making joking about me being married to MFP with tracking the calories.

LOL! I know the feeling. Although I really like the iPhone app, it has a barcode scanner so any packaged foods you can just scan and it usually finds them which makes things easier!

For me personally I am still finding it helpful to track as I am walking a fine line of calories eaten. If I were exercising etc then I don't think I would worry so much but I can see that I could easily eat way too many or too few without realising it (which I think is part of the problem I had on Slimming World). But I agree it is easy to feel obsessed with the tracking and like it is taking over your life!

 

[Plumfoodie]

Well... this morning I wasn't going to weigh myself... and then I turned back around and did! I'm telling myself that it's progress because I didn't do the full body composition scan, just the weight. Baby steps, right?

 

[CaliSweden]

Hehe the little whipping smiley had me cracking up!

I don't have an iphone, just an old cellphone, I'm so behind in times on the cellphone department >_<

Oh that's really good Plum with the babysteps on the scale. I think you did great. As for me I couldn't help but weigh myself this morning. I have to weigh myself, afterall I'm not counting calories anymore atback:.

 

[Plumfoodie]

Only on GI...

My husband has just tried to put flaxseeds through the meat grinder attachment of our mixer. "they're all just falling through the holes!"

(to be moderately fair, the recipe did call for ground flaxseeds. but... but...)



(and yes, of course it is sweet of him to be cooking at all, and I am grateful. but... but...)

 

[CaliSweden]

That's really sweet of your guy for cooking I'm totally trying to imagine the scene of him putting flax seeds through the meat grinder

 

[Plumfoodie]

There was much giggling, it has to be said.

 

[CaliSweden]

Well it doesn't hurt to try out new methods to do things

 

[babliboobabu]

So, Nakd bars. I just bought them for the first time the other day as they were on special offer. Slightly odd taste but I can get used to that I guess. It's quite calorific isn't it? 156 calories. But good when you are on the go. I do find it filling.

How often do you eat a Nakd bar? Not everyday... maybe just emergencies only?

Also, calorie counting. I've been on mfp to count my calories, and I have to say I find it enormously difficult to stick to my 1200 calories a day. It's nothing is it? Do you have any advice for me how I can make sure to keep enough calories so that I can have a decent snack in the evening?

- Finally, Plum, I loved your idea of beans, grilled mushrooms and poached egg. Today, I substituted the egg for toast, which is not like for like. I can't eat pure eggs as I get tummy ache. Would you be able to suggest an alternative?

 

[ruth frances]

What about a grilled tomato instead Ashie? Or a rasher or two of low fat bacon - yum : )
Calorie-wise, I often have a tinned soup for lunch - quite a lot of them only have 160-200calories per tin, and they're pretty filling, hence saving up some calories for yummy treats later!

 

[CaliSweden]

We don't have Nakd bars here, but I eat Allévo bars in emergency cases.

 

[babliboobabu]

Ruth, I had grilled tomatoes but it still needed a little more substance. Love the idea of bacon. Will try that for sure. Thanks.

 

[CaliSweden]

I love bacon, that is one thing I can eat a lot of. So it was tough yesterday eating only two slices.

 

[Plumfoodie]

Yes I think lean bacon would be a good substitute for the egg as the egg is the main provider of protein and I think without some you'd feel quite hungry too soon afterwards. You could also try Quorn sausages if you like those.

Nakd bars - I have one as an afternoon snack some days, or sometimes half mid-morning as a snack and the other half mid-afternoon, to tide me over until I can get home and have a 'proper' snack. Also keeping one in my handbag has saved me a few times when I haven't been able to get to a healthy snack in time for some unforeseen reason. But I wouldn't eat one every day myself. Variety is good. Also I am not sure they are the lowest GI snack available; sometimes I feel a tiny bit buzzy after eating one (but not always) so I wouldn't have one every day. I usually have the gluten-free ones, for some reason the ones with oats in make me feel hungry sooner (fewer nuts maybe). But your mileage may vary!

Same as Ruth, I find soup to be a nice lunch sometimes and it can be low calorie to help bank calories for later. Just make sure it has some protein in it or you'll starve in the afternoon! I like to make a nice big pot and freeze individual portions as the tinned kind doesn't always agree with me and I find it a bit salty nowadays.

TBH I don't think I personally could hack 1200 cals, in a way I'm glad that my rotten health means I can't go that low! Some days I go to 1400 just to change things up a bit and psychologically I feel hungry on those days even if I really shouldn't be.

 

[Plumfoodie]

I can't remember how now (oh, the joys of internet hopping) but this morning I was reading about something called 'sassy water'. It's a concoction from the authors of the Belly Fat Diet and is supposed to reduce bloating both by being mildly diuretic (the lemons/cucumbers) and also good for the digestion (the ginger and mint). They recommend drinking 2 liters of it a day for their 4 day 'induction' phase and although I don't think I'd want it every day, I might try some after a day of excess and see if it makes me feel any better. In case anyone else is interested (or if you've tried it let us know what you thought!) here is the recipe:

Ingredients (some recipes suggest only half a cucumber and half a lemon)

2 liters water (about 8 and 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves.

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight. Drink the entire pitcher by the end of each day.

(I hope this doesn't seem faddy to anybody reading because of its assocation with something called 'the belly fat diet' as the GI/GL way of eating is not about fads. I can see however that those ingredients would be helpful for bloating/sluggish digestion and don't personally see anything wrong with drinking similar things like hot water with lemon or mint leaves in it.)

 

[CaliSweden]

Hehehe I can't stop laughing. I keep imagining the sassy water as water with a little flare and attitude, maybe wearing sunglasses and a big hat with a big pink ostrich feather in it. smoke: <--- guy version of sassy water.)

The water sounds yummy. Actually drinking lemon or ginger water is really good for you. When I'm sick or have a sore throat I usually boil some water, add some lemon and/or ginger and honey.

 

[Plumfoodie]

LOL Cali I love your idea of the sassy water!

 

[babliboobabu]

Cali, that is too funny.

Talking of different foods and being unclear about things - what exactly are steel cut oats? I think it was mentioned in another thread but I can't remember. How is it different to "normal" oats and is there a brand in the UK that does them? And most importantly, is the GI lower for steel cut than rolled oats?

 

[CaliSweden]

Steel-cut oats - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is steel cut oats. It's what I used for my rice/barley/oat mix. They have a lower GI because they're less processed.