Answers Snacking

Atkins Diet, Low Carb Questions & Answers Snacking

Author

Message

Teuthis

Senior Member

Joined: 23 Apr 2003

Posts: 3397

Locality: Georgia

Sun Sep 14, 2003 2: 11 pm    Post subject: Snacking

Evvrdy just posted an entertaining and intriguing tale of a lingerie party and her great success with it. Of couse I would be banned from such affairs; but something cutie said reminded me of some information I came across the other day; regarding snacking.

I read that those nations that have less weight problems than we in the USA, which is nearly everyone, but specifically the French, Greeks, Italians and Japanese, all have one thing in common. They do not snack! They do not eat between meals. in detail, the French have a true cultural disinclination and dislike of snacking. The French eat fats and rich foods in small portions, but they do not eat between meals.

The Japanese take great push in the presentation of food, cutting it into smaller pieces in the the book. They then boost to eat more slowly and take smaller bites, eating less food but still being satisfied. They are also not a snacking culture.

The Italians do not eat as much cheese and meat as we do. Their " Italian " food is not as fattening as ours. They also eat smaller portions and they doctor to eat more slowly. Food is part of a social red tape for them; of conversation and family. They take their time at meals.

The Greeks eat a lot less carbohydrates than we do in the USA. They use a lot of olive oil, and lower carbs. That seems to be entirely similar to our own Atkins menu.

All of these cultures also boost to put most of their calories in the earlier part of the day. They eat relatively few calories after midday.

And none of them eat snack foods! I ' ve seen from the very beginning of Akins that one can either eat three solid meals a day or several small ones; but not both. I believe that snacking between meals is emotionally dangerous, and leads to overeating. It is an specific American habit that has been foisted upon us by the snack food industry. We have taken the bait, literally, and have become an obese nation, in part because of snacking and eating convenience foods.

Losing the habit of snacking, that is, eating any kind of snack food, seems to be a necessary and advantageous goal in keeping our weight down long term; especially if one is inclined to gain weight. Sometimes I find myself really wanting something, and I realize that boredom is the chief cause. So I get up and do something and soon those cravings are gone. Over time, by resisting, I think the effect of those episodes of craving has diminished purely. There is a great deal to be said for the slow, practiced Atkins modus of weight loss.

Good Luck! [ / icon_smile. gif]

Susannaj4

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Posts: 4146

Spot: Apopka, Fl

Sun Sep 14, 2003 3: 02 pm    Post subject:

Cool. That is very interesting T. Thanks.

Kellence

New Member

Joined: 09 Sep 2003

Posts: 17

Bearings: Greater Los Angeles

Mon Sep 15, 2003 11: 40 pm    Post subject: One's way is an issue for me!

I totally comply with your extensive post. One thing that I ' ve also encountered is that I miss the nitty-gritty of those carb - loaded snacks. Think crispy crackers or chips or even carrots. I never realized I ate so many crunchy, crispy foods and I find myself missing their attributes.

Anyone else have this come up?

I ' m in induction now and can ' t wait for OWL so that I can get a few nuts in there!

blueskyes2

Senior Member

Joined: 11 Jun 2003

Posts: 2742

Station: Durham, NC

Tue Sep 16, 2003 1: 40 pm    Post subject:

I have found that frequently things I like ( or don ' t ) have to do with score as well as taste. Sometimes you can replace crispy things with others. I use pork rinds dipped in French onion dip ( little bit of dip, low carb count ) and Atkins crunchers like crackers with my chicken salad lunches. I don ' t need a lot. The crunchers for instance, a small bag will last for three meals. Also things like celery can help as well.

