Cracker Fruit Schedule

[SurferGirl]

I know the guide says that we should not have more than 2 of our crackers with any meal, but I have heard a lot of other things on the forum about spacing out your crackers and fruit.

I haven't seen anything in the guide elluding to this so I am :confused:

I was under the impression that you can't eat more than 2 crackers with a meal but during the rest of the day, you can have them when you need a snack. I also didn't realize there were any restrictions on the 3 fruit.

Thanks for clearing this up!
SurferGirl

[Maya]

If you are allowed 3 pieces of fruit, that means you can have them, but they should be eaten apart.

Crackers - 2 crackers at a time - they can be eaten with the meal or between meals, but try to keep them 2 and half hours apart.

I'm not so sure about fruit - some people say one hour apart at least, some say 2 hours...

Protein meals (meal 1, 2, 3) should be 5 hours apart
fruit and crackers 2,5 hours apart

[Shasha]

{hi} there SurferGirl

Fruit and crackers should be spaced out during the day to be used as snacks when you are feeling hungry or as extra's with your meals. (They are optional so you may leave some or all of them out if you like.)

Most people have 2 x fruits per day and 5 x crackers per day. Spacing them out would mean something like having a fruit in the mid-morning, another in the mid-afternoon or, if you prefer, one after lunch as desert and one after dinner. If you ate all your fruit with yogurt for breakfast, you would have nothing left for later in the day and then what would you do if you became hungry at 4 pm and can only eat dinner at 6 pm?

As you mention having 3 fruit per day, you can have one mid morning, one mid afternoon and another in the evening for desert. Spreading fruit evenly like this helps to regulate and control your blood sugar better and the snacks between meals help many dieters not to become too hungry. This is why fruit should be spaced out.

Crackers, if you take your cracker portions two at a time, likewise you could have 2 x cracker portions in the morning, 2 x cracker portions in the afternoon and 1 x cracker portion in the evening making up your 5 x cracker portions during the day.

The reason you should not eat more than 2 crackers at a time is so that you do not trigger insulin, your fat storing hormone.

You may have a 1 x fruit and 2 x cracker portions at the same time if you felt very hungry between two meals or even as a snack in the evening before going to bed. :hungry:

[bitten]

:party5:thanks so much for that sasha...i believe many of us wonder about this one!

bitten

[SurferGirl]

Hi Sasha!

Thanks for the reply. Now I understand why the fruit and crackers should be spaced out. I was getting a little stressed about the 2 hour intervals (especially thinking that I couldn't have crackers and fruit together). THe schedule was feeling a bit confusing :confused:(meal 1, wait 2 hours, crackers, wait two hours, fruit, wait 2 hours, etc. etc). I will space the food out reasonably but it's nice to know I don't have to watch the clock every second or eat even if I'm not hungry :munchies:because otherwise I will throw off my schedule. Phew!

Thanks again!
SurferGirl

[Shasha]

{hi} there Bitten & SurferGirl

Dr Cohen's is really a very simple diet and it's very easy to follow. Even if you end up not needing to have your crackers during the day because you were not hungry, you can have 2 with dinner and another two after 9 pm as your bed time snack...


Glad to have helped {cheerleader}

[bitten]

sasha....

i always have crackers as a bedtime snack!!!! i love my mini saltines....i have apple and cracker in bed and i feel like a 'normal', snacking person....i will always have crackers from now on.
bitten

[Shasha]

{hi} there Bitten

1 apple and 2 x portions of crackers (not more than 11.7 grams) are 100% fine as a bed time snack before going to :sleeping:

You may have this just as is, or you make a little apple pie, by cooking or baking your apple, adding a bit of cinnamon and sweetener and then crumbling your crackers on top...


ENJOY!!! {cheerleader}

[Sharma]

I just started about 2 weeks ago and have a question about the spacing of the meals...

Sometimes less than 5 hours pass before I eat another meal, mostly because I'm so hungry I can't wait.

I've noticed even though I eat my fruit and I try to save my crackers as a snack I still get super hungry and it hits me hard and fast and I start to get the shakes a bit.
I would be surprised if I'm eating more than 700 calories a day and it is a shock to my body that is obviously used to having more and more robust/fattening foods.

Does this go away? Will I stop being so hungry and will my body adjust to the dramatic change?

I've also cheated a bit :sadeyes: by eating a few more crackers than are allowed, with a little fat free cream cheese. I eat the fat free saltines...does anyone recommend a better tasting cracker that will help fill me up more?

I so want to do this right and keep losing weight and reset my metabolism but I could use some tips.

Thanks so much everyone, you'll really help me stick to it!

