Holy Heck of a Salad, Batman!

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pettmybunny
pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I went to the gym for the first time in a month today... Was there for an hour, it felt good to be back. Wii fit is fun, but definately not a substitute. That being said, I left STARVING! I had cinnamon oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for breakfast at 6, but by 10:30, my belly was empty, and letting me know it.

So, I stopped by the store where I used to work and hit up their salad bar. Spinach salad with onions, raisins, garbanzos, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, beets, and eggs. I might have missed something, can't really remember. It was a big salad, weighed 3/4 of a pound (did I say I was starving?). Used a fat free salad dressing pouch on it, and the whole salad came to.... are you ready for this.... Almost 600 calories! Holy crumbs! Oh yeah, a little imitation crab on there too... lol Besides the 600 calories, I used up half my day's sodium. Not that I mind that, usually I'm good, on the low side generally.

I don't really mind the 600 calories either, I earned those by exercising... I still have almost 1000 calories for the day, so I won't be feeling any pinch. It just shocked me. It was delish, and I'd most certainly do it again...

Replies

  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
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    I went to the gym for the first time in a month today... Was there for an hour, it felt good to be back. Wii fit is fun, but definately not a substitute. That being said, I left STARVING! I had cinnamon oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for breakfast at 6, but by 10:30, my belly was empty, and letting me know it.

    So, I stopped by the store where I used to work and hit up their salad bar. Spinach salad with onions, raisins, garbanzos, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, beets, and eggs. I might have missed something, can't really remember. It was a big salad, weighed 3/4 of a pound (did I say I was starving?). Used a fat free salad dressing pouch on it, and the whole salad came to.... are you ready for this.... Almost 600 calories! Holy crumbs! Oh yeah, a little imitation crab on there too... lol Besides the 600 calories, I used up half my day's sodium. Not that I mind that, usually I'm good, on the low side generally.

    I don't really mind the 600 calories either, I earned those by exercising... I still have almost 1000 calories for the day, so I won't be feeling any pinch. It just shocked me. It was delish, and I'd most certainly do it again...
  • Mattysmomma
    Mattysmomma Posts: 268
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    I have a salad bar at work with all of that stuff and its sooooo yummy. If you would buy all of that stuff at home it seems like its more expensive and not as fresh. Yummmy. Now i wish i was at work just so i could get that.
  • callme911
    callme911 Posts: 68 Member
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    I was told to avoid the oatmeal and cereals in the morning, because like you, my day starts early and I eat breakfast real early. If I eat cereal I am hungry, just about starving by 10 and a snack does NOT hold me over until lunch.

    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.

    You might want to consider that. :-)

    Good luck!
  • Wynnie
    Wynnie Posts: 225 Member
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    I made a salad at home last week, and when I went to log it, I ended up having to make TWELVE entries to get everything in it. It was awesome, though. And I had the opposite shocker... it came to not quite 200 calories. Your salad choice sounded perfect for the conditions, btw, but if you ever have a lazy, non-exercise day and want a ton of food for few calories, here's what I put in:

    Iceberg lettuce
    White onion (slice, chopped up)
    Red bell pepper (maybe a 5th of a bell, chopped)
    Crimini mushroom (1 or 2)
    Zucchini (a few slices, chopped)
    Cucumber (a few slices, chopped)
    Yellow squash (a few slices, chopped)
    Grate a little fresh ginger root over it - trust me, just a little!
    Roma tomato (1)
    Pine nuts (only about 1/8th of a cup)
    White cheddar, finely grated (only a bout 1/2 of a square inch)
    Annie's Raspberry Vinegarette (it's only 35 cals for 2 tbsp and tastes great)
  • PurdyMommy
    PurdyMommy Posts: 378 Member
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    I love yummy salads too. At home I just use Lettuce onion tomato cheese and ham. They are so yummy but always alot of sodium! But if you drink alot of water... it all evens out.
  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
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    I was told to avoid the oatmeal and cereals in the morning, because like you, my day starts early and I eat breakfast real early. If I eat cereal I am hungry, just about starving by 10 and a snack does NOT hold me over until lunch.

    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.

    You might want to consider that. :-)

    Good luck!

    I don't generally have this problem. I only ate that early because I knew I was going to the gym. If I'm not working out, I'll eat closer to 7. I also eat generally 5 mini meals a day, three hours apart, so I was an hour and a half beyond a meal time... I added more protein into the salad to compensate. My next meal is going to be some greek yogurt, not all my meals are as ginormous as this one.
  • finzup
    finzup Posts: 78 Member
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    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.


