Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

[Thinker]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

I love that line so many repeat folk have so much trouble getting back on plan cause they now KNOW it works so they will test the limits in every way they can where as when whtey were a newbie they panicked over one too many carbs of veggies for the day or not getting all their veggies in.

... Just think in a few months all the fellows will be thanking you for breaking the ice so they too could feed their hunger.

It's the irony!! I remember this funny scenario in the good Doctor's work. He interiews somebody who had great success, then blew up like a balloon. You can feel his frustration as he asks him if the food was bad? Did he not believe it worked? Dr. A thinks that the guy's been deluded by the health media. My guess is that it is actually not that at all. I bet, in reality, the poor schlep just got sloppy. Now that we're experts - we can hit 20 grams like a science. Before we knew so very much, we KNEW that everything counted and we had to aim low.

[boonie stomper]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

ROFLOLPIMP Thinker!
--------------------------------------------------------

As far as the bars go....

Because I can't take a "SHUT UP!" hint obviously!

I honestly don't see what's wrong with this in an EMERGENCY. Can we agree to disagree or is a differing opinion unwelcome here and best kept to oneself?

I don't see any sugar alcohol or sugar either. But, I don't see how they come up with 2 net carbs, it looks like 6 net carbs to me.


This is the info from the Creamy Cinnamon Bun Breakfast Bar Box. It looks like this:

There's a pretty good thread here discussing how the numbers on this & similar products are derived.

I say the best way to avoid confusion about all the ECC/PECC/fiber/Carb stuff marketers have come up with to lure you into buying these is to not bother with them at all. They contain processed cheap fortified ingredients that is way inferior to real food. You could never live on these.

[not2late]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

It's the irony!! I remember this funny scenario in the good Doctor's work. He interiews somebody who had great success, then blew up like a balloon. You can feel his frustration as he asks him if the food was bad? Did he not believe it worked? Dr. A thinks that the guy's been deluded by the health media. My guess is that it is actually not that at all. I bet, in reality, the poor schlep just got sloppy. Now that we're experts - we can hit 20 grams like a science. Before we knew so very much, we KNEW that everything counted and we had to aim low.

Regaining weight happens because there is less vigilance and because they didn't learn coping mechanisms and strategies while they were losing the weight.

According to the charts in the book, I have low metabolic resistance and I proved it by whizzing along and losing alot of weight quickly. When I moved to OWL, it didn't take me long to realize that I have alot of lousy eating habits. I found out that I'm one of those people who will gladly over-eat legal food, because I can eat it, not because I want or need to eat it. So I made the decision to slow down my loss and re-learn good eating habits.

It's not an easy task, lemme tell ya! But I've made progress. For example, I had some god-children over yesterday. I don't serve them junk food and I try to lower the carb content of their usual foods. So for lunch I made them a skillet lasagne, using those low carb noodles, devilled eggs, meatballs and 2 kinds of veg. I ate 2 eggs, 4 meatballs and the veg. I also had a tablespoon or two of the lasagna filling. Last year, I would have over-eaten the devilled eggs and meatballs and probably the veg in order to avoid eating the lasagna filling or in order to convince myself I wasn't missing out on a food.

Losing weight is a big pain in the you-know-what. There's no way I'm going to go through this again. So, for me, it's better to lose it while I learn and re-learn good habits, then to lose it, gain it and have to lose it again.

Re: whole foods v. artificial foods.

There's really no argument that the whole, real foods are much, much better for you than the fake stuff.

But I think if you choose to use these fake foods, you need to ask yourself, "why". Do they satisfy a sweet tooth? Do they remind you of the "goodies" you used to eat? Or is it really 'convenience'?

If you're using these fake foods to satisfy a sweet tooth (or salty tooth for that matter), or to remind you of the pleasure you got from eating your "goodies", then you have to think....do these foods really help you break your food addictions or are they enabling you to continue your bad food habits?

[Sweet_Sadie]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

This is such a great board and you guys are awesome! On most other boards I've frequented, a post like my last one would have started a huge attack on me, but it didn't happen here. Thanks for that and for realizing I was not up on all the facts.

