Everyday Systems

I haven't officially written my introductory post, but hello! I have a mere question for all of you pro's at this.

I began the NSD last week on Monday, and had a little bit of a rough start, but I think I have it down now.

Anyway, I am in the middle of reading the book that goes with this program. I know its mentioned that milk can be had if you are REALLY hungry, and it doesn't count as a snack. Additionally, the same goes for 100% fruit juice.

So, my question is, my husband and I sometimes share a homemade smoothie after dinner together. Its completely liquified and contains soymilk, frozen berries, ice, and no more than 1/2 of a packet of truvia.

Originally, I was thinking that this had to be snack since its to packed full of calories, but now, I'm not so sure. I know that sugar substitutes aren't really recommended on this diet as well, but I've kicked the diet soda habit, and this is my only form of fake sweetener (though all-natural, if that makes a difference!)

So what's the verdict? Do my smoothies have to be part of dinner or can I have them as a drink in the evenings?

It sure sounds like a snack to me - I'm wondering why you would want such a filling smoothie right after dinner?

I'm new here too, so I look forward to other's answers.

Pernetty wrote:It sure sounds like a snack to me - I'm wondering why you would want such a filling smoothie right after dinner?

I'm new here too, so I look forward to other's answers.

Hi Pernetty. Yeah, that's what I thought too, but now his explanation has me confused. Hopefully someone can help me out.

Why do we want a smoothie? Well, perhaps I'll say that before I started doing this, we'd always "save room" for our evening smoothie. We'd drink it together while watching a movie or tv. It's just a cute tradition we like to do together, I guess. I've never felt like I've been overly indulgent with my smoothie before.

I guess then, if it would be something that could only be included at dinner time, how would that work? We put a smoothie in a tall glass that holds about 12 oz. The glass itself would fit on our plate...but wouldn't the smoothie be stacked then?

lol This is just such an abstract thought. I'm sure I'm thinking about this way too much for it being such a straight forward program!

Why don't you save the evening smoothies for S days? You could have a non-caloric beverage with your husband on N-day evenings instead.

These smoothies:
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/content/1 ... -smoothies
are definitely something that's not allowed on an N day. I'd consider them either snacks or sweets.

Smoothies are considered snacks because of the pureed fruit. Now if you mixed soymilk and fruit juice it would be a beverage.

I often have smoothies for a meal, usually breakfast.

wosnes wrote:Smoothies are considered snacks because of the pureed fruit. Now if you mixed soymilk and fruit juice it would be a beverage.

I often have smoothies for a meal, usually breakfast.

Thanks Wosnes. If you don't mind my asking, where are you getting this information from? Does it say somewhere in the No S Diet book? I just haven't really read anything about pureed fruit.

leVictoria wrote:

wosnes wrote:Smoothies are considered snacks because of the pureed fruit. Now if you mixed soymilk and fruit juice it would be a beverage.

I often have smoothies for a meal, usually breakfast.

Thanks Wosnes. If you don't mind my asking, where are you getting this information from? Does it say somewhere in the No S Diet book? I just haven't really read anything about pureed fruit.

It was covered in another thread some time back.

Any solid food that would normally have to be chewed is a snack. The blender is doing the chewing for you, in essence. Pureeing fruit does not make it a beverage. I think we should refer to them as water-based liquids. Water is actually the main ingredient in milk, as well as fruit juices.

No S isn't supposed to make you start getting more worried about food but it is also supposed to help people become more aware of all the times they ingest food unnecessarily. Drinks (besides milk) are famous for providing calories that don't often register to drinkers as food, but they are.

An option might be to leave a blank area about a quarter the size of your dinner plate to allot for the smoothie, and then enjoy the smoothie right after dinner. For habit purposes, it is best to have fewer eating events than more because each event has the possibility of getting bigger at various times.

Good luck!

oolala53 wrote:Any solid food that would normally have to be chewed is a snack. The blender is doing the chewing for you, in essence. Pureeing fruit does not make it a beverage. I think we should refer to them as water-based liquids. Water is actually the main ingredient in milk, as well as fruit juices.

No S isn't supposed to make you start getting more worried about food but it is also supposed to help people become more aware of all the times they ingest food unnecessarily. Drinks (besides milk) are famous for providing calories that don't often register to drinkers as food, but they are.

An option might be to leave a blank area about a quarter the size of your dinner plate to allot for the smoothie, and then enjoy the smoothie right after dinner. For habit purposes, it is best to have fewer eating events than more because each event has the possibility of getting bigger at various times.

Good luck!

That makes sense...WATER based snacks. Yeah, I think I'll just be limiting them to breakfasts and S-Days.