i have asked the same question in many forms and it seems as though i get different responses. i am doing the pp plan and my question concerns snacks.

first, are we allowed to have nuts (pistachios, almonds) as a snack. should i be eating the nuts with a piece of fruit?

second, are we allowed peanut butter for a snack? preferably on an apple (1/2)?

breakfast is easy: just eat eggs (maybe add some cheese or meat)

lunch is easy: just eat a salad with protein (chicken,turkey)

dinner is easy: protein with some vegis

its the snacks that i am having a difficult time with.

let me know if i am doing the snack thing right:

a.m. snack: a few strawberries
afternoon snack: handful of almonds and a tangerine
p.m. snack: 1/2 apple with peanut butter on it

help!! thanks so much. i love this web site.

I've placed all your questions and the answers to your questions in this reply just in case you've missed them.

What you are allowed to eat and not eat is up to you. You make up your own rules within low-carb guidelines. Some people don't eat peanut butter or peanuts, but if you want to, you can. Some people eat dairy, some don't.

I don't eat peanut butter, but that's because I've decided that it's not part of my program and I would rather use my carbs on vegetables instead of snacks. Everyone has their own rules.

__________________________________________

Question: I heard macadamian nuts and almonds are the best. My question is how many am i allowed to have at a time? also. are pistachios o.k.? i heard cashews are really bad. any info. on peanuts will be helpful. and another question? how do peanuts fit into the program?

Answer: How many you can eat depends upon how many carbs you want to eat in a day and whether or not nuts stall you.

There is a carb counter in Low Carb Tools in the orange bar, top of the page. It will give you the carb counts for different varieties of nuts.

Question: I understand we are suppose to be eating a lot of protein but my question is:

if i eat a piece of fruit for a snack (of course, a low carb fruit) - do i have to eat protein with it or can i eat it alone?

Answer: best to eat protein with it to moderate the insulin effect (re-read your chapter in PP on insulin for more info)

Question: so for example, if i eat a half of an apple or a tangerine, or some strawberries - should i eat peanuts or peanut butter with it?

Answer: Nope! Peanuts are a legume, not a nut. A better choice would be a piece of cheese.

Question: a legume? i thought we are allowed to eat pistachios, almonds, etc. i also thought peanut butter is allowed because it is high in protein. am i totally wrong?

Answer: As Karen pointed out, peanuts are not really nuts - they are legumes which is basically the bean family. So whether you can eat almonds and other nuts has no bearing on whether you can eat peanuts.

Although peanuts have a pretty low glycemic index, they do contain considerable carbohydrates - about 18% by weight. So you can probably eat them but be sure to include the carbs in your daily totals - don't let them become a major source of hidden carbs.

Karen

Nuts are acceptable during phase 1 and 2 of PP. Be sure to account for the carbs. In PPLifeplan, the Eades recommend that you choose raw, unprocessed nuts, and either eat them raw or toast them at home. Commercial nuts are often roasted in partially hydrogenated oils.

You're allowed 10g ECC per meal, or 7g ECC per meal if you have planned a snack that contains carbs, and ECC per snack is limited to 5g. Half a small apple (2.75 inches diam.) has 11g carb/1.8g fiber ... so 9.2g ECC. That might fit with a meal if no snack is planned, and absolutely no other carb is eaten. There's too many carbs to be acceptable as a snack.

Peanuts are not true nuts, they're legumes. They are starchier and carbier than nuts such as almonds. Since we've already determined that apples are very carby in their own right, adding the carbs in peanut butter won't work. Peanut butter itself is fine as a snack, 2 Tbsp has 5g ECC. You might have it spread on a stalk of celery instead.

