Snack Attack!

Diary Entry

I was on vacation last week, and unwisely took a vacation from going to the YMCA to work out, too. Now I sit here on Wednesday afternoon trying to psych myself into putting on my shorts and heading out.

Momentum's a tricky thing.

See, the problem is, I still lost weight last week even without the workout. So that little voice is whispering in my ear that I've done enough working out, that I've built up enough muscle that I can "coast" a while and let my newly revved-up metabolism do the work for me. I've earned a break, haven't I?

And then I go into the Diary of a Fat Mandiscussion group and read what many of you have posted in there. I see people like Crawn03, a 19-year-old who's lost 150 pounds and nikshijay, who's about to go under the knife for gastric bypass.

You people are my motivation. All of you. I feel you looking over my shoulder and I know I've got to stay on track. For the first time in my adult life, I'm an example rather than a warning.

Speaking of which, I've got to finish this up so I can get my workout in and get back here in time to finish wallpapering the nursery. (More on impending parenthood to come)

Snack Attack

It must be the weather (gloomy, gray) or maybe the change of seasons, but the snack monkey has been on my back in a big and special way. It seems like I've got the munchies constantly.

My weakness has always been the combination of sweet and salty. I'll never forget when I discovered the wonder of scattering a handful of Planter's cocktail peanuts on a dish of Blue Bell Pecan Pralines and Cream ice cream. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

A more common source of this "fix" is trail mix, which usually has a healthy dose of M&M-type candy mixed in with the peanuts, raisins and such. Of course, it's also pretty high in fat and calories. It's just not generally something I ought to have around the house.

So, what to snack on? Of course there are the usual standards like baby carrots with fat-free ranch dressing. If you get some good carrots, they're sweet enough to make a great snack.

Want to kick that up a bit? Try oven-roasting the carrots to bring out the sweetness. Just put the carrots in a nonstick baking pan, spray them with a light coat of nonstick spray (garlic-flavored is great!) and roast them for 20 minutes at 450 degrees, stirring once. You can keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

If you want a quick fix, there are actually some pre-made snack mixes on the market that aren't too high-impact. While shopping at Sam's, I found a giant tub of Utz Pub Mix that's got a little bit of everything and is less than 200 calories per serving. The idea is to eat it a piece, rather than a handful, at a time. Make your snacktime last longer and you'll beat the munchies more effectively.

This time of year, candy dishes are proliferating and the holiday snacking avalanche is right around the corner. Arm yourself with the right low-impact snacks and you can weather the worst of the cravings.

Happy Halloween

Speaking of candy, I hereby grant you permission to enjoy a morsel or two of the candy you hand out to the youngsters on Sunday (or Saturday, if your town is so inclined).

And no fair giving out toothbrushes, sugar-free candy, gum or any of that other wussy stuff. Halloween is one of the great things about being a kid, so make a jack o'lantern, hang some spiderwebs on the porch posts and grab a couple bags of the good candy to hand out!