Diet is "DIE" with a T: Week 1

Oh, God, I started a diet again this week.

You will notice two things about that sentence: the general grumbliness, and my use of the word "again."

I am constantly on a diet. Sometimes they are "real" diets, with the express purpose of losing actual weight. Other times, they are "lifestyle" diets, where I am eating out of the cupboard and packing a lunch to save money or empty out the pantry.

This one is a combination of both: I am trying to drop some poundage while at the same time rack up some extra cash. Christmas is coming fast (as is the company holiday party). Once a week or so, I'll check in here with my successes, failures, ideas, and bitching.

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My biggest problem with diets is the 3:00 hour. I always get hungry at 3:00 or so -- I don't know if it's the after-lunch sugar crash, or a dip in my Circadian rhythms, or what. Since I'm going to be packing my lunch for a little while (at least until I get back into the swing and can better judge what I can and can't eat off the fast food dollar menus), I am trying to plan for that time of day strategically.

Goals for my afternoon snack: no longer be so hungry that anything and everything in the vending machine looks good, including that dusty pack of mixed nuts that has been there since approximately the dawn of time, and also to stay around or under 5 points. (Oh, yeah, I'm doing a sort of modified Weight Watchers, using online tools to calculate points, plus dragging some old guides out of the dingy heretofore uncharted recesses of my bookshelves.)

Here is what I am eating for my 3:00 snack today:

• Town House wheat crackers x5
• Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese x1 wedge
• Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh cracked pepper shaved turkey x3 slices
• Green seedless grapes x½ cup

I'm going to plate this up nicely and have it with some iced tea. A nice balance of carbs, fat, and protein to help me make it until dinnertime. That snack is 4 points. It's small, but surprisingly satisfying.

And because I am an amateur foodie, and also a nice person dammit, let me offer the following alternatives instead: red seedless grapes or ½ cup cantaloupe or honeydew cubes instead of green grapes; shaved ham (if you use a very low fat lunchmeat variety) instead of turkey; light garlic and herb or French onion cheese wedge (if you don't have an important client meeting) instead of the Swiss flavor; nine honey-wheat flavored Club Snack Sticks crackers instead of the Town House.

If you have points to spare and want to "bulk" this up, you can have 6 slices of turkey, or switch to a full-fat wedge of Laughing Cow original, or add a packet of Lipton Spring Vegetable cup-a-soup, for an extra point each. If you need to cut points, eliminate the cheese or the turkey for a 1-point savings.

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Disclosure: I am not being paid to advertise any products. I recommend these particular brands because I already have them in my cabinets, and I know the point values for them. If you like something else, or have a suggestion, let me know!