I am continuing to get questions about what I am eating to have lost nearly 40 pounds in about 6 weeks. By the way…I have been at a 39-lb loss plateau for about a week. This doesn’t concern me at all, as I took 20 years to put ON the 200 extra pounds…so I’m in no rush to see it all drop off by summer for swimsuit weather. 😉
Anyway…since January 3rd, the basis of my food choices has shifted to these three priorities:
1. nutritional sufficiency
2. insulin impact (also sometimes referred to as glycemic index or low-glycemic foods…a factor in management of blood sugar…so critical for both diabetics and for those concerned with weight management)
3. taste (i.e., I can’t survive long-term on cardboard, even if it was the most-nutritious food on earth…I just can’t live that way)
So here is my breakfast for this morning:
3-4 bites of Tyson Chicken Breast Strips (sorry, forgot to weigh during preparation…maybe 4 oz, though). These things are so delicious. I’m not generally a fan of white chicken meat, because it’s so dry…but these are moist and wonderfully-seasoned right out of the bag. I don’t need to do anything else to them…just heat and dig in. Meat is my best source of protein (essential for blood sugar stability…I’m not diabetic, but this also helps keep hunger at bay and helps you maintain focus between meals) and of fat (which makes you feel satisfied when you’ve eaten).
A raspberry CARBmaster Yogurt from Kroger. 4 net carbs (I am currently keeping it under 20 net carbs a day to stay in ketosis and keep my weight loss going), with maybe 12-15 fresh blueberries and a pinch of Truvia (natural sweetener with stevia and erythritol) to make the yogurt just a tad sweeter. The Truvia doesn’t even count as carbs…especially in this quantity. But the combination of the three tastes great!
And finally, a slice of SmartCarb #1 Wheat Bread from Julian Bakery (toasted, with real Land O’ Lakes butter). The bread is 1 net carb and adds a really nice texture to the meal.
So…5 net carbs…and my goal is about 5-6 per meal. Very filling ((I won’t eat again until 12 or 1…and I could have stopped several bites before the end of the meal and been satisfied…thanks to the natural appetite-supression effect of ketosis). Tastes excellent. And best of all…because of the type of wheat the bread is made from…and the sugar alcohols used in the yogurt instead of regular sugar…this has a very low-impact effect on the pancreas…and causes a nice stable long-term reaction (instead of the 100-point jump in blood sugar levels resulting from a breakfast based around oatmeal or cereal). I’m forgoing eggs in this meal because I don’t have much time today for food prep. But they are also really good for breakfast, and don’t cause blood sugar problems, either.
A nice bonus: This bread is gluten-free. So for those with Celiac’s Disease…no problems there, either!
** UPDATE **
The Snack That Became A Meal
I had to burn up the rest of the blueberries that I ate from breakfast before they went bad….so I grabbed a couple of Snack Pack Juicy Gels…basically sugar-free Jello…and tossed them in a bowl. I threw in the rest of the blueberries… a few blackberries and a strawberry. I figured I would still be hungry… so I planned to have half a QuestBar to tide me over til dinner.
First of all…this was EXCELLENT. I didn’t need any erythritol all to sweeten the gelatin. It was perfect the way it came. The fruit was great. Nice texture, a lot of fiber. The gelatin just served to bring it all together (I have been doing the same thing with Snack Pack sugar-free pudding as well).
And…when I finished the fruit and gelatin…I realized I wasn’t hungry anymore. So the QuestBar went back on the shelf…to be devoured at another time.