Friday, November 7, 2008

The Downside

Sometimes I want to say suck it to this healthy living and make a nice batch of cookies with sugar and white flour. I could make a nice batch of cookies with Splenda and almond flour. While each cookie would have a carb content of 3 grams as opposed to 15, they would probably have a meal's worth of fat. That's the tradeoff I have to live with when it comes to sweets - low carb, high fat or high carb, moderately fatty. I've opted for the former because my nutritionist told me I was probably burning more calories than I took in so it's not like the fat, protein or carb calories were staying in my body anyway.

The downside of all of this has been baking. I've been avoiding watching cooking shows and reading cooking magazines because my GAWD does baking come up a lot. That is a void in my life because I really don't want to have a ton of baked goods I can only eat a half ounce-serving of. I'd much rather make a batch of sugar free jello (which has neither carbs nor fat!) and fulfill my sweet tooth that way. That doesn't fill the void of being able to bake. Throwing stuff in the stand mixers and have a nice big batch of cookies, muffins, or cake. or pies! Giving up the killer pie crust recipe! It's sad that's for sure.

It's nice being on track, keeping my blood sugar down and generally being physically fit but there are days, especially now when the weather is chilly, I'd like to whip up a dessert and not worry about portions.

2 comments:

Stef said...

How are you burning more calories than you take in? What is your daily activity? I know you're doing a lot more walking out in SF, right?

I so understand the lure of baked goods. One of the things I've been so bad about lately is getting cookies at lunch or Starbucks muffins in the morning. (The pumpkin cream cheese variety are DIVINE.) I don't bake myself much at home, so that's not the risk -- it's what my little hands grab when I'm out in the world. Now, the good thing is that's a very easy habit to just cut and eliminate a couple of hundred calories a day.

But somehow I have to satisfy that sweet craving at my desk another way. Right now I have a big bag of mini raisin boxes, and those are okay. I need to buy more gum, too. I know that a good part (1/2? 1/3?) of these treats is the emotional reward of having treats, so I've got to work on breaking that cycle, too.

But you're doing great! Keep experimenting with your substitutes and finding other good low carb options.

DC Food Blog said...

I've really upped the exercise. I run four miles three times per week at a 9 minute mile pace. On the days I am not running I do a quick run up and down eight flights of stairs and strength training at the gym.