Viactiv as alternative to sweets

[VeggieLifterChick]

I have recently once again cut out sweets from my diet and found that I still crave them. My current solution is 2 milk chocolate flavored Viactiv chews. They have half a day's worth of calcium in each one, so I eat 2. They satisfy my cravings and yet I have had no impulse to binge on them even though I've been going through some stressful times. I believe it was MS who told me to take calcium apart from a multivitamin because it blocks absorption of other nutrients, so I eat the chews at night and have the multi with breakfast. Just thought I'd share this for anyone else who is craving sweets but cannot eat junk either due to problems like bingeing, or sugar addiction, or strict contest diets. I believe they come in other flavors as well, including caramel.

Nutritional Info for 1 Chew

20 cals
.5 g fat
4g carbs (3g sugar)
only 10 mg sodium

100 IU Vitamin D (25% Daily Value)
40 mcg Vitamin K (50% DV)
500 mcg Calcium (50% DV)

 

[starfish]

Yummmmm... Those things are good!

 

[starfish]

 

[starfish]

OK, while we are on the subject of calcium. Is it true that our diets are extremely poor in calcium and that the societies which live the longest all have extremely high amounts of calcium in thier diets?

Any truth to that?

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

Sure there's sugar in it, but only 3 grams. Small sacrifice to satisfy a craving and prevent a binge/relapse, IMHO.

 

[makedah]

OK, while we are on the subject of calcium. Is it true that our diets are extremely poor in calcium and that the societies which live the longest all have extremely high amounts of calcium in thier diets?

Any truth to that?

I've never heard either of those things.

 

[starfish]

I've never heard either of those things.

Probably just a theory or gimmick

 

[makedah]

Or something circulated by the Dairy Council.

 

[starfish]

Or something circulated by the Dairy Council.

No nothing like that... opposite.


Looking at the oldest living people like in Okinawa Japan. Supposedly thier diets are rich in coral calcium and they live extremely disease free, long lives.

Other societies too.. High calcium diets was ONE of the common threads.

It was interesting, even if it was not valid.

 

[makedah]

Oh, I'm not weighing in on the validity of it or not. But yeah, if what you read/heard was talking about coral calcium then it wasn't the Dairy Industry wonks b/c they equate calcium with dairy.

What is coral calcium, btw.

 

[starfish]

It's a type of calcium mined out of Japan.

I've never used it though.

 

[Pink Space Biscuit]

No nothing like that... opposite.


Looking at the oldest living people like in Okinawa Japan. Supposedly thier diets are rich in coral calcium and they live extremely disease free, long lives.

Other societies too.. High calcium diets was ONE of the common threads.

It was interesting, even if it was not valid.

My room mate just ordered some of that I think. I guess they have an infomercial on it now too (our garage is infomercial central ... like six freaking ab machines, gallon buckets of oxy clean, orange clean, etc), but she did research and bought some non infomercial brand.

 

[starfish]

My room mate just ordered some of that I think. I guess they have an infomercial on it now too (our garage is infomercial central ... like six freaking ab machines, gallon buckets of oxy clean, orange clean, etc), but she did research and bought some non infomercial brand.

LOL! I never saw that..

..... but does OxyClean work?

 

[Pink Space Biscuit]

LOL! I never saw that..

..... but does OxyClean work?

I "think" so, because we went shopping and she was looking to buy more. I haven't seen the miraculous claims with my own eyes, but I can ask for you.

I'm not sure if this was a dream or real, but i swear I saw a new fitness infomercial and the bike was like attached vertically to the wall. It was strange, but now I can't find it again.

I'll ask her more about the coral calcium too, she actually did research on it and printed out all these articles, I'm not sure if it has arrived though and she's only 23, so I can tell if she's going to live a long time yet.

 

[Fonz]

No nothing like that... opposite.


Looking at the oldest living people like in Okinawa Japan. Supposedly thier diets are rich in coral calcium and they live extremely disease free, long lives.

Other societies too.. High calcium diets was ONE of the common threads.

It was interesting, even if it was not valid.

Its not the calcium

Japanese peopel eat amazing amounts of fish.

The get a lot of healthy fats. Specially the omega-3's.

They eat very little saturated fat.

Their diet revolves around rice, soy and fish.

Thats as healthy as you get.

To date i have not seen an obese japanese person.(I visited
Tokyo and Kyoto in an exchange)

From Japan that is, not from america.

Fonz

 

[starfish]

Its not the calcium

Japanese peopel eat amazing amounts of fish.

The get a lot of healthy fats. Specially the omega-3's.

They eat very little saturated fat.

Their diet revolves around rice, soy and fish.

Thats as healthy as you get.

To date i have not seen an obese japanese person.(I visited
Tokyo and Kyoto in an exchange)

From Japan that is, not from america.

Fonz

It involved other societies too. Not just the Japanese at sea level eating fish. The common thread was high in calcium.

Besides, I just read how high amounts of mercury were found in people with high fish diets. So go figure.

 

[Fonz]

It involved other societies too. Not just the Japanese at sea level eating fish. The common thread was high in calcium.

Besides, I just read how high amounts of mercury were found in people with high fish diets. So go figure.

Mercury?

That can't be. Mercury is not native to our Bio-chemical
make-up.

Mercury is incredibly toxic to our tissues. If they had high mercury levels(I doubt it), they would be dropping like flies.

Fonz

 

[starfish]

Mercury?

That can't be. Mercury is not native to our Bio-chemical
make-up.

