I know it isn't the BEST thing, but I drink my vegetables every day in the form of low sodium V-8. I only like certain veggies, so at least this way I'm getting most of what I need.

Okay, to answer your question: it's fine if you don't eat a big dinner.

BUT!!!!!

It is NOT FINE if that leaves you 10 points shy. You must, must, must eat all your Points. You can get your Points in with a bigger breakfast...get some dairy in with yogurt in the morning, maybe...try a spoonful of peanut butter with your banana to get healthy fats in...Green Giant has fantastic frozen veggies with a low-fat cheese sauce, just throw them in the microwave and count 1 point (per serving) for the cheese sauce...salads need to go back into your diet, you need your veggies! I love chicken enchiladas suiza, I often have that for breakfast (yogurt and unsweetened applesauce 2 hours later, 2T of peanut butter and a banana 2 hours later, salad and protein 2 hours later...etc), but it's not veggie-based.

Your body needs these things to function properly. The snack cakes and the bottle of tea (if it's not sugar free) come after you get all of your essentials in. I can't stress this enough. Put those extra Points whereever you want them, but you must eat them all!

Now that I've gone a bit preacherish , I'll address another question. Occasionally missing a meal--because you were just too exhausted to eat and went right to bed, because (like me, today) you can't swallow due to an inflamed throat (I can barely get water down), because your stomach is upset and anything would come right back up--that's okay. Starvation response doesn't kick in that fast. If it's a habit, though, then it's worrisome, and needs to be addressed.

Starvation mode is really something of a misnomer. Missing one meal, even daily, will not put you in any mode whatsoever. (Much like one binge won't put you into a weight gaining mode.) You will, however, be immediately affected. When you go more than three or four hours without eating, your blood sugar needs to be bumped back up, so your body releases loads of great chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol to increase your sugar level. Cortisol will cause your blood pressure to rise. It will cause your body to take glycogen from muscle rather than using fat stores. Low blood sugar will cause a chain reaction that will result in your body storing a portion of the calories you ingest during the next meal (no matter how small) as fat. Adrenaline and cortisol combined are actually believed to cause all the symptoms of hypoglycemia. (Oh. Cortisol also suppresses your immune system. That's why you're more likely to get sick when you're stressed. Well, I think it's pretty cool.)

Skipping the occasional meal will not affect your weight loss attempts. Any negative effects will be essentially unnoticeable. Regularly skipping meals, however, will. It is true that you should only eat when you’re hungry, but it is also true that your brain chemistry works on patterns. In fact, studies have shown that your body adapts so effectively that it will begin producing insulin to counter the perceived sugar intake from the flavor of artificially sweetened soft drinks.

If you’ve already developed a pattern where you regularly skip an evening meal, your body has adapted to it. Try eating something small: an apple, some carrots or a few crackers (diet permitting). That should keep your blood sugar level even. That will keep the chemicals and hormones in your body balanced and your weight loss goals on track.

And, I'm sorry for babbling. I do that . . . a lot.

I'm definetly not like this everyday. It happened two days in a row. But I ate really well yesterday. We had lunch brought into work and I looked at the menu ahead of time- the rest had a low fat turkey reuben. 5 g fat and 397 calories. It was awesome!
Last night I had two slices of a small cheap pizza with a plate of salad with tomato and balslamic vinagrette.

Fuze green tea is sugar free. It has the vitamins of 3 servings of vegetables, it has crystalline sweetener and honey - no high fructose corn syrup. It has vitamin C, E, B3, B5, B6 and B12. It also has folic acid in it. Its 60 calories a serving, or 120 for the whole bottle. I drink one a day. I get it at walmart.

I don't consider nutrigrain a "snack cake". It is a low fat fruit and grain bar. I get the walmart brand and based on the box it has 4 pts. I knew I needed to eat something because I also am trying not to eat after 730 p.m.

I guess the real question is if I'm not hungry should I eat at least a little something. It appears the answer is eating every few hours - which I do- is the best way to do it and skipping an occasional meal is fine. I know next time I am not hungry I will know to listen to my body about it and just eat when my stomach says its full. I had spagetti and salad on the night I wasn't hungry. I measured it out and put it on a plate and I guess I didn't need to eat it all. But I did and I could hardly move.

Let me preface what I am about to say with this: I am in support of people eating whatever they deem to be best for them, in support of informed choices. That being said, I feel many people are misguided about nutrition, due to multiple factors which I will not get into in this thread

Nutrigrain and other similar "bars" are marketed as a "healthy snack to grab on the go" and the truth couldn't be further than that. For starters, well, it's not a good source of grain, really. It has flour in it. So little flour, in fact, that it has less than a single gram of fiber per bar.

With 140 calories, it has 3 grams of fat, one gram of protein and many different forms of sugar showing up a total of 6 times in the bar (with high fructose corn syrup being listed several times- HFCS has terrible effects on blood sugar). It boasts an array of chemicals and artificial ingredients, making it far form "wholesome" or "natural" at all.

It's basically a chemical-ridden, artificially colored and flavored low-fat cookie with a vitamin thrown in.

Okay! Off my soap box now and back to my juicer (gotta make fresh 6-vegatable juice for my daughter before she goes to school)

but its better than the donuts I'd normally have eaten or not eating at all which is really what I normally did- no breakfast and no fruit.

amen to that.

Because mcgriddle sandwiches were addictive to me!
along with hasbrowns...