I appreciate the new information and plan to research it further. I really do have a taste for preservatives and chemical additives. For example, I don't like home cooked turkey, but If I get it sliced from the deli with the preservatives or additives, I just love it! (I know, I'm a freak!)

I had to go out of town yesterday (Emergency, a death...etc.) so rather than skip breakfast I had to try the chocolate coconut Atkins bar and WOW, it was a true treat! It tasted JUST LIKE A MOUNDS BAR! Mmmmmm! Yeah, I do want a treat like that coconut bar (Atkins low carb kind) every now and then.

Re: whole foods v. artificial foods.

There's really no argument that the whole, real foods are much, much better for you than the fake stuff.

But I think if you choose to use these fake foods, you need to ask yourself, "why". Do they satisfy a sweet tooth? Do they remind you of the "goodies" you used to eat? Or is it really 'convenience'?

If you're using these fake foods to satisfy a sweet tooth (or salty tooth for that matter), or to remind you of the pleasure you got from eating your "goodies", then you have to think....do these foods really help you break your food addictions or are they enabling you to continue your bad food habits?

I want to answer this about the bars. Yes, they satisfy a sweet tooth! Yes, it reminds me of a Mounds candy bar that I used to eat and love! Yes these bars (ONLY on occasion or an emergency) really do help me break my food addictions because they are not full of sugar and they didn't make me crave and having something that's low carb Atkins legal enables me to stay on the Atkins WOE with a yummy treat!

[fawn]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

You like the processed turkey my sweets because it is loaded with sugar and sodium!
Ah what a wonderful combination like my old M&Ms and popcorn....oh wait pull back.....Now i'm out of hand!

[boonie stomper]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

Did you HAVE to mention M&M's & Popcorn, Fawn?????



Yes - deli meat is adulterated! You can't even trust some of the fresh meat from the grocers - they get more money per piece of meat AND keep you coming back for more by injecting solutions to enhance flavor & color.

[fawn]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

Don't shoot me Susan!
it even goes well with beer!

[boonie stomper]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

Don't shoot me Susan!
it even goes well with beer!

HAHAHA... does anything NOT?!?! OK, you live this time...But I tell you, the dreams I had last night after your post had me seated at a 7-course meal that followed tea-time/coctails with snacks, and began with a serving of Rocky Road!

[not2late]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

I want to answer this about the bars. Yes, they satisfy a sweet tooth! Yes, it reminds me of a Mounds candy bar that I used to eat and love! Yes these bars (ONLY on occasion or an emergency) really do help me break my food addictions because they are not full of sugar and they didn't make me crave and having something that's low carb Atkins legal enables me to stay on the Atkins WOE with a yummy treat!

Then the next thing you have to ask yourself, is how important is it to maintain and support that sweet tooth?

If eating sweets was a reason you gained weight, then you might want to re-examine how much of a true-blue friend that sweet tooth is to your general health in the long-run.

Yeah, you can use artificially flavored, artificially sweetened, processed and highly refined fake foods for the real thing, but how do these fake foods affect your general health in the long run? The 14 Day Induction forum has a sticky about the cephalic phase insulin response and how artificial sweeteners trigger it as easily as real sugar. Alot of folks don't think about the long-run during the weight loss phase. There's an attitude that once you reach goal, all your problems are solved.

And what happens when you can't find your low carb substitute and are confronted with the real thing? Will you be able to control your sweet tooth, enough to have "1 bite" and stop, or will Ms. Tooth demand that "1 bite" become "2 bites" or "10000000000 bites"?

Fawn makes a very good point.....deli meats are full of sugars, starches and stabilizers. So in a way, when you eat deli meat, you're eating the equivalent of a slice of the real meat with sugar, salt and "flavorings" on it.

And that brings me to another thought....I've read alot of threads about real whipped cream not tasting as good as the fake non-dairy whipped toppings or butter not tasting as good as margarine or fruit-flavored juices not tasting as good as the actualy fruit. In other words, we've become so used to the fake foods courtesy of Kraft, Inc. and other mega-corporations that the real food isn't as good. That's scary, imo!

[Sweet_Sadie]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

not2late, You ROCK! You have so much knowledge and always take the time to explain things! Thank you!