    What brand are the protein shakes? How do they taste? Thanks
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    I was told to avoid the oatmeal and cereals in the morning, because like you, my day starts early and I eat breakfast real early. If I eat cereal I am hungry, just about starving by 10 and a snack does NOT hold me over until lunch.

    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.

    You might want to consider that. :-)

    Good luck!

    I don't generally have this problem. I only ate that early because I knew I was going to the gym. If I'm not working out, I'll eat closer to 7. I also eat generally 5 mini meals a day, three hours apart, so I was an hour and a half beyond a meal time... I added more protein into the salad to compensate. My next meal is going to be some greek yogurt, not all my meals are as ginormous as this one.

    Actually, I wouldn't get rid of the oatmeal...there's no reason to eliminate the carbohydrates entirely. Yogurt and cottage cheese are SO good in oatmeal. I do two parts cooked oatmeal to one part yogurt/CC (so usually 1c oatmeal and 1/2c dairy) and it makes it really creamy. That holds me over for a looooooong time.
  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
    Options
    I was told to avoid the oatmeal and cereals in the morning, because like you, my day starts early and I eat breakfast real early. If I eat cereal I am hungry, just about starving by 10 and a snack does NOT hold me over until lunch.

    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.

    You might want to consider that. :-)

    Good luck!

    Thanks, I do have a couple of protein shake mixes, I usually use those as my odd meals/snacks... Once in a while I'll have one for breakfast, but I prefer to chew. But that's also why I add nuts to my oatmeal, to get in extra protein. The way I make it, I have about 10g protein in it...
  • PolarQueen
    PolarQueen Posts: 73
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    Great idea. I am going to try the yogurt. I love my oatmeal in the morning. It keeps me full. Sometimes I might add a banana if I know I am going to have a late lunch.
    All good carbs.
  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
    Options
    I was told to avoid the oatmeal and cereals in the morning, because like you, my day starts early and I eat breakfast real early. If I eat cereal I am hungry, just about starving by 10 and a snack does NOT hold me over until lunch.

    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.

    You might want to consider that. :-)

    Good luck!

    I don't generally have this problem. I only ate that early because I knew I was going to the gym. If I'm not working out, I'll eat closer to 7. I also eat generally 5 mini meals a day, three hours apart, so I was an hour and a half beyond a meal time... I added more protein into the salad to compensate. My next meal is going to be some greek yogurt, not all my meals are as ginormous as this one.

    Actually, I wouldn't get rid of the oatmeal...there's no reason to eliminate the carbohydrates entirely. Yogurt and cottage cheese are SO good in oatmeal. I do two parts cooked oatmeal to one part yogurt/CC (so usually 1c oatmeal and 1/2c dairy) and it makes it really creamy. That holds me over for a looooooong time.

    Hmmmm.... I'll keep that in mind, but.... right now I'll stick to nuts! And keep my yogurt as a separate thing... lol
  • AmyNVegas
    AmyNVegas Posts: 2,215 Member
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    I'm with you I like the nuts! And I know what you mean when your body is used to getting food every 3 hours - it wants it then not later!:happy:
    Amy
  • tennetubbie
    tennetubbie Posts: 312 Member
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    I've actually found Raisin Bran Crunch with raisins hold me from 6:45 to noon---no other cereal did.
    I walk 3 miles after breakfast and eat a HUGE salad for lunch and with the eat your exercise philosophy--I am not feeling deprived yet. We have a great salad bar at work and 8 of us keeping an eye on each other.
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I was told to avoid the oatmeal and cereals in the morning, because like you, my day starts early and I eat breakfast real early. If I eat cereal I am hungry, just about starving by 10 and a snack does NOT hold me over until lunch.

    I have been drinking a protein shake with low carbs (13 g per serving) and and lots of protein (60 g per serving) and that holds me quite well for breakfast. I drink it around 6-630 am and don't eat lunch until around 1230 to 1pm.

    You might want to consider that. :-)

    Good luck!

    I have been told the same thing.

    Do you happen to be insulin resistant or diabetic?

    Most people that are told to keep away from a carby type breakfast are those who are told to keep the carb count low all day long...............or if you do eat carbs such as cereal, oatmeal, etc to have ample protein with it to keep you full longer.

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