Protein as a cure for the grazers

I have been back on doing my shakes. I actually use the scoop provided in the can and the serving size which is 2 scoops. That is about 50 g of protein. I know we only absorb up to 30 but this way I think I am getting the maximum.

One side effect I have noticed though is my appetite has gone down. I was a grazer and especially for salty snack foods. Pretzels were a big weakness. Since I have started back whenever I feel the need to snack I grab and make a protein shake.

So if your grazing or feel the carb munchies try upping your protein. If you are prone to kidney stones you might want to watch what kind of protein.

I am going to be trying the new Nectar natural. made with Stevia.  I have been mixing my shakes with vitamin waters now too.

I've done about 100 g protein today between food and shakes

My experience tells me that there is  some validity to what you're saying. I think one reason that I've never been a big snacker is because I have always eaten a lot of high  protein foods. Unfortuneately most of my favorites were also high fat foods.

Here's what I've discovered post-op: If I start my morning off with scrambled eggs, ham, beans, and cheese (about 500 calories total), I stay satisfied until midway through the afternoon. So I'm going in to the evening meal with some room to work calorie wise. If I eat that exact same meal wrapped in a flour tortilla, I'm hungry again before noon. There's no explanation, in my mind, other than the starchy carbs from the white flour trigger hunger pains as they digest and the protein doesn't. Which kinda sucks cause I do like me some tortillas.

This might have to do with the Glycemic Index of the tortillas. Your body can process and absorb those carbs VERY QUICKLY, thus giving you a blood sugar spike. They also get burned off very quickly, causing a blood sugar drop. The sudden blood sugar drop is what signals your body that it's hungry. Staying with the low-carb higher protein option, your body works on that food steadily for a longer period of time. The blood sugar changes are smaller and more gradual; therefore no hunger pangs out of nowhere.

At least, that's the way I've always understood it.

From all I've read is that protein is supposed to fill you up so you don't eat more while carbs (specifically the bad carbs... sugar, white flour and the like) don't fill you up and are more addictive (bet ya can't eat just one.)

For me, once I start eating be it protein or other, "Katie bar the door" cause it seems like I never get full anymore. 3 years out and it's all about smart food choices, exercise and trying to control the VOLUME through sheer willpower. I'm doing well on the first two so as Meatloaf once sang.....Two out of three ain't bad. 

Great post, Snick.

Boner 

Boner, I used to work with a guy who was about 5'4" and weighed about 125 lbs. Every single day after work he ran 6 miles. Like clockwork. Never missed a day. I asked him one time why he did what he did and I stil remember his answer. He said that if you run 6 miles a day you can eat whatever you want and not gain any weight and he'd rather sacrifice the hour that it took to run the six miles than have to regulate what he ate. As many miles as you put in on the bike, I'd figure you were pretty much in the same boat. Yes/No?

I don't know about Boner, but if you look at the amount of calories you burn through exercise, you will soon recognize that you cannot eat limitless high calorie foods and not gain weight.  When my brother did his first long charity bicycle ride from Boston Commons to Central Park in NYC, he actually gained a few pounds.  He later learned how to eat properly for long rides.  I suspect that your former coworker probably ate less than what a morbidly obese person would eat.

In reference, listen to what pro athletes say.  I remember Michael Jordan talking about how he used to stay on a special diet throuhout the season.  Of course, Michael Phelps may be an exception, but he is doing strenuous exercise on a daily basis.  When he's not swimming, he goes for flexibility training and weight training.

Stevia!!