Hermiones Mom's Journal, 25 January 2011

Glad you are feeling better. Is it that you are craving something specific or are you just hungry and the chocolate cake got in the way? If it is just hunger, maybe have an extra snack packed with you just in case. 

Do you have sugar free candy, or juice you can substitute? My mom is a diabetic and gets that way sometimes being shakey, then she eats sweets and totally reverses. Glad you feel better, be careful on the sweets with blood sugar issues.  

It was more about just wanting to eat like everyone else at a birthday party. Just stupidity. I'm never hungry on this diet -- except when I'm supposed to be, at snack and meal times. I plan my eating carefully every day. I was just being careless and thought I could get away with it. I probably could have a year ago, but now I'm so used to eating low glycemic that suddenly going off track made me feel really sick. I eat one serving of full fat ice cream each week (my Friday night treat) -- and I can handle that because the fat balances off the sugar, and I try to eat a high protein dinner before hand. I just have to stay on the straight and narrow.  

Glad you know how to lick it:) Pun intended when referring to your Ice Cream. Take care.  

Herm - You have done great so far but looks like you are struggling a little bit with what I have read recently from your journals and forum entries. Maybe a little better planning ahead, enter your food for tomorrow in your food journal today. Plan out the snacks that are acceptable for you. I am not really familiar with the GI diet but I do know it has to do with sugar reduction, hence eating the low glycemic foods. What are the target grams of sugar you plan to eat each day? Look for good substitutes for the wrong foods. I was reading the other day that the guideline for sugar is 15 grams daily. A lofty goal for most, but a goal nonetheless. So I guess my thought would be set goals and plan for them and I think you will see this turn around for you. 

Babs -- sorry I didn't get back to you on your helpful comments. Last week was a nightmare between the usual craziness at work and the blizzard. I actually plan things very carefully -- including choosing dinners that will generate leftovers for lunches -- and I'm fully equipped with proper snacks. I keep cheese, low-sodium, low fat ham, Kind bars and Luna bars at work. I check the ingredients on everything -- even spaghetti sauce -- for hidden sugars. And I'm even spending the small fortune required to purchase pasta that is whole grain + flaxseed, which is much lower in calories and higher in fiber than regular pasta. And I satisfy my chocolate cravings which are unlikely ever to go away with low-sugar 72% dark chocolate -- I'm one of the few people I know who can eat two square of chocolate and be satisfied. I don't actually have a target for sugar -- I just don't eat any regular bread, potatoes, corn, or rice, and stick with low-glycemic fruits like berries and grapefruit. So if you look at my net carbs, it's pretty clear how little sugar I'm eating. I set a goal for myself of 60% protein and (Mostly) good fats vs. 40% carbs (mostly complex). And over all, I'm doing pretty well. But I think every so often, I just get crazy. The difference is that now that my body is used to this eating plan, going crazy makes me actually feel ill. Next weekend should be a challenge...it's my birthday, and there are two family parties, dinner and bruch, on the agenda. I'm going to be really really careful this week in preparation. THanks again for the support.