SBD, Costco, and general carb mourning

[mamahill]

So I made the foray into Costco's produce section today armed with an empty cart and list. The only unfortunate thing was that at my Costco you have to walk past the bakery to get to produce. Damn the person in charge of the layout! I even ate a big ol' snack before I went, so I wouldn't be going on an empty stomach. Everything looked so good (muffins, turnovers, french bread, garlic bread, pies - sheesh this is stuff I don't even ever buy - but today I wanted it sooooo bad!) and I began to tear up... ok, maybe not THAT bad, but still!

So I bought my veggies galore and found refrigerator space for it all, but I was wondering if you chop a bunch of veggies for the next few days, or if you do it the morning of? I have that big bag of 6 bell peppers and was wondering if I'd be more inclined to munch on them if they were already sliced. But I don't want the taste to suffer.

Those veggie quiche cups need more egg (I just may modify them myself. harumph), and seriously, TWO for breakfast?! Well of COURSE I'm hungry two hours later. Try half an hour later!

The rosemary salmon was quite tasty and I bought me 4 lbs of the stuff at Costco for the next week or two. Honestly, though, I didn't think NOT eating carbs would be this hard.

twelvedaystwelvedaystwelvedaystwelvedaystwelvedays ...

[egoldber]

LOL! It gets better, honestly! And I can truly say now that I don't miss a lot of that stuff.

But for lettuce, I usually chop up two heads of the Costco romaine at a time, spin it in the salad spinner and put that in the refrigerator for a couple days. It takes us about a week to go through the 6 pack of romaine.

I don't chop up other veggies ahead of time, but that's a good idea. You can definitely chop up peppers, celery, etc. They would keep for at least a day and maybe even 2.

And honestly, I pretty much only eat omelettes or scrambled eggs for breakfast. And canadian bacon or turkey bacon. The other breakfasts just don't work for me. Occasionally I'll go wild and have a whole wheat English muffin with a fried egg. Mmmmmmmmm.....

[phirey]

I've been on it since Friday and had a similar shopping experience the other day! I was crabby as $%^& the first couple of days but I'm actually doing better...I don't know if I've just not been spending as much time DREAMING about carbs since I've been really busy at work or what.

I haven't been following the menus, though. I had heard how awful the veggie quiche cups were, so I've skipped them altogether. And those ricotta things? Blecccch! And forget portion control. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not eating a ton of stuff, but I'm not letting myself starve.

FWIW I lost 4 pounds from Friday to Monday!

tendaystendaystendaystendaysten days!

[egoldber]

LOL! Now I feel compelled to defend the ricotta desserts! :) If texture is the problem, try using the blender. And you should NOT be hungry, so eat until you are full. Postion control doesn't start coming into play until Phase 2 and 3.

HTH,

[mamahill]

Well that's good, because tonight I ate about 2 gallons of salad with chicken. And now I'm hungry. And Costco didn't have ricotta. oh well. Suck it up, I guess. Or maybe I'll go chop some veggies for tomorrow.

I think I will just have scrambled eggs or omlettes for breakfast (seriously, who's having the artichokes benedict?!). For me they're less hassle and better-tasting. Any reason why it has to be canadian or turkey bacon?

I've got to say that I am pretty crabby come about 4-5 in the afternoon. I never knew how much I depended on that square of Lindt chocolate. i WILL prevail, though. I keep saying, "I can do anything for 2 weeks."

[Annette_C]

LOL! You can do it, Sarah!
I agree with Beth that it gets much better in phase 2 but phase 1 is doable. Try not to think of what you can't have....sometimes, it's all psychological.
What I also find helpful is that there are so many low-carb products available now that you can cheat without doing damage (but wait for phase 2 for that). I've found loads of cookies, breads, muffins, etc. that are very good. You do have to try a few different brands, though, before you find one you like. I found that Trader Joe's whole wheat spaghetti (phase 2 again)is delicious!! You never thought you'd hear that from an Italian, did you?!?:)
Now, to answer your question, I clean and cut my veggies as I need them. Many times, I find the ready cut salad mixes on sale (buy 1 get 2 free at BigY) and use those. Otherwise, I buy the 6 heads of romaine like Beth. My Costco also carries little sweet peppers (red, yellow and orange) that are so good! I also use zucchini and eggplant a lot to make "ciambotta" (which is an italian dish made by sauteing chopped onion in a little olive oil, adding chopped tomatoes and the diced zucchini and eggplant, salt and pepper to taste, cook 'till tender and finish with some fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese).
DH and I are not big breakfast or lunch eaters so I haven't experimented much with those recipes. My savior for a quick breakfast/snack is my egg&cheese bread. It's filling, deliciuos and allowed!:)

BTW...to those of you who commented on it, I have to defend the ricotta dessert also. If you like cannoli, you'll enjoy it but if you don't, you won't. Don't be afraid to experiment to your liking (within guidelines) and you'll be surprised at the results!:)
Annette
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02

[cinrein]

I'm on day 4 of SBD. Days 1 and 2 were horrible, especially around 3-4 in the afternoon. Yesterday was better, though I did go to the gym around that time frame so maybe that helped. I truly felt like some kind of sugar addict going thru withdrawal. Thank goodness I've never been addicted to alcohol or cigarrettes.

I like the ricotta cremes too! I really thought I would hate them, but it's good. Maybe I'm just so desperate for a dessert that I'll eat anything at this point! I never liked cannoli either.


Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

[egoldber]

If you're still REALLY hungry, drink some water. If you're still hungry after that, eat a few nuts, like maybe 5 almonds. I am amazed at what 5 almonds can do for me now!

And my salads are HUGE. A typical one is probably 2-3 cups of chopped lettuce, 1/2 cucumber, 1/4 pepper, 1 medium tomato, 2 mushrooms, and THEN the protein and a small sprinkling of grated cheese. And the 2 tablespoons of dressing, of which I enjoy every last drop! :)

And I know you know this, but drink tons of water! It just makes a huge difference in my hunger cravings. I can always tell when I haven't been drinking enough.

I got really sick of plain water after awhile, so I started adding lime juice to it (what else am I going to do with all those limes I'm zesting for the ricotta desserts? LOL! :) ). I have also started getting sparkling water, just for a change of pace. And I have re-discovered Crystal Light lemonade. I also made my own lemonade and lime-ade (again with the juice from all those limes and lemons) and Splenda. It was really good!

I have always had a problem with evening cravings, so I have started having a cup of herb tea at night instead. It makes a difference for me.

HTH,

[lizamann]

Not really related, but I just wanted to say that I tried the hummus recipe last night. YUMMY! Better than other hummus recipes I've tried (probably because I never allowed myself enough tahini.) I skipped the onions though, because I've never used them in hummus.

Mmmm, looking forward to lunch!

I want to try the salmon, but dh doesn't really eat fish. Too bad for him!

And about the rosemary - whenever I used to buy those little packs of fresh herbs, I would waste most of it. But Agatston is rosemary-happy, and I've been using a ton of it. Kind of fun.

[mamahill]

Yeah, I have a rosemary bush, so it's getting quite the trimming!

[mamahill]

Thanks Beth - yesterday I did drink a lot more water and I felt a little better. It's weird - I'll feel ridiculously hungry, but if I distract myself, then about 15-20 mins later I'm fine.

And good point about the flavored water. I love lemon in mine, and I was wondering what you did with the limes from all that zesting:)! Good to know. Last night I had the celery stuffed with a Light Laughing Cow cheese wedge and it was pretty dang good! That cheese is fabulous, methinks.

I'll have to try the hummus. I tried a recipe a couple years ago and it turned out awful. But I'll have to try this one.