Still...............Nothing

My last post was about me falling off the wagon with my diet.  Well, apparently the wagon ran me over and is now running circles around me!!  Two classes into the week and I've stayed the same weight.  I am usually down half a pound by now.  What's going on?

It dawned on me this morning.  I know I've been eating horribly, stupid Frito's and cookies.  I need to stop snacking on horrible stuff.  Why am I snacking on such crap when I have TONS of fruits and veges in the fridge?  I'll tell you why.... I have not taken the time to cut them up yet.  I am waiting TOO long between my meals to eat anything.  "Eat at least six times a day between snacks and meals."  Umm, no, don't think so.  I'm going to gain more weight, right?  Wrong.

There's a thing called the glycemic index (GI).  To make it easy, it's about good carbs - low GI and bad carbs - high GI.

Start with the bad, get it out of the way!  The bad carbs - high GI- are rapidly digested and absorbed, causing fluctuations in your blood sugar level.  You eat something, let's say those 100 calorie pack crackers. They are high GI, so your blood sugar is going to go up for a little bit, you'll feel fine and then it will drop drastically, making you tired and hungry again.  Then because your body cannot wait for more food, you're grabbing whatever you can that's quick to get rid of the hunger.

Good carbs - low GI- digest and are absorbed slow, resulting in a gradual increase in blood sugar level.  When your blood sugar is increased gradually or maintained at a certain level, you tend not to feel as hungry. How do you keep your blood sugar at a constant?  Eat more frequent low GI meals and snacks.  If you want, you can check out a food's glycemic index value online.  It is ranged from 0 to 100.  Low GI is 55 or less.  Moderate GI is 56 to 69.  High GI is 70 to 100.

So, let's break it down.  What would be good for me as a snack in between breakfast and lunch, one green pepper and maybe a handful of almonds.  Green peppers are low on the glycemic index - 40.  Almonds are even lower on the GI - 10.  You have to be careful with eating nuts, though.  They are high in fat content.  A handful, 1/4 cup is all that is needed.  I throw the almonds in for some protein.

It seems really complicated but once you get the hang of it, it's okay.  I just have to remind myself over and over, this is not just about dropping weight.  It's about a lifestyle change, becoming healthy.

So, note to self, stop snacking on junk and get back to the good stuff!