Cooking For Engineers

[sweetpea]

Is anybody else here on a diet? I have been trying to cut out most processed sugars from my diet. But its hard to stop eating sweets all together. So I got some of those sugar-free jell-o cups and some diet sodas. Those always hit the spot. But Im wondering if you guys have any ideas? What kinds of snacks do you guys like?

[MeganAmyH]

Why not try dried fruits? A lot of them are findable in non-sugar added varieties.

My main staple on this diet has been chocolate. Not a lot, mind you, just a small handful of good quality chocolate chips. A small single handful, adminstered daily, has really been the sanity saver.

[GaryProtein]

[Guest]

[GaryProtein]

If you are on a diet, eat vegetables, not fruit. Vegetables are composed of complex carbohydrates, not simple sugars and they are harder for the body to metabolize, meaning it takes longer than sugar and is less readily converted into fat and your body will more readily make use of its existing fat for fuel than foods you eat that it has to digest first. The glycemic index tells what happens to your blood sugar, but any type of sugar in your diet (or alcohol for that matter, which is metabolized as sugar, and at 7 kcal per gram) will ruin a weight reducing diet.

Oh, yeah, I don't know how the "Carb" unit got started, but it is a total joke and a fraud. Count REAL grams of REAL carbohydrates, not "carbs" which is a unit food manufacturers have dreamed up to make people think they are eating less carbohydrates than they really are. The fact that many people talk about "carbs" when they really mean carbohydrates, has made it easier for food manufacturers to perpetuate this fraud.

carbohydrate 3.8 kcal/gram
protein 4 kcal/gram
alcohol 7 kcal/gram
fat 9 kcal/gram

The bottom line is, if you want to lose weight rapidly and have a nutritous diet while you do it, eat non-starchy vegetables, fish and poultry. It is also important to stay well hydrated-that also helps you feel full. It doesn't matter what you drink as long as it doesn't have calories.

[www.powertolife.com]

Have you tried drinking natural fruit drinks (like home made smoothies)as a substitute for processed sugars? They contain natural sugars from fruits, and a great energy boost.

[GaryProtein]

[eltonyo]

[Guest]

I tried so many diets until now and nothing really worked wonders on me. I stopped eating after 6 pm and I cut out some of the sweets. Of course, I don't eat bread anymore but otherwise I eat anything else I want. I got myself a hobby and started by cleaning all appliance parts in my house, washing the car more than usual, cleaning the closets when I feel I want something sweet. I lost a few pounds already.

[guest]

nearly all carbohydrates (though not cellulose) are turned to glucose, even table sugar (a bonded glucose-fructose disaccharide) and fructose. And there are sugars in vegetables, especially white potatoes and carrots (have a look on the GI). What you want on a diet is excersize, and slow release carbohydrates eaten with fats and proteins.

Look at a diabetic's diet sheet, they are what to aim for.

[Guest]

I tried to quit eating sweets but I sometimes weak up in the middle of the night, run to the fridge and eat all the chocolate I can find. I even tried not buying chocolate but I always do thinking my kids will eat it.
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