For the last 20 years or so, whenever I have needed to shed some pounds, I have done WW. So, with this mindset so implanted, this may attribute to my confusion and "tunnel vision." I have a tendancy to still want to count things.

South Beach Cereal Bars (Peanut Butter flavor). Is this ok for a snack or does it replace a meal? If it is a snack, do I "count" (there's that word) it toward a nut/seeds/peanut butter (allowed per day) or just as a protein snack? Do I count it as a starch for the day?

Roasted Chickpeas (love these). The confusion comes where I see on the internet where dieters say you can eat lots of these (basically what you want). However, since you use 2 T of olive oil to make these, does that oil not count toward your oil allowance for the day? I had been counting it as 1/2 oil/fat.

Thank you so much. Love this site and the quick responses and help.

It's okay Roz, I sometimes track things just to get a snapshot of how well I'm staying on plan. Right now I'm redoing Ph1 and want to be strict, so I've got a little chart where I'm checking off Fats, and nut allowance, and sweet treats to make sure I don't go over, and also Dairy, Beans, water, and veggies to make sure I am getting enough.
When I do something like roasted veggies that have olive oil on them, or add some oil to a recipe, I do count it towards my fat allowance. It's hard to know exactly how much to count, since a lot of it stays on the pan, so I guesstimate.

As far as the bars, I'm not sure, I've only gotten them once, but I seem to remember that there wasn't enough peanut butter in them to make it count much towards your nut allowance, and I also don't think there is any starchy grain-y stuff in them. Mostly I think it's protein, but check the ingredients and see what's in there.

For meal replacement, I think that's your choice as to how to structure your meals. I have times (of the month) when I am hungrier and want to be eating all the time, so I don't really have "meals" and "snacks" during that time, I just divide everything up into six groups of things to eat at some point during the day. That way, I know I have something to look forward to within the next hour or two. As long as you are getting in enough protein and veggies overall, along with the other stuff, how and when you do meals and snacks is up to you.

Thanks, Schm. Being the OCD gal that I am, I also have a chart where I check off items, too.

I use the cereal bars either for a quick, on the go breakfast or as a snack.
I don't count everything, but I do use FitDay about 50-70% of the time so it counts my calories and tracks my percents of protein, carbs & fats. I find it helpful to see where my calories are coming from and make adjustments.
It is possible to eat all the right foods that are on SBD and not lose weight if you eat too many calories. I may be speaking only for myself here, but if I am not "aware" of my calories, I can eat too many, too easily.