Snacks are a problem because it can be difficult to control portions, especially over time. They seem to slowly expand. Avoiding them is best. At first it isn ' t easy. You may be a little hungry. Use water, etc. instead. Within about a week you should get used to it. I do well at this for a while and then " life happens " and I end up snacking again. It ' s a never ending battle. Snacking is not such a big problem if you eat lower volumns of foods at meals - the grazing way of eating talked about. I don ' t know how well that works on Atkins or if it is even necessary since our blood sugar is already stabilized so grazing offers no advantages from that standpoint. [ / icon_smile. gif]

Susannaj4

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Posts: 4146

Location: Apopka, Fl

Tue Sep 16, 2003 2: 05 pm    Post subject:

Has anyone seen the French twists? They are a pastry with no cholesterol, eggs or butter and a low carb count, not for induction, but it is cinnamon and there are different kinds. ( Almond, chocolate chip, etc ) very crunchy.

blueskyes2

Senior Member

Joined: 11 Jun 2003

Posts: 2742

Location: Durham, NC

Tue Sep 16, 2003 2: 07 pm    Post subject:

Hmmmmm. Sounds interesting but haven ' t seen them anywhere.

LoriAnn

Senior Member

Joined: 08 May 2003

Posts: 2573

Location: Central Coast of California

Tue Sep 16, 2003 6: 11 pm    Post subject:

Teuthis - Sorry to disagree with you once again...

I come from an Italian family - all they do is eat! [ / icon_smile. gif] One very old family recipe I have is for a dip called Bagna Cauda - there ' s a similar recipe on the Atkins site. It ' s mainly olive oil, butter, garlic & anchovies warmed together. You then dip in bread or vegetables. It ' s often served as a snack with cheese & wine.

In Italy, Greece, & France olives, bread, cheese & wine are snacks.

Also, in many countries, it ' s typical to have 4 meals a day.

Remember, England has teatime - isn ' t that snacking?? They also invented sandwiches.

Didn ' t the Greeks invent Gyros - the first fast food?

The finest chocolates in the world are from Europe.

From the Orient comes many forms of egg rolls. They also snack on dried fish ( cuttlefish being one ).

In Mexico, you ' ll find taco vendors all over the streets.

I think the major issue is that whatever country we may live in, if we let food be our controlling factor, we have an emotional hurdle to overcome.

There is nothing wrong with snacking on legal foods. In fact, Dr. Atkins, and many diabetes doctors recommend 4 - 6 smaller meals a day. Snacking twice a day really can help to keep our blood sugar levels more stable.

So I say... snack away!! [ / icon_biggrin. gif]

ChattyGirl

Senior Member

Joined: 29 Jul 2003

Posts: 223

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Tue Sep 16, 2003 6: 59 pm    Post subject:

Lately, my favorite snack is a half of a cucumber sliced thin and sprinkled with Morton Lite salt that Teuthis uses. MMMMM salty AND cruchy. [ / icon_biggrin. gif]

I try to eat very small meals and suppliment with healthy snacks.

Susannaj4

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Posts: 4146

Location: Apopka, Fl

Tue Sep 16, 2003 7: 24 pm    Post subject:

I have moved my supper up. Since we have soccer practices at 5: 30, when we used to eat supper, We now eat supper about 4pm. So when we get home I feed the kids a snack, usually grilled cheese sandwich. I will have a little more supper. Usually more veggies. So I am snacking less during the day to add that extra snack at night.

Paendora

Senior Member

Joined: 02 Jul 2003

Posts: 236

Location: Amarillo, Texas

Wed Sep 17, 2003 2: 11 pm    Post subject:

I ' ve moved meals up here as well. A solid protein breakfast before school, and rather than having boys coming home from school and grazing on junk, they come home to the smell of dinner!

They usually get hungry a bit later, and that ' s when they have some sort of treat. But I ' ve noticed that often, if they ' ve eaten well at dinner, I don ' t hear that desire for something later.

I think we all sleep better as a result.

Susannaj4

Senior Member

Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Posts: 4146

Location: Apopka, Fl

Wed Sep 17, 2003 2: 32 pm    Post subject:

I agree with you. Mine however, do eat after dinner, but it is because we have soccer and they are hungry from playing hard. I feed them. But I ' m not hungry. And they are sleep a lot better these days.