I didn't get this over weight eating nutrigrain thats for sure.

Jillybean, make your own! Seriously, takes like 5 minutes. Scramble an egg or use egg beaters, put it in a ramekin, microwave for about 1.5-1.75 minutes. Toast an english muffin, put on Kraft 2% Singles, and I add canadian bacon (a friend of mine uses veggie sausage). 6 points (if you're doing WW), ~285 calories if you're not. It's lovely, and really filling and satisfying!

I've done it before, but I just don't have time now. As it is, I get up at 5am and leave the house by 5:30. I don't eat breakfast before I go to the gym (usually just have a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast to wake me up), so if I made my own, I would have to microwave it once I got to work at 7. My Special K bar also only has 90 calories, so I'd really rather not triple that. I always have a yogurt a little while later (before lunch), and I'm never really hungry. The short of it is, I have no time and no money, so 6 Special K bars for 2.50 works for me (which is about what I would pay for the English muffins alone). There's also the matter of McDonald's food just always tasting better! When I make them at home, they're just okay--nothing to write home about. But a hot one from McD's, man, that is GOOD stuff (thanks to the butter and sauce and grease and...)!

I'm really not trying to be difficult--just trying to point out that different lifestyles have different requirements, and if a NutriGrain bar or a Special K bar fit into those requirements, it's still a lot better than donuts or McDonald's

When we all start out on the weight loss journey, we have to start somewhere. That's what's great about WW is that it gives you points to "spend" on whatever foods you want. Be it spending 20 points on a slice of cake and ice cream and 10 on other junk or spending all 30 of your points on nutritious food. But as you go along, it's good to go ahead and start balancing out your nutrition to get in your servings of veggies/fruits, protein and dairy.
As they are really starting to stress now in the diet world it is all a matter of calories in vs. calories out. WW is still basically restricting the amount of calories you consume in each day.

When I first started to lose weight I used the WW points because I had all the stuff for it. But I also entered all my food into my fitday diary. I wanted to make sure I was eating enough protein and veggies. I ate very similar to what you have described. My main focus at that point was the get the weight off no matter what. After doing a ton of research and trial and error realized that my main focus should be more on my health and let the weight take care of itself.

I've since abandoned both WW (not because I don't believe in the program but because I was tired of counting points) and counting calories (tired of counting) and am now instead following the new pyramid. It breaks it down better by telling me I need.

The example above is how much I need at my age with my activity level. I like how it breaks it down by cups and ounces.

I think you are doing fine by trying to listen to your body for your hunger cues and you are right that the nutri-grain is way better than stopping for fast food.

Oh, I agree, Jilly--Nutrigrain or Special K bars are better than donuts any day! Though there are days when donuts sing to me...thank goodness we don't have a donut shop around here!

I was just trying to suggest something you might not have thought about.

I think this process of becoming healthier is a very individual thing. We all make changes at our own pace and for evolving reasons - based on our changing motivations on the weight loss/overall good health spectrum. It may be that for some among us, the first or second level of improvement is the elimination of McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts -- and that's AWESOME!! That said, I do think it's extremely important to continue to inform and educate yourself along the way in an effort to maintain that positive momentum to continue to progress in the incorporation of lasting positive changes. So eventually that NutriGrain (which is pretty much neither very nutritious nor much of a grain) gives way to something which has a much more positive impact on your health. But we're always talking about progress not perfection here -- so I think it's great that progress is being made, as long as it's acknowledged that there's more progress to be made still. Rome was not built in a day!

It's a journey, and not only are we all at different points along the road, but it's also possible that there's more than just one way to get there! So hear, hear to that NutriGrain bar.....for now!

AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.......EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!!

^^ Beautifully put, Sarah

I would agree the the protein bars are not the best. However I would agree that they are much better than a doughnut or cheesburger ect... Even if the calorie and fat would be the same it's telling your mind this is a better choice it's not the same old junk food I've been feeding myself.

We don't eat a lot of these but I have tried a few. We made are own from a recipe we seen on Food TV by Alton Brown. They were very good and much better for you. They freeze well to. I can't remember all the info but I now they were around 190 in calories and 8 grams of fat. They had pretty good protein and fiber but I can't remember exactly. Here is the recipe.

4 ounces soy protein powder, approximately 1 cup
2 1/4 ounces oat bran, approximately 1/2 cup
2 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1/2 cup
3/4-ounce wheat germ, approximately 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ounces raisins, approximately 1/2 cup
2 1/2 ounces dried cherries, approximately 1/2 cup
3 ounces dried blueberries, approximately 1/2 cup
2 1/2 ounces dried apricots, approximately 1/2 cup
1 (12.3-ounce) package soft silken tofu
1/2 cup unfiltered apple juice
4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/2 cup packed
2 large whole eggs, beaten
2/3 cup natural peanut butter
Canola oil, for pan

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and lightly coat with canola oil. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the protein powder, oat bran, wheat flour, wheat germ, and salt. Set aside.

Coarsely chop the raisins, dried cherries, blueberries and apricots and place in a small bowl and set aside.

In a third mixing bowl, whisk the tofu until smooth. Add the apple juice, brown sugar, eggs, and peanut butter, 1 at a time, and whisk to combine after each addition. Add this to the protein powder mixture and stir well to combine. Fold in the dried fruit. Spread evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees F. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.