Minimum protein requirements are spelled out clearly on pp 92 - 97. For sedentary women, the minimum is 60g per day, divided between the meals. More may be consumed, and snacks, if eaten, should have some protein. There's 6g protein in one large egg. In order to meet the 20g per-meal requirement, you must supplement your 1 or 2 whole eggs with more egg whites, or meat or cheese or tofu in order to bring the protein content up. Check the charts on p 154. Two eggs is not enough.Lets add up the carbs -

• a few strawberries - 3/4 cup = 5g ECC
  
  handful of almonds and a tangerine - 1 oz almonds / 2g ECC + small tangerine / 9.5g ECC = 11.5g ECC
  
  1/2 apple with peanut butter on it - 14g ECC

5 + 9.5 + 14 = 28.5g ECC

Hmmm ... since your day's allowance is 30g ECC you've basically used it up just in snacks. 3 eggs would put you over the limit.

pp 158 through 168 of Protein Power is an extensive listing of foods, fruits, grains, vegetables and their ECC, grouped conveniently in 5g increments. I suggest you use the book, and the menu and snack guidelines that are clearly written there. YOu won't go wrong

Doreen

5

thanks so much for your feedback. it still seems so confusing to me. maybe i should read the book again or get the new one - PP Lifeplan.

I am one of those people who is stuck in the idea of having 6 small meals. the problem is i think i am messing up because of the snacks (in between meals.)

can you give me some ideas of snacks that won't put me over my limit. and please include how to combine carbs and protein in snacks. if i am suppose to eat protein with carbs then how do i have a snack that contains both without putting me over my limit?
am i making sense?

thanks.

6 small meals doesn't sound like a problem. What you are EATING for those six meals may be a problem. Could you help us by posting yesterday's meals & snacks? (I am impressed that you have *time* for snacks with 6 meals! Could it be that you are not getting enough fat in your meals, and are thus hungry soon after?

i can tell you today's meals because i made a few adjustments after going back to my pp book last night.

breakfast: 1 egg and 2 egg whites

a.m. snack: 1 oz. of cheese

lunch: salad with protein (turkey)

afternoon snack: handful of almonds and about 5 strawberries

dinner: chicken breast and broccoli

p.m. snack: celery with peanut butter (no sugar added)

**before i would eat strawberries for a.m. snack, tangerine and handful of almonds for afternoon snack and peanut butter on 1/2 apple for p.m. snack.

thanks for your help... how does that all sound?

also there was free pizza brought into work today which i did not touch - shouldn't i lose 5 pounds just for saying "no"

ha ha ha

If not that, you get an extra 5 pounds of lean muscle willpower! Well done! I'm new here too, and still trying to figure out how the quoting works, so please forgive the jumble. Did you do the protin requirement calculation on pages 92-95? your protein looks really scanty, and not much good fat (Check a few pages further, pages 101-103)
A few people have mentioned ditching peanut (legume) butter, which can be replaced by almond (nut) butter (100% ground almonds)
Good luck!
Kipling

JoAnne, Hi. My doctor aprrove of it and even wrote a prescribtion while in the hospital for my low carb WOE. The dietian had to come and ask me what food I could have but only the last day of my hospital visit. So for one solid week I ate very little. I even had friends bring in hamburgers and cheese sticks. My sister just had triple bi-pass surgery and she went on Atkins in Dec.01 and her doctor is so please with her blood reports that she has started recommending it for other patients. So, let your bloodwork show how this WOE/WOL is working for you and he/she will finally be convince.
Donna

JoAnn in Texas . . . Great information here! Thanks for the original post. It's been hard for me to remember all of the differences, too.

Re: the doctor . . . My doctor also said NO. And, that affected my ability to stay on the eating plan. For 3 years I have been on and off. The first time on for 8 mos, I lost a small amount of weight and then gained back twice as much. Since then, I have been on and off trying all of the varieties, and I have been gradually losing. This past year, I have lost 18 lbs.

I have added some exercise and walking. I feel so much better. For me, what works best is protein, green vegs, some whole grain and fruit.

A recent experience I had is that I no longer look forward to the time off, I consider it an interruption that I don't like. It doesn't feel good.

I'm not a big cook, but I have learned to make some rather creative dishes that I like. Even desserts.

