The plan that worked for me

Greetings folks.  Lots of crazy weather across the country.  We had terrible winds for two days and very low temps.  Back in the sweat clothes and the furnace is running.  I hope you are all safe.

 

 Note - I received a few emails about the miniature sampler chart not printing on a full page.  It is corrected now in both post and FREE tab. 

 

Now.  About the "plan" I followed that several readers requested.  First of all, I am a piggy.  I don't have one piece of pie or cake, I have two, and another later.  So giving up sweets was extremely difficult, but after four days, I was OK.   I baked pies for mom every week, cake every few days, (glucose level was still respectable) and was able to take a bite and nothing more after the first week.  I learned a little about the glycemic index and how high simple carb foods can turn into fat quickly, and how the low are digested and absorbed differently.  So I checked online for some guidelines and food lists, cut out all boxed and processed foods (man foods) and ate more natural and simple foods (God foods).  I ate Hodgson's (hot cereal) oat bran and also oatmeal, eggs, nuts, things I like but in moderation.  Will never give up pasta, do not like the whole wheat varieties, started using Ronzoni brand "Smart Taste" with 2.5x more fiber.  But I also would eat a 1/4 cup of dry Fiber One cereal (original) before a high carb meal.  I reasoned that it would slow down the high glycemics, worked for me!   Fiber One was not the best tasting shredded cardboard I ever had, but I could handle 1/4 cup.  And when we had a loaded dinner, I would try to balance the next day with a large salad for dinner.  Light and heavy were figured in the same day too.  Birthday cake?  Light lunch and dinner that day.  Simple.  The hardest part is staying accountable for what goes in my mouth.  When you aren't counting calories or points, you can get off track easily, but cutting out processed foods, sugar, and junk makes it fairly easy.  There are also calculators online to figure foods. Splenda was my sweetener of choice for bad fruit (which we seem to always have locally) and anything else.  High fat and fried foods were avoided and I had no meatballs with my spaghetti so I could eat more pasta (homemade sauce).  Nickles' 35 calorie white bread and the Arnold brand flats were my breads.  My only processed meats were Hillshire Farms and Oscar Meyer reduced fat turkey, chicken or ham in the tubs but no other deli meats.  Home cooked shredded chicken breast and beef roasts made excellent sandwiches.  The big question - chocolate?  Of course, but reasonable amounts.  Snacks?  Popcorn, home made pita chips, hummus, nuts.  When I really needed a treat, Blue Bunny no sugar added ice creams (fabulous!) or Klondike 100 calorie fudge bars.  NO Aspartame (NutraSweet) drinks, only those with Splenda or Stevia.

Moderation of low glycemic foods, very little processed (boxed) food, big reduction in sugar, added fiber, and balancing.  I guess that's all I needed to say instead of the long winded version, huh?  When will I learn.


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