snacks

I have a snacking problem. 

I'm not just talking about an overindulgence problem.  I'm talking about a pathological, hoarders-esque food problem.

Like, bitch is crazy.

For example, as a kid if I played at friends' houses,I both longed for and dreaded snack time.  One Little Debbie donut stick, a couple handfuls of Cheez-Its...it was never enough.  I wanted 3 donut sticks, half a box of Cheez-Its. I watched my friends closely so I could be sure not to eat more than they did (even little girls may judge you), but once the box would go back into the pantry I became immediately resentful.

At home I looooved to eat out of spite.  I was awake for breakfast on time and my sister wasn't? Fine, I'll be sure to bite the crunchy tips off of all your bacon. You're eyeing that last piece of cake? I'll be sure to save you a bite.

I know Eric notices. I can't imagine what it's like sharing a bag of chips with me. We start off normally - one for you, one for me...but something takes over and I insist on holding the bag and eating to my heart's content while being just generous enough to offer you a crumb every third commercial break. 

I even secret-eat.  More than once, I've made a grocery store run specifically for Duncan Hines chocolate frosting (obviously this was before diabetes). I'd make a deal with myself: one spoonful for every chore done or homework question answered. Within no time, it would morph into me hiding the can of frosting at the back of the pantry or OMG in my freaking closet. Once, I was so embarrassed that I snuck a spoon out to the fence under the pretense of "I'll just take the dog for a potty" and polished the rest of my frosting can off. <--seriously, who does this?

You would think that at some point in my life, I've had food taken away from me or at least limited in some way. Exact opposite. My dad worked for a snack food company, for crying out loud! I've never had to go hungry or worry about food. But I DO worry about food! I worry that it will never be enough, and maybe I should keep munching because munching makes me happy. The taste, the feeling, the indulgence.

As a new diabetic, this has easily been my greatest struggle. You don't just go from smuggling frosting to being a smart snacker in a day. I'm still the worst about making deals with myself. Now it's: I'll just check my blood sugar and if it's below ___ I can have a snack. It's not healthy.

In fact, it's disgusting.

That's why I'm cracking down on snacking.

First of all, have you ever eaten a single serving size of anything? Do you even know what one looks like? I had no clue, and now it's imperative for me to know how many carbs are going into my body. So now my routine is this:

Pick out a snack at the grocery store. Bring it home. Open it. Calculate a 15 gram serving of carbs. Measure out that amount. Package into plastic bags. Do this for the entire bag/box of food.



15 grams of carbs = 1/2 cup Cheez-Its

15 grams carbs = 1/3 cup Baby Goldfish

(Have you noticed I have an orange snack foods addiction?)

Then I pile all the plastic baggies in a snack basket for my pantry.



Look at all those delicious snacks!

Doing this means I'm limited in how much I can mindlessly eat. No more sitting on the couch with some Oreos and plowing through half the bag before settling on a tv show (ps. why isn't anything good on tv?). Now I pick a bag, sit down, eat sloooooowly, and make the conscious decision NOT to walk back to the pantry.

Of course, string cheese and salted peanuts are fair game :)