BigSlice Spouts Off
Elizabeth asks:
So, I've been trying to limit myself to around 1400 calories a day, and I'm okay with breakfast and lunch, but if I eat a 400 calorie dinner at 6:30, then by 9:00 I am STARVING. I just want to shovel everything in the kitchen into my mouth. I try eating a big salad with a drizzle of lowfat dressing with my salad, but it doesn't help! Any suggestions?
Actually, I've got some suggestions! Go me!
The thing about eating a salad for dinner is this...your body is pretty efficient at processing raw fruits and veggies, so they won't stay with you as well as other food options for the night. Does your salad include protein and/or some sort of good oil? Olive oil? Almonds? Egg or Chicken breast? Beans?
My question for you is this: are you REALLY starving? Or are you accustomed to snacking at night, and feeling deprived? Because while you can have a really good meal for 400 calories, you have to plan smart, and watch those portion sizes so you get good bang for your buck.
This is one of the areas that The Fat Fallacy really gets right. If you are consuming a giant salad in one sitting, you're going to stretch your stomach out with all that roughage, which will pass right through you in a few hours, and leave you feeling hungry. If you slow down and eat small portions over, say, an hour, and include something with some fat and protein in it, it will stay with you, and the hunger won't sneak up on you. Will Clower suggests finishing a meal with a slice of cheese or small square of chocolate.
I personally like to have a cup of tea during those evening hours where I used to snack.
Try shaking up your evening routine a bit, and see if you are really hungry. Instead of cruising through the kitchen at 9 PM, find another destination. Go check and see if your eyebrows could use a tweeze. Check on the kids. Whatever. If you are truly hungry, snack on something small - a handful of raw almonds. A slice of cheese. Half an apple. Choose something that passes the healthy test, and you won't have any guilt later.
Some 400 calorie meals:
A small grilled chicken breast, 1/2 cup steamed brown rice and 1 cup cooked veggies
6 scallops sauteed in 1 tbsp butter over 1/2 cup spinach pasta with a salad
1/2 avocado stuffed with 1/2 cup shrimp salad over a bed of lettuce and sliced peppers
Small steak served with an ear of corn and watermelon
Baked sweet potato topped with 1/2 cup chili and small salad
Really, if you keep your portions small, you can make almost any of your favorite foods into 'diet' foods. It isn't always about lo-cal substitutes or fat-free options. It is about eating smaller, and eating smarter.
Comments
Jenny, thanks for answering my question like this, but would you do me a favor? I didn't mean to type that I eat a big salad with my SALAD, I meant to say I eat a big salad with my DINNER!! Ooops! So, for example, last night I had two cups of mixed greens with a tablespoon of shredded cheddar, drizzled with two tablespoons of lowfat dressing (35 cals for 2 Tbsp), plus about two ounces of roasted chicken breast and some steamed green peas. That should have been enough, right? And yet I still felt hungry later that night, and it really was hunger, not just boredom. Next time I'll try cutting up half an apple into thin slices and eating each one slowly, see if that takes care of it.
P.S. I know it would be better to make my own salad dressing with olive oil and vinegar instead of preservative-filled commercial dressing.
Posted by: Elizabeth | June 13, 2007 6:42 PM