[SPDeRosa]

Hi Sharma,

For me I found the cravings went away completely after a three weeks. The mental part (sitting there and thinking about what I could be eating) is a bit harder -- especially when I smell all the goodies people are eating around me. But success I find is in your commitment to yourself and knowing that YOU are in control of this program and your success on it. This program really works but you have to choose to commit to it and to a healthier and slimmer future.

Not so sure what to tell you about the shakes. I know Shasha has recommended before that people try a vitamin (or second vitamin) mid day. Someone with more experience than I on the program might have some tidbits of wisdom for you on that issue.

But with regard to everything else, please remember this program works best if you adopt a ZERO TOLERANCE for ANY DEVIATIONS from the program. This is the mental commitment part that I had to come to accept. So having cheese outside of a meal is not permitted. The body needs time to break down the protein, and if you eat it out of sequence or off schedule or as added protein, it messes things up. My consultants told me that if I added up all the little 1oz deviations or the little cheats here and there, then at the end of the month I would have not followed my prescribed program but someone else's program all together! That made total sense to me - before I heard that I didn't think an ounce over or under was a big deal. Remember, this is all about balancing the chemicals in your blood, and when you deviate from the program that a doctor wrote just for you either by eating too early, too much, or the wrong foods it will set you back. This means that these cravings might actually stick with you longer just because you're allowing yourself little "cheats."

I found that once I spaced my meals a bit better my hunger disappeared. My typical schedule is:
** Cold glass of water when I wake up ... some coffee
** Breakfast by 8. ALWAYS an Egg & Veggies (Yogurt doesn't fill me up). I also put in a jalapeno pepper or green chili to spice it up AND it forces me to drink a second tall glass of water (now 1/2 my water is done for the day) ... more coffee
** Lunch at 2 w/ 1 can Sprite Zero or Diet Coke
** Snack (apple or orange) if needed around 5
** Dinner at 7 w/ 1 can Sprite Zero (no caffeine)
** ONLY IF NECESSARY "Late night snack" (Apple or Orange) and/or 1 can Sprite Zero (for some reason the 3rd can of Sprite Zero fills me up and satisfies my sweet tooth craving -- note this 3rd can of Sprite will also put me 2oz over the 34oz limit for soda, so I leave a sip or two in there unfinished)

The good news with this program is that when you're ready to commit to the program fully without any cheating, you're able to get back on board and pick up where you left off, particularly at the start of the program. So good luck with choosing to do this fully for yourself and your future, and come back and let us know how you're doing! Once you see the weight melt away, you'll never want to cheat on the program again, and all those dessert cravings will mean nothing. Remember, nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels! :)

Best of luck,
Shawn

[Shasha]

{hi} there Sharma & Shawn

I hope that by this time your cravings are a lot less, if not almost gone…

Shawn is 100% correct in everything he’s said {goodjob} so I’d recommend you follow his advise 100% - especially the {noway} to cream cheese & crackers...

If you still feel hungry after following your eating plan 100% for 10 days, please write to your consultant… because you may be making mistakes that could trigger hunger…

I know the food is less than you may be use to eating, but please do hang in there, it’s really worth it to become slim and healthy again!!!


YOU CAN DO IT!!! {cheerleader}

[Sharma]

NO cream cheese and crackers??? Hmmmm ok...guess I made that mistake a couple times.

I also didn't realize I shouldn't eat more than 2 crackers at a time because of insulin levels...another OOPS. :sadeyes:

I do ok with the main meals, no prob bob but the snacks I guess I was confused. :crying:

I will be EXTRA careful from now on with that.

I am losing fine I guess but I want to make sure that my body and metabolosm is resetting itself. I hope I haven't messed it up really bad. I'm afraid that I have....but I'm hoping I haven't and that I've made progress :praying:

[Shiftergal]

I work at a fruit stand and most weekdays I'm bored out of my mind because no customers will come for like hours at a time. So having my crackers and fruit at regular intervals helps the time to pass, because I can look forward to eating them! But I have a question: Are we allowed to have half of a fruit at a time, still keeping them two and a half hours apart? I'd love to do that because it makes them last longer, but I'm not going to until I know it's okay. I'm WAY too close to my goal to mess up now!

[SPDeRosa]

Where did the 2 1/2 hour apart rule come from? I went back and checked the Customer Guide and didn't see it in there. I've always just eaten the fruit/crackers whenever I wanted, and my understanding is you can break up the fruit and divide it up throughout the day any way you want so long as you don't go over your limit. Who knows, maybe I've been cheating all along!

[Mei Mei]

I e-mailed my consultant, and she said that I can eat the fruit and crackers whenever I want. Only 1 fruit at a time and 2 crackers at a time. For instance, I just ate one at lunch because late afternoon I have been wanting to munch. I didn't eat any at breakfast, so I can split the remaining 5 crackers for the day however.
Good luck.
Mei Mei