Need To Crunch - HELP!
My two year anniversary is August 2 and up until recently I was a model patient. I lost 102lbs which when you consider I started at 207 is pretty impressive. I held at 105-107 for months.
But lately (past 3 months), I started falling off the wagon. Up until that point I logged everything religiously on Fitday. But I started taking a handful of this (low cal/high protien cereal) or a few of those (mixed nuts) and not logging them. Then I discovered Whole Foods where I would graze my way around the market and never log any of it. Then I started allowing myself 1 "treat" ( a portion of a "real" chocolate chip cookie or a few handfuls of "real" granola or a single See's chocolate). Since my surgery I have been VERY dilligent about ensuring that I ate NOTHING that did not have protien or at least some nutritional value. Maybe that was the problem... I also have worked since my surgery at alternating high calorie (1, 700) days with low (1,200) calore days to keep my metabolism working efficiently. I also take in at least 100 - 124 oz of water daily.
Soon, the number of "treats" expanded - a part of a cookie AND granola AND nuts AND a See's AND...you get the idea. I was grazing uncontrolably. Generally I look for things that "crunch" - baked pita chips, granola, cinnamon coated nuts, etc. I was bored with the "good food" I had been happily eating for almost two years. I started trying my balance my calories by cutting out my meals on the days when I grazed and dropping my daily protien intake from 100 - 120 grams to barely 60. Then -big surprise! - the
weight started creeping back on. I have now weigh 113, a gain of 7 pounds which may not seem like much to some but on a person my size (4'11") it is a major gain. I think the stress I have been feeling at work contributes to all this. I exercise (horseback ride) strenuously for an hour 4 times a week and walk often.
I've started back to logging everything and making sure my protien is high and my calories stay below 1,400. But I am craving crunch!!! I need low fat/high protien options to help keep me on the straight and narrow. I currently enjoy Gensoy chips and soy nuts every day. I also do Soytzels from Trader Joe's. But I have been doing all of these for more than 20 months!! I find the cheese and pepperoni "chips" that are made in the microwave don't travel well to work pre-packaged and we don't have a microwave at work. I need other suggestions. Please help!!
PS My work schedule is fairly hectic. Snacks/meals that are easy and convenient to prepare would be great. Thanks everyone!! 
Congrats on your weight loss!! There is a new product in the natural foods/organic center in my supermarket (Hannafords) that I love. It is called Doctor Kracker pumpkin seed cheese flatbread. It tastes fantastic. Its crunchy and cheese flavored (they do have one that is no flavoring). It is only 100 caloreis,4g fat,7g net carbs,and 5g protein. I love to have my reduced fat cheese on it like a cracker. Hope this helps.
Hi, I'm not much help here but wanted to say I know where you are coming from. The first 14 months I did well, followed the program and did very good making good protein choices and rarely testing the junk food. The past couple of months, I find myself like you, not logging into fitday regularly and eating a bite here and there, essentially grazing. I know I'm not hungry so why do I do that? I'm working on it right now, yesterday was much better but still not what I feel I need to do to remain at my current weight.
As for crunch what I have been doing is eating celery with a little cheese or peanut butter, a couple of baby carrots, sliced cucumbers with light salad dressing and roasted pumpkin seeds to do the trick.
You've done amazingly well and it's good to see you are trying to tackle the weight gain now before it becomes more work. I weigh daily, I know many don't agree with it but I believe it keeps me in check, when I see the numbers go up a couple of lbs, I get serious about my choices.
Remember this is a lifetime commitment of good choices.
Best wishes,
Dana
Raw almonds (roasting ruins the health benefits of almonds)
Apple
The almonds have more protein and really fill the need to crunch. The apple however is much more filling if I'm hungry, rather than eating for the the fun of eating. Yeah I still eat for the fun of it, but as long as I can do that and still stay around 1,000 calories a day I don't worry about it.
I understand your boredom with food because the same thing has happened to me at 29 months. Suddenly I want to eat like I perceive the rest of the world eats. Unfortunately that lead to a 12 pound weight gain for me so it's back to basics ..... protein and more protein. One day I will realize my metabolism is shot, so I can't live like most people.
Best of luck for your continued success.
Sounds like for the most part, you have a really good, sensible grasp of things. But man, do I understand the desire for "crunchy." I'm three and a half years out; I lost about 100 lbs, gained back 10 or so, and then lost about 3 of that. I've maintained within two pounds either way of 175 for several months now, and if I can keep that, I'm a happy camper.
But the overwhelming desire to crunch. I go to B.J.'s and buy 4 pound bags of baby carrots and pack an entire ziploc baggie full of them every day in my lunch. I stuff my face with them all day. At first, I was pissed-off that they weren't chocolate-covered caramel, but then I adjusted. The crunch factor is great, and I never feel bad about stuffy my face full of these, because although they of course have calories, they're good for me - full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Hard to go wrong.
Besides, this snack can serve another purpose: I'm a horsewoman too, and also ride several times a week - and if I have carrot nubbies left from the day's batch, guess who gets them, much to her delight?
The crunch factor is great, and I never feel bad about stuffy my face full of these, because although they of course have calories, they're good for me - full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Hard to go wrong.
Besides, this snack can serve another purpose: I'm a horsewoman too, and also ride several times a week - and if I have carrot nubbies left from the day's batch, guess who gets them, much to her delight? 
I sometimes do:
1 oz bags of peanuts (bought by the box at Costco)
Celery w/ low sugar peanut butter (a personal favorite - crunch and protein)
I make seasoned nuts or cinnamon nuts and weigh them and put them in snack size ziplock bags.
For seasoned nuts... coat in olive oil and then favorite spices...red pepper, salt, pepper, etc. For cinnamon nuts, coat nuts in beaten egg white... shake off excess. Coat in mixture of splenda mixed with cinnamon. Either of these, put on foil on a baking sheet... 10 minutes at 400 degrees usually toasts them nicely.
Kathy
Boy can I relate to the need to CRUNCH. I don't understand why I crave it so much now.....but I do. I have taken 1/2-1oz of sunflower seeds and add them to my yogurt....gives me a creamy and crunchy thing! I do like it but I have to limit it to an every other day thing and I may try to cut it down more...its addicting! I eat the same things almost all the time. I burn foods out! I am afraid I will do that to the nuts! And they are high in calories so limiting them would be a good thing. I do rice cakes too. They are crunchy and less calories. Yes the bad foods are sneaking back in my diet as well. I try to limit myself but some days I am out of control. I love the Power Crunch Bars for a crunch too but I see I am doing too many of them as well. The crunch is a caloric nightmare! I wish I liked carrots I would try that....Glad you posted about this problem.
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