[kacey1]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

I agree with both 'sides' here... I would ALWAYS prefer to eat organic, fresh, whole foods. However, here is the scenario for my husband last week (I'm facing a similiar one myself this week)...

He leaves for Sweden at 4 am - he eats breakfast, takes a snack to eat in airport (so he desn't eat the plane food). (no food (besides packaged) is allowed between countries so he can't take snacks with him)

He arrives in Stockholm, goes straight to meeting. At 1 pm (6 hours since he's eaten), they bring in sandwiches and chips. He manages to eat the stuff off the sandwich. (1 sandwich each so he's STILL starving)

Meeting goes on til 7 pm, when they all go to dinner. He orders the steak and salad. He gets European size portions (about 4 - 5 ounce steak, a very small salad, and tons of potatoes and bread) He asks me - "What do I do? Order 3 dinners in order to get enough food?"

At hotel at 9.30 pm. Room service? Ha ha... Refrig in room. No way. Stores open so he can go get some snacks? Ha ha...

What did I say to him? "Honey, eat one of those fairly disgusting, but rather filling, Atkins bars I packed in your suitcase. And wait for breakfast - you'll be able to get something then."

Next morning - he calls me. Breakfast at the hotel is baskets of bread with a about 4 thin slices of cheese on the table. He eats the cheese. Looks for an open store. NOTHING open before 10 am besides the baker! Off to work.

Day 2 and 3 progress similiarly and he arrives home at midnight on Day 3.

He didn't cheat once (bless his heart - I can't believe it!), he lost 2.5 pounds though. What saved him from cheating? Those packaged Atkins bars...

He was at a customer site, so he couldn't really do anything about the schedule or the food or ...

Next week, I have to go to Dublin. Similiar situation though I have a little more control over the food choices so I will head to the grocery on a break and buy at least some fresh cheese and packaged meat to get me thru. (no refridgerator though)

Moral of the story... I'd LOVE to always eat fresh organic food. But IF you can't... and you don't want to cheat (we are only on OWL 1) then a low carb bar or packaged food COULD save the day...

And if you have other suggestions - I'd love to hear them... ! 'cause I'd definitely like to keep only whole, real food in our bodies.

Thanks.

Kacey

[Chris]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

I use string cheese, beef jerky, and nuts. Also, when I'm traveling by train, as I sometimes do when I'm going to see my relatives, I take a few cans of the Atkins shakes with me, in a little insulated lunch cooler. Yes, these are frankenfoods, but they do not contain sugar alcohols -- so the "net carb" count on the can is accurate -- and they are pretty nutritious.

[CarbaholicJoe]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

I agree with both 'sides' here... I would ALWAYS prefer to eat organic, fresh, whole foods. However, here is the scenario for my husband last week (I'm facing a similiar one myself this week)...

He leaves for Sweden at 4 am - he eats breakfast, takes a snack to eat in airport (so he desn't eat the plane food). (no food (besides packaged) is allowed between countries so he can't take snacks with him)

He arrives in Stockholm, goes straight to meeting. At 1 pm (6 hours since he's eaten), they bring in sandwiches and chips. He manages to eat the stuff off the sandwich. (1 sandwich each so he's STILL starving)

Meeting goes on til 7 pm, when they all go to dinner. He orders the steak and salad. He gets European size portions (about 4 - 5 ounce steak, a very small salad, and tons of potatoes and bread) He asks me - "What do I do? Order 3 dinners in order to get enough food?"

At hotel at 9.30 pm. Room service? Ha ha... Refrig in room. No way. Stores open so he can go get some snacks? Ha ha...

What did I say to him? "Honey, eat one of those fairly disgusting, but rather filling, Atkins bars I packed in your suitcase. And wait for breakfast - you'll be able to get something then."

Next morning - he calls me. Breakfast at the hotel is baskets of bread with a about 4 thin slices of cheese on the table. He eats the cheese. Looks for an open store. NOTHING open before 10 am besides the baker! Off to work.

Day 2 and 3 progress similiarly and he arrives home at midnight on Day 3.

He didn't cheat once (bless his heart - I can't believe it!), he lost 2.5 pounds though. What saved him from cheating? Those packaged Atkins bars...