Mercury is incredibly toxic to our tissues. If they had high mercury levels(I doubt it), they would be dropping like flies.

Fonz

Maybe it was something else. I will look.

 

[starfish]

Mercury in Fish


http://www.ctnow.com/news/nationwor...0,1877836.story?coll=hc-headlines-nationworld

 

[valerie]

Calcium is so common and it is in everything, the real mineral folks are low in is magnesium. fwiw-Valerie

 

[TheProject]

The Hunza Indians are best known for their longevity, and consume a diet largely made up of regional nuts, seeds, and veggies. High in good fat and fiber.

I heard they ate a lot of special bread...

 

[SteelWeaver]

lol @ Project - yeah, man, and they aren't the only ones who are gonna be eating that bread in approximately 3 weeks ... You can bet a small select circle in Sydney will be getting a taste of longevity victuals.

About the Japanese - yes, there are very few obese Japanese walking around Japan, but the numbers are definitely on the increase - I'm seeing a lot of fat ~ obese schoolgirls nowadays.

I would attribute their leanness to the traditional diet - rice and fish, with liberal use of sesame seeds, yams, and various wild veggies and tofu, other soy products, etc.

HOWEVER, not that many Japanese actually EAT like that anymore, which really puzzles me - how the hell do they manage to remain lean whilst eating some of the unhealthiest crap on the face of the earth???? I mean, you should SEE what the average "salaryman" eats all day - I've quizzed my students on this:

breakfast: white toast with coffee or green tea
lunch: fast food, either a ready-made "bento", or lunch box from a convenience store (white rice and fried fish), or something like tonkatsu - deep fried pork cutlets on white rice, or ramen - oily greasy, salty noodle soup, or macdonald's or some such other junk.
NOTE: ALL sandwiches, bread, rice etc in Japan is WHITE - very hard to find heavy nutty bread, brown rice, or even just wholemeal bread
dinner: about 6 litres of beer/sake with various small side dishes of maybe sashimi, sushi, cabbage and corn salad, (lots of oil) fried tofu, deep fried cheese, french fries, grilled meat/chicken, lots of snacky things ....

I simply don't understand it .... there is food EVERYWHERE in Japan - cooking shows are the most popular type of TV, they have ACRES of food halls in EVERY department store, selling an enormous range of anything edible imaginable - a lot of it very healthy, but of the unhealthy stuff, NONE of it is the so-called "improved" versions - low sugar or low saturated fat are derided as not having the full flavour or taste ....

Oh, and yes, not only mercury levels, but levels of dioxins are sky high in fish AND vegetables here - kind of scary.

 

[SteelWeaver]

OMG I just noticed!!

20 CALS per SWEET!!!!!????? My god, do you have any idea how FAST that adds up?????!!!!





LOL - jus' kidding



But I couldn't have them on a contest diet - I'd rather have a spoonful of cottage cheese or some cucumber if cheating during the week, and save the sweets for refeed days (but judging by my poor progress on those, prolly just leave the sweeties out altogether and stick to pasta .... sigh)

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

OMG I just noticed!!

20 CALS per SWEET!!!!!????? My god, do you have any idea how FAST that adds up?????!!!!





LOL - jus' kidding



But I couldn't have them on a contest diet - I'd rather have a spoonful of cottage cheese or some cucumber if cheating during the week, and save the sweets for refeed days (but judging by my poor progress on those, prolly just leave the sweeties out altogether and stick to pasta .... sigh)

Poor [will of] Steel. When will the deprivation end? In other words, when is this contest?

 

[nrg]

I find this simple receipe satisfies any cravings I have for sweets.

10 scoops of chocolate flav. protein powder (I find EAS Simply Whey the best)
1 carton of egg whites
Mix and pour into a plastic container. Put it in the freezer (w/o the cover) for a few hours and there you have an awesome high protein chocolate treat! A healthy version of super chocolately frozen yogurt.

Hmmm, yummy!

 

[SteelWeaver]

Poor [will of] Steel. When will the deprivation end? In other words, when is this contest?

Sunday the 3rd - 9 days!!! Whoo hoo - ready or not, Oz, here I come!

It's weird, I wish I had more time to get into better shape, but I'm also so glad it's almost over - I just wanna eat Most importantly, though, I've learnt new (un)limits to what I can drive myself to ...

nrg - that sounds ..... uh, interesting. The eggs stay raw? They freeze OK? I know I've been driven at times to mix a tiny bit of water with some protein powder, into a paste, then eat that. But lately I've discovered the BEST thing for sweet cravings: PUMPKIN!!! This stuff is THE BOMB - steamed, with cinnamon and sweetner sprinkled on top, it's sweet and filling and low cal and absolutely YUMMY!

(But my colleagues pointed out the other day that my perspective may be a bit skewed, so ...)

 

[nrg]

LOL SteelWeaver - yah it is a rather strange mix. But when dieting, creativity must kick in before the insanity does!! My friends get sick when they watch some of the things I eat, esp. this and my fav - egg white & tuna scramble with peppers and onion! LOL

To answer your Q - the egg whites are raw and mixes fine with the protein powder. It's a little gooey but it freezes up just fine. You could mix with water instead or go with some of both. I use egg whites to justify it as being good for me - lots of protein!

As for the pumpkin, it sounds good. I actually read your post on that and showed it to my bf who is also currently dieting for a competition. We'll be trying some out this weekend. That's about as much of a halloween treat as I'm going to get!!

Oh - good luck SteelWeaver! Hang in there - I'm sure you'll do some damage!