Snacks

I know that I should just resist the urge to snack but I can't seem to do it lately. What kind of snacks are you all eating right now? I'm 8 months post op and still trying to get to goal but I'm missing fruit big time. What are everyone's thoughts on freeze dried berries? I have a bag of raspberries that have absolutely nothing added to them. Does this seem like an ok snack to have? I'm going crazy over here trying to stay on track. It took everything I had in me to not buy the puffed rice rolls at Costco yesterday. They're only 50 calories per roll and I almost justified it but was able say no. Getting sick of yogurt and Parmesan crisps though and I think I need more fiber anyway. Thoughts? Ideas?

I eat lots of fruit, but I (mostly) stay away from dried fruit. If you are going to eat it, eat the real thing as when you suck out all the water it is much more calorie/sugar dense. You will probably experience a much greater degree of fullness from whole, fresh fruit and end up consuming a lot fewer calories.

The freeze dried berries are different from dehydrated fruit so I think the sugar content isn't as bad. They're light and crisp instead of sticky and heavy like dehydrated fruit. Eating fresh berries would be more filling though, very good point.

I actually think freeze dried would be even more calories dense than regular "dried" fruit as more of the water is removed (hence being crispy as opposed to chewy). And I should say, I assume any of this is no sugar added.

Per MFP:

8 oz of fresh strawberries are 73 calories and 11g of sugar (I personally do not worry about sugar when it is part of natural fruit - I would never eat a snack with 11g of refined sugar)

8 oz of freeze dried strawberries are 794 calories and 181g of sugar

I would hope you wouldn't plan on eating 8 oz of freeze dried strawberries, of course! My point is just that it is really easy to consume a lot of calories in freeze dried fruit. You could eat an entire pound of strawberries for only 146 calories, and that would be quite a lot of food!

The nutrition facts for the ones that I have are 100 calories for 1 oz (1.5 servings per bag which has lasted me over a week since I only have a tiny bit at a time) , the carbs and sugar are a little higher than I'd like them to be, but if I plan for them it still works with what I'm trying to stay in limit (for 1 oz there's carbs at 23g, sugar at 17g), and 2g of protein. The only ingredient is organic freeze dried raspberries, nothing added at all. Do you think this is still too much? Should I only be eating fresh berries at this point? I really want to get to goal so if I need to kick them to the curb then I will.

At the end of the day, it really comes down to calories, so if you're happy with them and can control your intake, you're probably fine. I always prefer fresh fruit as I still think it packs a bigger bang for the buck. For example, an ounce of fresh raspberries are 52 calories and 1g of sugar.

Eating 1.5 ounces (and 100 calories) of a snack over the course of a week is certainly not going to hurt you or slow your weight loss.

There are a lot of different opinions on fruit, but I am a big believer in incorporating them into my diet. The sugar in fruit does not have any negative effects for me (as opposed to refined sugar which results in reactive hypoglycemia episodes). They are relatively low in calories, and they come packed full of a ton of phytonutrients. They are also allowed, and encouraged, on my surgeons plan.

The fact that I eat a ton of fruits and vegetables makes my diet a bit different than many WLS patients. And it's anecdotal, but I only take a Centrum multi vitamin and an Iron supplement, and my bloodwork is fantastic. While I never criticize anyone for their diets or choosing what works for them, I do sometimes wonder if people who eat meat as the vast majority of their diet have to supplement a lot more than those that include copious amounts of fruits and vegetables

personally Mandi I think these stats are HORRIBLE!

1oz = 100 calories, 23 grams of carbs, 17 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein?? NO WAY!

Today alone I will only be eating 25 carbs for the WHOLE DAY, you are getting 23 carbs for 1oz. WOW

So I personally am VERY carb & sugar sensitive. If I ate those I would be CRAVING more carbs & more sugar ALL THE TIME. Eat them up or give them away and don't buy them again. If you must have fruit, go for fresh.

I will never knowingly eat something that has only 2 grams of protein and that high of carbs & sugar when I was trying to lose weight. I am just giving you my two cents here but this is why you are still getting wicked carb/sugar cravings.

You are self sabotaging with stats like that

Ok, then they're not on the menu anymore lol. I'm still trying to figure out what I can and can't eat. My surgeon never gave me any guidance and I'm scared to go see a nutritionist because I'm sure they'll tell me I should be eating grains and more types of fruit and so on. This is pretty much me doing trial and error here.

So grateful to have everyone's input. It's way more helpful than anything else.

I did freeze dried berries in the winter. Prefer the real thing, though when they are so great right now.

you need to really watch portions with freeze dried as they are easy to over eat. I would weigh them as opposed to measure them.

hey Mandi,

finding WLS appropriate snacks can be difficult, I totally agree.

I think you need to think outside the box of "snacks."

Any food can be made into a snack. It just wrapping your head around it. Here are some of my snacks, feel free to try some!

• Deviled eggs
• 2 strips of bacon on top of a tomato slice with salt & pepper and a tiny bit of mayo (open face bacon & tomato sandwich without the bread)
• grilled kielbasa
• vanilla yogurt with either fresh raspberries, they are really expensive here so I have switched to SF (sugar free) raspberry jam swirled in
• peanuts, almonds, cashews (or your fav nuts)
• peanut butter on celery
• hummus with bell pepper used as dippers
• jerky (beef, chicken, pork, bacon)
• meat sticks - JB turned me on to a brand called "Chomps" got them at Trader Joes, so YUMMY
• cheese sticsks
• protein pudding
• SF popsicles
• leftovers from dinner can be used as snacks. If you have leftover steak measure out 3-4 oz and have your fav bbq sauce and use that as a snack
• chicken strips measured out can be a snack with your fav dipping sauce
• Emiepie's egg salad
• laughing cow cheese on cucumbers/peppers
• meat roll ups, my fav is deli turkey meat with swiss cheese and mustard

If you have not already made your way over to the "World According to Egg face" she has so many sweet or savory snack and meal ideas that are protein forward and WLS friendly, I used her website a lot when I was first post op, love her stuff.

Good luck it gets better. Glad you did not get the rice rolls, anyway you slice it, rice is rice whether its in a cracker a roll or as it, its should not be on your menu if you are looking to lose weight.

Look at the other menu posters what they use as snacks, lots of variety there too, good luck!