He was at a customer site, so he couldn't really do anything about the schedule or the food or ...

Next week, I have to go to Dublin. Similiar situation though I have a little more control over the food choices so I will head to the grocery on a break and buy at least some fresh cheese and packaged meat to get me thru. (no refridgerator though)

Moral of the story... I'd LOVE to always eat fresh organic food. But IF you can't... and you don't want to cheat (we are only on OWL 1) then a low carb bar or packaged food COULD save the day...

And if you have other suggestions - I'd love to hear them... ! 'cause I'd definitely like to keep only whole, real food in our bodies.

Thanks.

Kacey

Travel is the biggest reason for using the bars especially given the requirements on international flights.

Not to mention, not everyone gets stalled, I have a friend who always ate a bar at breakfast, hes 110lb down and been on maintenance over a year.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

Originally Posted by kacey1
I agree with both 'sides' here... I would ALWAYS prefer to eat organic, fresh, whole foods. However, here is the scenario for my husband last week (I'm facing a similiar one myself this week)...

He leaves for Sweden at 4 am - he eats breakfast, takes a snack to eat in airport (so he desn't eat the plane food). (no food (besides packaged) is allowed between countries so he can't take snacks with him)

He arrives in Stockholm, goes straight to meeting. At 1 pm (6 hours since he's eaten), they bring in sandwiches and chips. He manages to eat the stuff off the sandwich. (1 sandwich each so he's STILL starving)

Meeting goes on til 7 pm, when they all go to dinner. He orders the steak and salad. He gets European size portions (about 4 - 5 ounce steak, a very small salad, and tons of potatoes and bread) He asks me - "What do I do? Order 3 dinners in order to get enough food?"

At hotel at 9.30 pm. Room service? Ha ha... Refrig in room. No way. Stores open so he can go get some snacks? Ha ha...

What did I say to him? "Honey, eat one of those fairly disgusting, but rather filling, Atkins bars I packed in your suitcase. And wait for breakfast - you'll be able to get something then."

Next morning - he calls me. Breakfast at the hotel is baskets of bread with a about 4 thin slices of cheese on the table. He eats the cheese. Looks for an open store. NOTHING open before 10 am besides the baker! Off to work.

Day 2 and 3 progress similiarly and he arrives home at midnight on Day 3.

He didn't cheat once (bless his heart - I can't believe it!), he lost 2.5 pounds though. What saved him from cheating? Those packaged Atkins bars...

He was at a customer site, so he couldn't really do anything about the schedule or the food or ...

Next week, I have to go to Dublin. Similiar situation though I have a little more control over the food choices so I will head to the grocery on a break and buy at least some fresh cheese and packaged meat to get me thru. (no refridgerator though)

Moral of the story... I'd LOVE to always eat fresh organic food. But IF you can't... and you don't want to cheat (we are only on OWL 1) then a low carb bar or packaged food COULD save the day...

And if you have other suggestions - I'd love to hear them... ! 'cause I'd definitely like to keep only whole, real food in our bodies.

Thanks.

Kacey

all he had to do was preplan the trip. SInce he knew he couldn't take food with him he could ahve contacted the place he was staying and discussed the food options. Many diabetics do it every day, every meal. You can plan to use frankenfood or you can call the hotel, meeting place, and even the folk you are meeting and make plans for food.

take the dinner. did he ask the waitstaff about subbing some steamed veggies or more salad for the tater? Did he ask to sub an appetizer for the bread and taters? there is always a way to avoid frankenfood if you plan ahead.

[CarbaholicJoe]

Re: Franken-Food & the Tight Spot...

all he had to do was preplan the trip. SInce he knew he couldn't take food with him he could ahve contacted the place he was staying and discussed the food options. Many diabetics do it every day, every meal. You can plan to use frankenfood or you can call the hotel, meeting place, and even the folk you are meeting and make plans for food.

take the dinner. did he ask the waitstaff about subbing some steamed veggies or more salad for the tater? Did he ask to sub an appetizer for the bread and taters? there is always a way to avoid frankenfood if you plan ahead.

Really? so how do you avoid using bars on a 10hr flight to Europe?

Remember; no liquids, no dairy, only dry sealed food.