The best part is that over the years, I have reduced my cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure. Yes, I am taking drugs to assist, but so was I before. My triglycerides have gone from 617 to 219. What a drop! That makes sense because they are a result of carbs. My cholesterol has dropped from 280 to 230. My blood pressure is now perfect.

So, I'm not doing anything perfectly, but I am getting healthier. I feel better. I can tie my shoes without throwing up from the pressure.

I can now remember the active, energetic person that I was.

EveLee

Congrats on your progress - I am also happy to be able to dothe shoe-lace tieing thing - andI can see the weight onthe scales without looking like the leaning tower of pizza.

Glad to hear about your blood results - surely your doctor will be having second thoughts about his views???

You may like to read my poem in the main forum. "The diet that none can beat!"

keep on keeping on.

Hi . . . Thanks for your kind words. I am just so grateful for improved health and functioning.

It has recently occurred to me that I have a choice between healing my mind and maintaining a symptomatic body. I just think the two are so connected.

I started to get cranial-sacral therapy. It's a healing of the energy of our body, specifically, the chakras. This is so exciting. It is triggering a lot of old memories and stirring up my unfinished emotional issues. But, this is good because it gives me a chance to heal around them.

My throat has been such a site of difficulty. Psychics have told me over the years there is a message that needs to be spoken. Then, the therapist for the cranial work said there is great blockage in the area of the throat.

Since getting these treatments, the sun shines brighter. I am speaking things that need to be said. Don't get me wrong; I have always said more than anyone else. But, somehow, this different. I don't feel like I'm an instigator, I feel like I'm freeing myself from my own personal prison.

A friend said to me, you can grow a halo or you can grow a tumor. Which do you choose? I think I want the halo.

Anyway, thanks for listening. Good luck to you, also.

Yes, thumbs up to the h alo!!

JoAnn, my doctor actually SUGGESTED I try Atkins (or similar plan) on January 2, 2003. I was concerned because I was afraid it would be bad for my kidneys, afraid of all that fat, etc., the same old rap we hear from everybody. She suggested that she monitor my labs and that I go ahead and try it.

This LC WOE seemed like my only solution, since both of my parents (and sibling) are insulin dependent and my mom had to go through the diabetic descent into cardiac-related disabilty, blindness, kidney failure, and death because I believe she had the same problem of insulin resistance early on that I do now. Unfortunately, she just kept trying to do better at the low-fat, high carb diet until she died last year. I wish she'd had access to the LC solution offered to us.

Three weeks after seeing my doctor I've read 3 books on LC eating, bought several cookbooks, found GREAT support on this site, and lost 7 pounds as a great start to my LC journey. Most importantly, I have no cravings, no chasing insulin crashes with sugar, and for the first time in my life I feel only mildly interested in food. This is a miracle for me. I walked 7 miles yesterday and worked out at the gym and had energy to spare.

The more I read in both the scientific journals and in the popular press LC books, I've become utterly convinced that hyperinsulinemia is my underlying problem (this is supported by my own blood glucose monitoring). Wish I'd understood that 20 years ago, but I'm glad I understand it now.

I think I never would have tried LC unless my physician suggested it. I was so thoroughly indoctrinated with the low-fat, high-carb dogma that my mind was not open to LC eating at all.


Lucky me. Lucky us.

I was in the hospital recently. My doctor and GI Specialist both worked with me to keep me on Atkins. The DIETARY DEPT came up to talk to me about my diet and allowed me to order as close to Atkins as I could.

It was a good experience.

Here some nice little story about the attitude of docs to low carb:
I've always had borderline high blood-pressure and although not VERY active last summer I walked to work every day (20 minutes one way), but ate 'normal' veggy food and A LOT of sugar stuff.
Then I twisted my ankle and was barely able to walk for about 8 weeks.
Decided to try to eat some more protein and cut down on the carbs.
Went to the doc to get a check up on my ankle and the bloodpressure.
Which was FINE for the first time in a long while.
Told the doc about the low carb and she flipped and said: 'only excercise will reduce bloodpressure'. I only pointed to my busted ankle and my crutches....