Gatorade Frost

Lately I've been trying to cut out all of the sugar in my daily eating life. Here's a break down of how things are going for me food wise -

I woke up this morning at 10 and had a small bowl of rice krispies.
Then I had a quesadilla two hours later, an apple, and a diet coke.
At 3:00 I had another small bowl of cereal to boost my blood sug ar level and a box of raisins.
-Serious blood sugar crash I think, I slept for 2 hours at that point-
7:00ish I had a small bowl of chili since that's what my friend wanted for dinner
Between 7 and 10:15 I had to fight myself to not start snacking on food - I ended up munching on some corn flakes.
Eventually at 11 I went and got a chicken caesar pita.

Now after eating the pita I'm feeling pretty good actually, but in general it's getting hard for me to control my snacking. I'm hypoglycemic so that makes things harder for me, and I'm doing what they recommend in general to keep my blood sugar at a regular level, but it's not really working.

I'm also walking an hour a day.

Are there any healthy foods that are good for energy and waking up? I don't need sugar or anything, but I mean fruits, vegetables, etc. that are good for a pick me up during the day.

After that

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I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

Bossnass

I don't know a ton about nutrition, but I think you may be going about eating to loose weight the wrong way. Cutting fat is more effective than cutting sugar. Rice krispies and corn flakes are a bit more complex carbs, but they aren't great. A 40/40/20 ratio of carbs, protien, and fat is ideal for an active person trying to loose weight.

Not enough food won't help much either; a body will go into a preservation mode instead of a burning mode. Many small meals that equal three large meals is better than a few snacks that doesn't give you enough energy to manage. Also, while fructose is better that sucrose, raisins are pretty much sugar.

Try oatmeal for breakfast instead of rice krispies. Plain if you want to cut sugar. I usually have an apple with my breakfast, which seems to wake me up. Cut the cheese out of the quesadilla and the dressing off the pita and you'd be further ahead than skimping on the breakfast and minimizing the chili.

Suave

Firstly, eating to lose weight is less effective than exercising to lose weight is. Now, as far as nutrition goes though, you look like you need a lot more protein and complex carb. Don't forget, fat is your friend as well (to a point; don't cut it out too much).

Eat something with fairly high protein content for breakfast. A decent example would be eggs and toast, with juice. The juice and toast provide some quick carbs, and the eggs give you a good protein base (as well as some fat if you eat the yolk).

Foods you can eat large amounts of (and I mean large; it's tough to overeat these, although possible):
-any vegetable
-most fruits, although less so than veggies since they do have high sugar content

Other foods to base your meals off of:
-pasta (do not overcook); pasta releases more slowly into your system than things like cereals (Rice Krispies are pretty much complete nutritional garbage, by the way) due to the gluten in them. The energy should last much longer
-dairy; acts as a fairly good source of protein and some vitamins, naturally you would want to stick with 1% milk and the like
-whole grain breads; you get much more out of these than white bread
-eggs/egg whites
-poultry or fish; both fairly low in fat, high in protein, fish provides omega3 fatty acids that everyone has a hardon for

Avoid:
-dried fruits (eg. raisins)
-candy
-dessert foods
-white grains (rice included, brown rice is decent though)
-corn/cornbread
-most cold cereals; exceptions to this are things such as Bran Flakes, All Bran, and to a lesser extent, Shreddies, Mini Wheats, etc.

-----

Other points:

Make sure you're getting vitamins, take a multi-vitamin every day. They can be very influential in your energy level.

Get some form of exercise daily, preferrably getting your heart rate up for at least 10-15 minutes. Exercise (or lack thereof) can also have a huge impact on your energy levels.

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

Gatorade Frost

College may possibly be the worst place to try to eat healthy at.

Thanks for the help, by the way. I'll do what I can with what I have.

__________________
I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

Willravel

Cutting fat, protien, or carbohydrates (sugar) out of your diet completly is dangerous. Just FYI.
How small is a small bowl of rice crispies? What kind of milk did you use? I would suggest that you have 1.5 cups of food, part rice crispies, and part fat free milk. What kind of cheese and tortilla did you use in your quesadilla? You should get fresh mozzarella, and use yellow corn tortillas. Did you say you're on a diet, and then you're drinking a diet coke? While it obviously doesn't have sugar, it's one of the least healthy things you can put into your body. Aspartame has been proven to be extremly dangerous. Chili can be extremly healthy when you make it yourself, but the canned stuff is usually pretty bad. Natural fats are alright, heavely processed fats should be avoided. A chicken ceasar pita is good, so long as it's real caesar dressing, and it's used sparingly. You shouldn't eat after 2 hours before bed.
If you're going to snack, grab fruit, veggies, or unsalted walnuts. Being on a diet does not mean going hungry. Don't starve yourself.
EXCELENT. Wanna shoot for two? Maybe make that hour an hour of basketball instead of walking.
Apple = quick energy and apetite supression. Orange = massive viral resistence and all the vitamin C you could ever want. Go down the produce isle and grab whatever catches your eye. If you're anywhere near a Jamba Juice, a juice place with some of the best smoothies in the world, go check it out. If not, I can supply you with several decent recipies that I've been perfecting over the last year or two.

