I cheated with carrots!!!

[ZerasPride]

I am so mad at myself right now. I was happily and a bit too smugly eating my grilled chicken salad at lunch when I looked down at my plate and horror of horrors I realized there were tiny bits of shreded carrots in my salad! I had bought one of those large bags of pre-made salad from BJs and DH and I love the convenience of having ready made salad to eat with our dinners or lunches.

According to the SB book, carrots are one of the forbidden foods along with corn and potatoes that I'm not supposed to eat. I could just kick myself. I have been so good for almost three days. Not bit of illegal carb or fat has gone into my mouth. No soda either, which is hard for me. I feel like a fraud with my 2 day cheat free clippe.

Somehow, though, I just don't feel like I've really cheated. Doesn't ignorance count for something? Not to mention in 2-1/2 days I've probably had less than a half of a cup of carrots. The killing part is that I hate carrots and would never go out of my way to eat them and certainly not cheat on my new way of eating plan for them. I don't want to give up my clippie!!! I feel so bad right now. Not bad enough to go off program or anything. This was a humbling experience . . .

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Lisa, not a biggie at all. You did not cheat! Carrots do not affect blood sugar the way that most starchy vegetables do. I wouldn't eat them every day, but an occasional shredded carrot will not hurt you.

I'm on Atkins and after several months added carrots to my vegetable rotation (in small quantities). I'm doing alright.

 

[ZerasPride]

I was upset thinking I had put my body in some kind of weird chemical state by eating those stupid shreded carrots. My husband said the same thing as you, not to worry about it.

I can still myself sitting at the lunch table picking out all the little slivers of carrots and making a little pile of them. I'm sure my fellow employees thought I was a crazy woman! To tell you the truth, I am more upset that I might have had to give up my clippie than I am about eating a spoonful of carrots. Come on now, I was eating an entire pint of butter pecan ice cream EVERY NIGHT. Maybe I should cut myself a little slack. Perhaps this is just the carb withdrawal talking!!!! Anyway, thanks again, I feel much better now.

 

[LisaTx]

You definitely need to cut yourself some slack.

I truly don't think anyone ever got fat eating carrots. They are high on the glycemic index, but that is based on large quantities. Unless you're sitting around eating 4 or 5 whole carrots at a time, you have nothing to worry about. I wouldn't even bother picking those little bits out of the bagged salads.

Now quit beating yourself up and wear that clippie with pride. You've earned it!

 

[Strings]

Just as a fyi. Dole makes a bagged salad without carrots. It's called just lettuce. There are also italian salad mixes and shredded romaine available. I know this because I can't stand raw carrots.

 

[LAinSEA]

My dinner tonight included beef potroast - and yes my husband cooked the meat with onion, celery and "gasp" carrots. He did not include any carrots in my meal to heat up - just the meat. The recipe was from Dana Carpender's 500 low-carb meals cookbook. Very delicious! even out of the microwave.

I don't quit understand the low-carb adversion to carrots...(maybe it's because they are the traditional "diet food")...there are other vegetables with as high or higher levels of carbs. I'm still mourning the loss of cottage cheese from the official induction food list on Atkins.

-Laurie

 

[dizneegirl]

Originally posted by LAinSEA
I don't quit understand the low-carb adversion to carrots

They are high in natural sugars, and thus, high on the glycemic index. In quantity, they will raise your blood sugar, which leads to insulin release, which leads to fat storage. Definitely not what you want. The glycemic index figures heavily into low-carbing.

Once you're in maintenance, of course you can eat carrots in occasionally. It's like everything else... in moderation.

Your dinner sounds great... of course, even not eating the "gasp" carrots, you still got some extra carbs from them. They do add flavor, though, don't they? Yum!

 

[Nette]

Originally posted by LisaTx
They are high on the glycemic index, but that is based on large quantities. Unless you're sitting around eating 4 or 5 whole carrots at a time, you have nothing to worry about.

It's actually more like 4 POUNDS of carrots to get the full glycemic effect.

 

[cinmell]

It's better to cheat with carrots than a bag of chips! Relax and don't be so hard on yourself!!!!!

 

[ZerasPride]

Thanks for the replies. DH and I decided that we didn't care if carrots are in the salad mix or not. It's funny, just last week I was scarfing down a quart of butter pecan ice cream and here I am today worrying about taco salad mix having corn flour and carrots in my salad. I think I'm turning into one of those health nuts that always made me roll my eyes!

Anyway, I do appreciate the reality check. It's just that I've been overweight all my life and I think SB is a great program and I want to stay true to it. I truly do enjoy eating this way and can see this becoming a way of life. You guys are all awesome!!!