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One thing I have going for me, I don't like sweets. I'm a "salt person." I'm never tempted to eat sweet desserts (or desserts of any kind). I use sugar in cooking occasionally, it seems to temper acidity. A small quantity of sugar lasts an extremely long time in my pantry, so long that I would worry about shelf life if I didn't know that its shelf life is probably indefinite as long as you keep it dry.
As I type, and consume today's breakfast, the banana seems disgustingly sweet to me, so much that I'm considering throwing away the last one. I'll happily accept suggestions of a different fruit to serve with cereal and milk.
I don't care for sweets either. Pretty rare for me to eat any dessert type food.
If you like berries they would be good in cereal and I consider them a power food.
Less calories & carbs than a banana.
One problem I have with many "good on cereal" fruits is shelf life. I'm single and there are many examples of fruits that have more servings than days of shelf life. If I can find fresh enough strawberries and handle them extremely carefully I can sometimes get them to last until I've consumed them all.
I can't get raspberries to last more than 2 days.
This is why I'm considering giving up cereal, because of the fruit shelf life / serving size problem. I think the cereal itself and the 2% milk are not such a big problem.
One problem I have with many "good on cereal" fruits is shelf life. I'm single and there are many examples of fruits that have more servings than days of shelf life. If I can find fresh enough strawberries and handle them extremely carefully I can sometimes get them to last until I've consumed them all.
I can't get raspberries to last more than 2 days.
This is why I'm considering giving up cereal, because of the fruit shelf life / serving size problem. I think the cereal itself and the 2% milk are not such a big problem.
I have that problem too, so I buy frozen berries. Usually blueberries, sometimes mixed. They're supposed to be as nutritious if not more so than fresh.
The only cereal I've found to meet my standards is Fiber One Original. 60 calories, 1g fat, 25g carbs with 0g sugar and 14g fiber and 2g protein. Wish there was more protein, but the 0 sugar makes this one the best for me.
Is it delicious? No. But it's not awful either. I don't add sweetener of any kind not even fake stuff. I'll often eat it with just almond milk (the 35 calorie/cup version) but it is better with fruit.
I think tracking macro nutrients is a drag and mostly a wasted exercise. I've kept everything at the calorie level and done remarkably well.
Also, carbohydrates aren't bad for you, complex carbohydrates are, the ones us humans like to make from multiple sources. Banana's are an excellent food choice, regardless of its carbs/sugar content. When your diet construction starts looking suspiciously at things like bananas, you've probably taken things a bit too far.
While I don't agree with the strategy, I've always appreciated how Weight Watchers incents its participants to enjoy produce without penalty; it steers hungry people towards better options than something Nabisco et al offer. If your weight loss success/failure is distilled down to your eating too many fruits and vegetables, you're probably thin enough already.
I echo the others with eating berries with your cereal. I eat oatmeal, and I put blueberries in it when they are available.
I stopped eating bananas because of the sugar content. Getting the blood sugar down is the whole point of this exercise for me.
Because I don't eat meat, it's a little trickier. I do eat some fish, may their scaly little spirits forgive me. But plant protein comes packaged with carbs.
I think if you're hungry, beyond the normal, "Hey, it's time for lunch" sort of hunger, you're not doing something right.
Just about anyone can skip some meals or only eat 1,200 (or fewer) calories and lose weight, but it won't stay off! You can do a lot of damage to your body with yo-yo dieting.
Instead, either meet with a certified nutritionist or research for yourself how to create meals that will maintain your body at a healthy weight for you, as well as a "lifetime" exercise program that you can do as you age. These meals will not be "boring" and need not be expensive: you can learn to prepare whatever veggies are in season, for example. There's also no reason to knock yourself out at a gym for many hours each week, unless you are training to be a Ninja Warrior or something like that.
I don't skip meals or eat only 1200 calories for that matter, but as I said earlier in the thread, there are hungryish times during the day every day. Not ravenous hunger, slight hunger.
I think tracking macro nutrients is a drag and mostly a wasted exercise. I've kept everything at the calorie level and done remarkably well.
Also, carbohydrates aren't bad for you, complex carbohydrates are, the ones us humans like to make from multiple sources. Banana's are an excellent food choice, regardless of its carbs/sugar content. When your diet construction starts looking suspiciously at things like bananas, you've probably taken things a bit too far.
While I don't agree with the strategy, I've always appreciated how Weight Watchers incents its participants to enjoy produce without penalty; it steers hungry people towards better options than something Nabisco et al offer. If your weight loss success/failure is distilled down to your eating too many fruits and vegetables, you're probably thin enough already.
I find counting macros unless I have a medical condition to be a drag too and really not necessary. Judging by my lab results, I don't really need to knock myself out.
I also refuse to consume anything that I don't really like. Unsweetened almond milk is probably the blandest beverage I ever had the displeasure of drinking. You're basically drinking water with a weird hint of an aftertaste. Yuck.
Truth is few people fail at dieting due to overconsumption of fruit.
Thank you everybody for the frozen berries idea (or other frozen fruit as long as it's unsweetened). I'll check it out next time at market.
The almond milk not so much. I seem to do fine on 2% milk, and it doesn't seem to incur too many dietary liabilities. As far as the Fiber One, it sounds more like sawdust than cereal. Again I don't think my Kashi incurs too many liabilities. I still don't know why they have to sweeten it. People can adjust sweetness of morning cereal with adding sugar, just like you salt foods to taste for dinner.
It's just that the bananas taste too cloyingly sweet unless I eat them before they can convert to that much sugar as they ripen. I really dislike sweet food, and this afternoon I've realized I just can't face eating that last banana tomorrow.
I too dislike tracking macro ingredients, it's such a bore. That's why I like to stick with tried and proven meals. You would think I'd get bored with same thing all the time but I don't. My main variation is at dinner. I eat Lean Cuisine part of the time, and more often I just cook my own food.
Cooking my own is much simpler. I make my protein selection (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp) and avoid fatty proteins, I know how much protein to cook (4-5 oz. serving). Vegetables no big problem since for example how could you eat too much broccoli? Starches are easily recognizable (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, etc.) and I just limit serving size. The fewer starches I eat the less I like them. I can tell a healthy meal as I assemble the ingredients, and know everything that goes into my home cooked meal. The portion sizes are exactly perfect for me, particularly since I've downsized all my menus.
One thing I think most of us can agree upon is that you have to find some middle ground or compromise where you limit and balance your food intake without ending up some unpalatable mixture of plastic/sawdust and some indefinable liquid. You can't stick with your diet if you get zero enjoyment from the food. If it reaches that point you might just as well just go on an IV drip and skip food entirely. (Kidding.)
Since I made some fairly large changes a couple weeks ago it take a few more weeks for me to discover if I've left my dratted plateau. I never before wanted to lose weight so much that I'd reduce my alcohol intake to near zero. That's got to make some kind of difference.
My vegan daughter makes pea protein shakes with almond milk and frozen berries. I have them occasionally lately but used fresh blueberries and cherries because I had them available.
It doesn't really replace a meal, but it holds me for a little while.
Vegetables are easy. I like anything but turnips.
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