An hour of walking a day might not be enough, just fyi.

Kewpie Dan

i don't know if this helps, but i did the south beach diet and lost a ton of weight, and all the while i was working pushing carts at home depot AND doing muay thai, and i really didn't feel all that tired.

give it a perusal, it might help.

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Bossnass

Not to threadjack, but my understanding is that any study that proved aspartame was bad has been completly debunked.

Willravel

Aspartame contains phenylalanine and is unsafe for those born with phenylketonuria (PKU). That's the proven part. The rest has to do with aspartame being broken down into methanol in the small intestine and converted into formaldehyde. Wikipedia can answer some of your questions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

Bossnass

PKU problems noted. The wiki article confirms that all the sources I consider reputable have stated taht aspartame has not been shown to be dangerous.

Suave

It's always a good idea to avoid the terms "proven" and "completely" when talking about scientific reliability guys.

__________________
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

nukeu666

instead of munching on cornflakes and sugar pills(raisens), switch totally to fruits like bananas/apples/grapes
they contain fructose which is a much simpler sugar and the body absorbs it quickly
cant go wrong with veggies either
always choose water(or fresh fruit juice) over aerated drinks

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Why did the Comp. Engineer get X-mas and Halloween mixed up?
Because Oct(31) == Dec(25)

Rodney

Go with natural foods, not processed one. I agree with nukeu666 about eating fruit (and also complex carbs like brown rice), but for the opposite reason: the sugars and carbs are broken down more slowly and evenly over a period of time (especially from things like bananas and rice), so your body gets an even supply of carbs over time, your blood sugar stays steady and, with steady blood sugar, you don't get as hungry.

thingstodo

This is soooo right. The 5-9 fruits and veggies thing is right on. Refined sugars are bad. If you need it, use real maple syrup, honey (produced locally will also help with allergies!), or guava syrup. None give you a glucose crash.

If man made it, don't eat it...Jack Lalane

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If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.

Stangers have the best candy.

JustJess

Right. Fresh = better, and healthier.

Avoid things with these listed: Saturated fats, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup (in almost EVERYTHING). All things in moderation. The best weight loss is Gradual. Slightly less calories per day combined with burning more calories per day = healthy weight loss.

Good luck!

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

thingstodo

If it's processed, it probably isn't good. Deli Rye Triskets are about the only processed food that is OK.

I forgot to mention previously, take good vitamins with B complex for energy. I personally like Twinlabs Dual Tabs. They are awesome, time release and have buffers to aid absorption. You take two a day so I hit one in the morning and another mid day or just before or after a workout.

__________________
If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.

Stangers have the best candy.

snowy

FIBER IS YOUR FRIEND!!! Whole grains, whole fruits and vegetables (versus processed ones), healthy fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil), and lean meats should be the cornerstones of your diet. The more fiber something has, the slower it will be digested, and the fuller you will feel, longer.

As a recent college student I relate to the diet issues you are having. Some munchie ideas: carrots, apples, oranges, salad, whole-wheat toast with natural peanut butter, cheddar cheese, air-popped popcorn. Some drink ideas: skim milk, 1 glass of wine, tea with Splenda, WATER, low-calorie sports drinks.

The idea is--don't deprive yourself, otherwise you will overeat. Find healthy alternatives to things you would normally eat. Eating on campus? Don't be afraid to grab a slice of pizza--just remember to pick the piece loaded with healthy toppings. Think about nutritional density and portion control, but don't OVERTHINK it. Sometimes you're going to have to eat something that isn't the best for you, but you can make up for it by what you eat at other times.

May I also recommend Dietpower as a wonderful diet tracking program? Search for it on download.com, it's proven to be extremely useful to me in not only tracking nutrition but also fitness.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

seizei

Great replies here already, just want to stress the main points to the OP or anyone reading for nutrition information:

- eat a BALANCE of protein, carbohydrates, and fats (40/40/20 is a good ratio respectively) throughout the day and at every meal/snack.

-eat a balanced meal or snack every 3 hours. DO NOT skip breakfast.

-reduce your refined sugar (carb) intake and replace it with complex carbs - i.e. whole grain bread, oatmeal, potatoes, leafy vegetables, etc. No candy, soft drinks, and don't gorge on fruit and fruit juices.

-avoid saturated and trans fats. Take in fat from dairy products, meat and fish, eggs, nuts, and legumes.

Nutrition is often regarded as 80% of the challenge of losing weight, but it takes the other 20% of regular exercise to see real and sustainable results

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seizei; (adv - Japanese) at the most; at best; to the utmost; as much (far) as possible. (pronounced - say-zay)

newtx

Looks like we are all on the same page. Natural unprocessed foods are the way to go. I would think an apple or banana would get you started nicely. A handful of almonds would also be a good start. If you haven't tried Smokehouse Blue Diamond almonds you need to. (Hope its ok to plug my favorite brand)