Slow Carb/Low GI Foods?

[shrinkingLeon]

Hi people. I've been mainly lurking in these forums, but I do find the information here to be informative and useful, so I wanted to know what you all thought of diet/lifestyle change that I've adopted and what has helped me, and what ideas you may have that I can utilize. After years of struggling with weight and incorporating ideas into regimen, I find that eating low carb and avoiding refined sugar and flour is what works best for me.

In March 09, I tipped the scales at 345 pounds and was in despearate need to find a healthy lifestyle plan that could work for me. One day, I was on the Internet, and I discovered a website that suggests that people keep it simple with a "Slow Carb" diet. Basically, avoid "white" foods with lots of refined sugar and flour, avoiding soft drinks and lots of protein heavy foods. I also eat similar meals for 6 days/wk. Basically, lots of lean meats, green, leafy vegetables, and legumes (Black Beans and Lentils in particular). I also try to eat 3-4 small meals per day to keep metabolism going. I am also allowed one "cheat day" per week. Sometimes, I cut it down to a "cheat meal" depending on how I feel. Sometimes, that means eating junk food, sometimes it can mean me eating pasta or Thai food with noodles.

I have managed to lose 85 pounds over the last year, but in the last few months, I have been gaining and losing the same 15 pounds. I've had a number of personal issues going on in life, which has affected motivation. Some days, I'm gung ho, other days, I'm not.

A Typical day includes:

AM Breakfast (eaten at 8:00 & 10:00 AM):

Egg Whites
Spinach
Pinto Beans


12:30 PM Lunch:

Grilled Chicken or Smoked Turkey
Vegetable Mix of Green Beans, Broccoli, and Spinach
Mixture of beans, typically Black Beans and Pinto Beans

2:00 PM Snack:

Usually some Celery and Hummus

4:00 PM Dinner:

See 12:30 PM lunch

The reason why I eat so early is because I usually work out in the afternoons. The trouble I have is what to eat after workouts. Usually, it means me going to Chipotle or Willy's to eat a salad, but sometimes, I have a tendency to snack, and quite frankly, I get sick of eating celery. I also eat nuts (usually, unsalted almonds), but I try to be VERY careful with those because of the calories that can accrue. I've also experimented with making low-carb wraps with turkey, cheese, celery, and hummus. I'm trying to avoid cheese though, but I bought a pack in a moment of weakness. I figure that I can enjoy cheese every once in awhile if I don't just scarf down on it all the time.

I bought some dried Wasabi peas at the grocery store the other day, which I felt was a good low-carb snack option, but I discovered that one of the main ingredients in it is rice flour, and the net carbs are pretty high.

I also saw some wasabi edamame, but I'm concerned about allowing a lot of soy in diet too.

I have found that "crunchy bean" mix with Peas, Lentils, and Adzuki Beans. I usually put that in salad, but if it can work as a snack food, I'm all for it.

Anyone elso on a low-GI diet? Any suggestions on snacking? I know I posted a sample of a "typical" meal, but I do usually have a bit more variety than that. When I have time, I'll cook asparagus or Kale or Bok Choy. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! For height (5'11"), I should be in the 170s-180s. While I don't think I'll be that weight anytime soon, anything that will help me reach goals would be great. Any ideas for snacking that won't contribute to a plateau? There are some days when I want to climb a wall in frustration, but I managed to get from 345 pounds to 260 pounds in the last year, so I know I must keep on doing what I have to do. It's just trying to figure out what are some good things to snack on, moreso than the meals themselves, if that makes any sense.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Boss Man]

AM Breakfast (eaten at 8:00 & 10:00 AM):

Egg Whites
Spinach
Pinto Beans

(Not bad.)


12:30 PM Lunch:

Grilled Chicken or Smoked Turkey
Vegetable Mix of Green Beans, Broccoli, and Spinach
Mixture of beans, typically Black Beans and Pinto Beans

(Not bad)

2:00 PM Snack:

Usually some Celery and Hummus

(a bit low calorie perhaps, and may be lacking in Protein)

4:00 PM Dinner:

See 12:30 PM lunch

(I'd add in another meal at 7PM at least, because when you have digested most if not all of that 4PM meal, by around 7PM, you're going to have no food intake for 13 hours straight.

Som anything like Lean Meats, Veggies or something like Beans on Toast, Low Fat Dairy etc etc, would do.)

[shrinkingLeon]

Thank you for that Boss Man. Usually, I do eat a post-workout dinner, usually a salad from a salad bar or Chipotle, so I can keep veggie/legume/meat combination.

I found some dried salted peas at the Farmer's Market today. They don't have the rice flour like the wasabi peas did, BUT they do have Palm oil as an ingredient, and I do have some concern about palm oil and cholesterol and saturated fat. What do you think of that as a low-carb, high protein snack?