Qjay's thread

Good deal :D
I'm pretty good with steaks and pasta, but less so with anything that would require baking, and rice is a particularly difficult food for me to get right.

Anyhoo, today so far:
Sandwich (400)
Mashed potato (250)
Grapes (200)
Bean thread souplike liquids (2 servings, 600 total cal)
Pear (100)
Chocolate... Mmmm.... (400)

2150 total calories for the day, mostly sweets and starches, at first glance, but I had at least 3 cups of veggies in that soup, so it was really tasty AND healthy. The "servings" were actually about 4 cups each, but only the bean threads and the veggies had any calories in them.


I have to learn to cook Thai food, but I am terrible at following recipes... Well, at least I'll know if something is good or bad for me, right? I think Bean Threads might be my answer to the missing ramen in my life. I really miss simple, quick noodles, and these bean threads only need a couple of minutes in some really hot water/broth to turn into a tasty little treat with about HALF the calories of real ramen.
They are a little more expensive, running about 50 cents a serving instead of the classic 10 cent package of ramen, but I am willing to pay that difference. ;)

Have a good night :D
 
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I'm not sure I could handle the idea of bean threads. I don't eat much Ramen anymore (haven't since I got out of college), but...hmmm.
 
lol, bean threads are just clear noodles made with mung bean flour/starch instead of wheat or rice or whatever else you might find. They are delicious and entertaining, too. :D

I didn't eat ramen for a few years, I got sick of the stuff (I was REALLY poor for a long time), but now that it is something I can have upon occasion, I do enjoy it every once in awhile. I generally try to avoid it because it has so many calories (about 400 in a normal package!) but the bean threads have about the same amount of food with fewer calories taken up. At least that's the way it seems to me. I also like the texture better. ;)
 
I think you might know them as a "pot noodle". Basically they are instant noodles; cheap, easy, cooks in just a couple of minutes. The only thing they aren't is "good for you".

The thing is, they are a cheap and easy meal that is relatively filling and packed full of carbs. They come either in a separate package that you can dump into a bowl full of hot water, with a foil flavor packet, or they can also be found in a styrofoam container where you just add water and wait a few minutes ("Cup-o'-Noodles").
You can buy them at most grocery stores for 10-20 cents for the cheapest packages, or 50 cents to a dollar for the kind in the cup.


I usually would have two bricks of ramen with a single flavor packet, a pat of butter, and a bunch of frozen veggies dumped in once the noodles were soft. That runs about 1000 calories for the meal... skipping the butter and using bean threads, I can do the same thing for about 500 calories, so I am thinking it might be a good way to go. ;)
 
ahh yes they are pot noodles :)
except i have never had one...don't think i want to now either by the sounds of the calories!
good for you for finding a healthier option
 
Sunday's food:
2 Sandwiches (850 cal)
Mashed potato, no butter (300 cal)
General Tso's Chicken w/rice (500 cal)
Some Mozzarella whips (3 oz, about 350 cal)
Grapes (200 calories)

I had a close, CLOSE call to a binge tonight. I was able to stave it off with some cheese and grapes :D
I'm running low, I've gone through over 3 pounds of grapes already!
The good news; I can eat them all day long at 100 calories per 4 ounce serving. I am eating half a pound of grapes a DAY and I am actually feeling better, eating better, and generally DOING better. I have more energy and a more positive attitude, too.

I never really liked grapes before, but then again, my mother considered fresh fruit to be anything you could buy in the produce section, especially the discount bin. *shudder*

So it's a brand new day, and I have to go out to a special dinner tonight. The Classic 50's dinner: Steak, baked potato, and veggies. I just KNOW they are going to try to sneak me some dessert, too. I love my friends :D

I'm not worried about the dessert, these are pretty reasonable folks ;)

Does apple pie count as "eating a serving of fruit"?
 
Dinner was good, but it's time for me to get some rest.

Today's food:
Sandwich (450)
Steak (600)
Potato (150)
Sour Cream and Bacon Bits (100)
Lots of veggies (100)
Apple Pie ala Mode (400)

1800 calories and 7 cancer sticks today, could be a lot worse. ;)
See ya all later, I'm headed for bed.
 
Sounds like you are rolling right along! It's nice finding a snack you can love and can eat alot of. I haven't found that snack for me. I love pretzels so I snack on them here or there. Just if I have the temptation to really snack, I'll grab pretzel and a drink and it passes. At least it's low in fat.

I need dessert now and then too. I really like the Breyer's Double Churned Butter Pecan Icecream. If I am really good during the day, I can fit a cup of it into my meal plan easy.
 
Hey Qjay,

I'm a big fan of dessert too. Its so hard to resist. But I only really eat it when I'm out which is even worse cause those desserts are between 600-1500 calories. You know what I like at home orange sherbet with vanilla its only 120 cal a serving which is 1/2 a cup. And last night I had a chocolate covered fortune cookie it was delicious! Like amazingly so...lol. And I'm guestimating they're 100 cal each. Cause the most a fortune cookie usually is 50 cal. If you can handle just eating one I think thats a good dessert to go for.

And you're right grapes are great. I've been getting into them a lot more lately and I love the sweetness. It helps satisfy my sweet tooth. I've eaten grapes before but I don't think I realized how delicious they were until now.

Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks for the support, folks :D

Yeah, the apples in pie are technically fruit, but no, I don't think I would ever count them; they are too heavily processed and covered in sugary syrup, most times.
The chocolate covered fortune cookie thing sounds pretty tasty, but I don't think I could eat just one, lol. I think my issue with desserts is a matter of food control; I am a very controlled person, with a solidly internal locus of control, so one of my triggers for overeating is when things get crazy and I have to work hard to keep up with my daily life. When it comes to "treats" I do not like viewing them as a reward, but as "My right, if I choose to take it"... So, sometimes I choose to take more than is good for me because, after all, I don't have to answer to anyone; I am the one responsible, and the one in control.
So I feel the need to "prove it to myself" sometimes. The interesting thing is that I am kind of reversing my views on how I prove my level of self-control, but I still have to resort to tricking myself upon occasion. Meh, half finished thought, I suppose...

Oh, and for pretzels, I don't like the matchstick style, but every other kind of pretzel holds plenty of dip :p I like pretzels fairly well, just not the tiny sticks for some reason. They are still pretty starchy for me to handle, though; they make my kidneys hurt if I have even a cup of them.
 
My kidneys were actually the reason I decided to get tested for diabetes, because the starches were "not getting digested properly, so they stayed in my bloodstream until filtered out by my kidneys". Not my words, but they made a little bit of sense, so I asked the doctor about it and he told me "No, you were right, it doesn't work that way. But you're still diabetic and need to go on medication right away."
I still get it if I dig into too much starchy food (like I did tonight with my bowl of Grape-nuts analogue), but it isn't constant, nor daily, kidney pain.

Today's food:
Sandwich (400)
Curry with rice (300, I split the serving with a friend :D )
Imitation grape nuts, with milk (750!!! I had 3 servings, at half a cup each, with a total of 1 cup of milk, I was starved after hiking!)
Mozzarella whips, (2 oz, 250 cal)
Smoked Tofu (150)
Carrots w/ bleu cheese dip (100)
1 pound of grapes throughout the day (400)

Grand total: 2350 or so, plus 6 smokes total, and a good sized hike (2-3 miles, with a few hills in there). As a capper, I am off to work out now. :D
I'll catch up on everyone else when I get back, I just had to get my food down for the day, otherwise I am going to snack later on, and I really don't want to do that.

Okay, so I am snacking, but it's healthyish stuff.
Mozza whip (50)
Some herbal tea (nuthin')
Sugar free jello (goose egg)
Make it 2400 calories for the day and a bunch of whining about insomnia.
 
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Insomnia means I got to sleep through most of this Hallmark Holiday, but I hope other folks had fun.

Food diary:
Sandwich (400)
Mock Jambalaya (900ish)
*Cheese (600)
*Turkey slices (100)
*Bread (250)
*Mayo (200)
*Milk 2 cups (250)
Sugar free jello (nada)
Nectarine and Grapes (300 or so)
Veggies (100)
Smoked Tofu (100)
Almonds (300)
Cereal 1 cup, w/ milk and a drizzle of honey (400)
Salmon Salad with real dressing and croutons (500)

It was a heck of a nice sandwich I had earlier, 2 slices of cheese, mayo, turkey, and some really buttery-tasting bakery-fresh sourdough bread; well worth the 750 calories. Carrot chips on the side, and raspberry jello made it a darn good meal. It was also nice drinking a real glass of milk, I put a * next to the items from that one single meal for convenience in reading..
Well, back to slacking! I'll update this post with whatever else I eat tonight; probably more jambalaya and more mozza whips. I don't think I'm buying those again; they are too tasty.

Edit: Whew, 4400 calories today, but it was kinda nice eating whatever I chose to and realizing I was making relatively good choices when it comes to the food. Then again, it would be easy to get back in the habit of eating too much food, like this. I stayed full all day (night?) long, and I think it was a good experiment. I snacked on a TON of veggies, mostly carrot chips and frozen stuff, not to mention the piles of fruit, all the sugar free jello, 3 cups of my jambalaya mix, etc, etc. I can also tell my blood sugar is shot ALL to hell from all of the starches, but it was probably all better for me than if I had gone nuts with a bag of chocolate (what I really wanted to do).

Meh, at least I have learned something: It's not WHAT I eat that is my problem, it's HOW MUCH of it I eat that causes me the difficulties. Right about double my normal calories for a day and quite a bit of cheese, too. Then again, this isn't really "news" but I did feel like I needed to reconfirm it.

Well, I guess according to a lot of weight loss theories, I should have "kick started my metabolism by zapping it" or something like that, but the bad part is; I could still eat. Luckily for me, I'm sleepy now ;)

I wonder what the total fallout is going to be from today's calories; I measured myself last night and this morning and I was at 54 inches for my waist.

Sorry if I missed anyone today, I'll check back later.
 
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Hi Qjay! My internet is fixed! :D

:) Thanks for the positive thoughts in the ether. I needed them! :)

It's good to see you're getting into the healthy snacks!

Congrats on fitting into the too tight chair!!
 
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Glad to see you back, Felici!

Sandwich (400)
Grapes (300)
Mock Jambalaya (900)
Veggies (300) I ate a LOT of veggies.
Potatoes (250)
Smoked Tofu (100)
Cereal (250)

So... somewhere around 2500 calories for yesterday.
It could definitely be worse.
 
Thanks, Michelle! Having people drop by and say hello helps keep me honest here.

Felici, I did go over on a couple of days, but I figure I am eating a lot less than previously, so I'm in pretty good shape. Speaking of which, I made the change to my waist measurement official today :D
If a few days of relatively sedentary overeating isn't going to to make me swell up, I'm keeping the 54, darn it. I've been there for about a week now, I just wanted to be sure before I changed it.

Today was a kind of rushed set of meals:
2 Sandwiches (850)
Bean Threads and Veggies with Chicken (750)
and if I get hungry before I sleep, I'm having some grapes.
Not much time for food, but it has been a good time so far.
 
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