Should I ditch my favorite snack?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    tinallen863 wrote: »
    roobe18 wrote: »
    Ok, I'm 7 months post partnum and I've decided I need to get back on the wagon and lose the 20lbs that has hung on since baby.

    Anyway, I have current favorite snack that's just not "healthy". It's about 1oz cheddar cheese, a slice of white bread, and some ranch for dipping. Other than possibly the cheese, I know it's not healthy. Should I ditch it, or is it ok as long as I have enough calories for it?

    Gotta ditch them. These high carbohydrate foods trigger over-eating. All calories are not the same. Bread, chips and other starchy foods cause blood sugar spikes that make you hungry sooner.

    Not for everyone. I have a diet that is higher in carbohydrates (including bread, chips, and other starchy foods) and my appetite is very controlled. For *some people* this may be true but other people have great success with a higher carbohydrate diet, great success with appetite control, weight loss, and achieving fitness goals.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    roobe18 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    How isn't it healthy? If you like it and you have calories for it then eat it. Just make sure you weigh the cheese and ranch because they are calorie dense and you could be eating more calories than you realize.

    When it comes to health and eating healthy start thinking about it in terms of overall food rather than individual items.

    I guess it just seems like a healthier alternative would be carrots or fruit or something. I just feel guilty eating something relatively nutrient free. I keep thinking that since I'm eating so much less (1500 ish calories) I should make every bite be as nutritionally sound as possible. But then again, my little snack makes me happy!

    Read the labels on those items - you will find they do in fact have nutrients.

    "Better" choices available (in the context of your overall diet) - quite possibly. But that doesn't make them nutrient free let alone unhealthy.

    Ditch the negative language and you might find feelings of guilt around ordinary foods goes away.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Nothing wrong with that snack. (It would be unhealthy for me, but only because I would eat the whole 800 calorie brick of cheese if I tried).
    roobe18 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    How isn't it healthy? If you like it and you have calories for it then eat it. Just make sure you weigh the cheese and ranch because they are calorie dense and you could be eating more calories than you realize.

    When it comes to health and eating healthy start thinking about it in terms of overall food rather than individual items.

    I guess it just seems like a healthier alternative would be carrots or fruit or something. I just feel guilty eating something relatively nutrient free. I keep thinking that since I'm eating so much less (1500 ish calories) I should make every bite be as nutritionally sound as possible. But then again, my little snack makes me happy!

    Just watch your macros if a concern- if you are otherwise fitting in adequate protein and fiber, then no issue.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    roobe18 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    How isn't it healthy? If you like it and you have calories for it then eat it. Just make sure you weigh the cheese and ranch because they are calorie dense and you could be eating more calories than you realize.

    When it comes to health and eating healthy start thinking about it in terms of overall food rather than individual items.

    I guess it just seems like a healthier alternative would be carrots or fruit or something. I just feel guilty eating something relatively nutrient free. I keep thinking that since I'm eating so much less (1500 ish calories) I should make every bite be as nutritionally sound as possible. But then again, my little snack makes me happy!

    You should be eating whatever makes you the most satisfied within your calorie limit - are there small changes you could make that would make this a better snack? Would you be just as happy with, for example, whole grain bread or an apple instead of white bread, and Greek yogurt mixed with ranch mix instead of ranch dressing, or would those changes ruin it for you so that the whole point would be lost? Are you eating good tasting cheese? Happiness is important to long term weight loss.

    If this particular snack is what gives you the most mental bang for your calorie buck, then go for it - the difference between this snack and a more nutrient dense snack is pretty negligible. Just make sure you aren't accidentally creeping up to 2 oz cheese and twice as much ranch, if you don't weigh that's easy to do. I know from experience that I like to underestimate cheese, so when I buy it I mark it with a knife blade in 1 oz segments.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited June 2017
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    tinallen863 wrote: »
    roobe18 wrote: »
    Ok, I'm 7 months post partnum and I've decided I need to get back on the wagon and lose the 20lbs that has hung on since baby.

    Anyway, I have current favorite snack that's just not "healthy". It's about 1oz cheddar cheese, a slice of white bread, and some ranch for dipping. Other than possibly the cheese, I know it's not healthy. Should I ditch it, or is it ok as long as I have enough calories for it?

    Gotta ditch them. These high carbohydrate foods trigger over-eating. All calories are not the same. Bread, chips and other starchy foods cause blood sugar spikes that make you hungry sooner.

    I'm a diabetic who is terrible about carb related cravings - for example, I've never been able to drink Coca-cola without craving everything in sight - and not even I would find my whole diet sabotaged by one slice of white bread a day. You're talking what, 15g carbs? Eaten with cheese, which is protein and fat, and ranch, which is fat, one slice of bread is not likely to spike a healthy person's blood glucose. Heck, it wouldn't even spike mine, and I have full blown diabetes.

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