What is it w/ peanuts? - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

Squishy27 · 02-14-2007, 09:12 PM

So basically I just undid my whole entire day

Ive only been on this low calorie diet for a few weeks and already I messed up. Lately Ive had the strangest cravings for peanuts. Well mostly cashews and almonds. Of coarse these are really high calorie so I try to avoid them. The weird thing is that up until recently I never really cared for nuts. But today I just gave in and had about maybe a handful. I did this too yestereday only I didnt eat as much. Im so mad I was doing so well to!!! What could be causing these sudden cravings? Is there any way to curb them? Thank you

ktt · 02-14-2007, 10:30 PM

Hi S,

Actually nuts are good for you and contain healthy fats so eating some is good for you. Unsalted, fresh nuts are the best. They are high in calories so you don't want to go overboard but a small amount makes a great snack or topping for cereal etc

rita · 02-15-2007, 12:08 AM

The sudden cravings are probably due to the low calorie diet. It may be too low (especially in fats) and your body craves some fat.
In any case, you definitely DID NOT undo any of your hard work by eating a handful of nuts. First of all, a handful is exactly a daily serving of nuts that's recommeneded. By giving in to your cravings you supplied your body with waht it needed and, as a matter of fact, you HELPED your diet to succeed and to lose more weight by adding a bit of healthy fat to it.
So, stop beating yourself up over this and realize that what you did was exactly the right thing to do.

Lenin · 02-15-2007, 05:56 AM

Peanuts and nuts are an EXTREMELY concentrated form of calories and your body craved them. Perhaps you were also looking for a salt fix.

These cravings happen to us all when we restrict out food intake. Usually a wise maneuver is to divert the craving into something lass calorific than a handful of peanuts (at about 500 calories per 3 ounce handful.)

rita · 02-15-2007, 07:36 AM

Although poster metioned peanuts in the title of her post as the object of her cravings, she actually appeared to want cashews and almonds, both excellent for their nutritional value. And the size of a "handful" most likely depends on the "hand" that grabs it. My handful of nuts does not come anywhere near 3 ounces and most definitions of a "handful" of almonds is about 1 ounce, which comes to about 164 calories, hardly a calorie disaster. Anywhere you look, a handful of nuts/seeds will be around 200 calories, at most. So, if her body craved some fat, she picked exactly the right way to satisfy that craving, health and nutrition-wise. She could have chosen a greasy donut.
Just as I told the original poster, 200 calories is nothing even approaching a calorie extravagance so she needs to relax and understand that making herself feel badly about her tiny indulgance is not a good idea, serves no purpose and many times is used by people on diets as an "excuse" to go ahead and just eat whatever since so much damage has already been done.
I need to impress upon her that NO damage to her diet has occured. NONE. She is right on track and should continue with her efforts, perhaps increasing her daily calorie intake a bit just to make sure she is getting enough of what her body needs.
I also need to add that the nuts she eats should NOT under any circumstances be the roasted and salted kind. These indeed are a not the best way to go since their calories are increased dramatically by the oil used in roasting and the added salt is unhealthy and will only cause a lot of bloating (which will make her think she gained fat).

Lenin, you must have big hands so make sure when you pick up some nuts you don't overindulge.