A Little Clarification

After Jan's comment with a question about eating a bowl of Reese's Puffs for a snack, I have been really pondering and trying to come up with the correct way to answer.  So, I am going to try my hardest to establish a few guidelines in order to make this competition equally fair for everyone involved. 

What is a snack, compared to a treat?  I think that is the question that some may have.  There has definitely been some gray area regarding this.  So, here is my two sense.  Take it or leave it, but I am just trying to be sure everyone gets the most out of this experience and that everyone has an equal chance of getting all those points.  :) 

So, say you are trying to lose weight.  (I am pretty sure we all are!)  You need to establish a daily calorie amount that you are allowed.  I like 1400 calories.  It seems to be my magic number.  So, if I can have 1400 calories in a day then I would like to save most of those calories for my meals.  For example if I eat 350 calories for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then I have 350 remaining for snacks and treats.  That's not a lot!  So, I am thinking that I better have a low calorie snack like an apple, carrots, or something that helps me get my fruit/veggie points for the day.  And some days, I don't have any calories remaining for a treat.  And that's okay - I actually still live!  :)  Remember, you don't have to only have 1400 calories.  Just remember that 2000 is the average for a person who is not needing to lose weight. 

And here's my opinion about the sugary snacks that we all love.  (And I'm not referring to the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables).  This is hard and I have been thinking really hard about it.  Here is what I have come up with.  I am a label reader.  I am amazed at the amount of grams of sugar most items considered to be healthy have in them.  I have changed the cereals I buy (even the ones I feed my family).  I buy bread that has less that 3 grams of sugar.  Even the yogurt I had in my fridge had 32 grams of sugar in it!  I feel like I have made many changes recently that are directly related to the amount of sugar we are consuming.  So, in my opinion any cereal that has more than 6 grams of sugar in it should be considered a treat, but for this competition lets say 8.  Anything with more than 8 grams of sugar in it should be counted as your treat and not just as a snack.  And any cereal that is named after a candy bar has at least 10 grams in it.  I've spent a lot of time in the cereal isle lately.  :)  In fact, some of the cereals that I had in my pantry that I had to get rid of were:  cinnamon toasters - 11 grams of sugar, frosted flakes - 13 grams of sugar, even honey nut cheerios have 11 grams!  I was shocked! The cookies I have right now have 11 grams of sugar in them.  So, I would count the cookie as a treat, therefore I guess I better be counting the cereal as a treat also.

So check lables more carefully.  Try to count calories as much as possible.  This is a hard one for me.  Don't even for a second think that I only consume 1400 calories per day.  My bod would look lots different if that were the case!  :)  And try to eat healthier snacks.  Eat those fruits and veggies for your snacks.  Try to refrain from grabbing chips, crackers, and other high calorie, or processed foods.  This will help us all to meet our goals faster. 

And if you eat a snack that has more than 8 grams of sugar in it, lets count those as treats.  That way we are all on the same page.  I am not trying to in any way change rules after we have already started, but I know that many of you are being so super healthy but losing points for missed hours of sleep because of little children (that's my hardest struggle!) and forgetting to say your morning prayers because you ran out of bed to get a crying child, or needing that extra sweet to cope with sick, hard to handle kids!  Sound familiar??  We all have different things that we struggle with. 

I hope this helps and doesn't frustrate any of you.  And this is in no way "my" competition with only me defining the guidelines.  Please everyone comment and make suggestions or tell us how you feel about this.  If we need to change anything, I'm totally willing.